American Sonja and Zarinsk lock horns again in the Group 3 Brownstown at Fairyhouse

The Joseph O'Brien-trained American Sonja drops back to 7f in search of her first Group success in the Brownstown Stakes after she put in a determined front-running display in the Listed Volterra Stakes in France last month.

However, the three-year-old faces stiff competition from Zarinsk, who finished two and a half lengths in front of her when winning the Group 3 Cornelscourt Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown in May. 

Ger Lyons' charge ran respectably when fourth in a Group 2 in France last month, and will bid to give her trainer a record-breaking fifth win in the race and a second on the bounce after Marbling prevailed last season.

American Sonja is now 3lb better off with Zarinsk and it will be interesting to see how much rain falls as it could prove vital in splitting the two given the conditions were quite testing at Leopardstown.

Willie McCreery saddled the winner of this contest back in 2013 and relies on Cigamia, who is also dropping back to 7f after an excellent runner-up effort at Navan in a Listed race after nine months off. The manner in which she travelled that day would suggest the drop in trip will be no issue and she looks in good heart after that encouraging reappearance.

This Group 3 event and the Mercury Stakes at Dundalk – which was upgraded from Listed to Group 3 in 2018 – remain the only Irish Group races not to have been plundered by Aidan O’Brien.

He saddles four contenders and while Beginnings might not be the yard's first string, she does look interesting if she can rediscover the form she showed in two starts as a juvenile last year back down to 7f.

All three of O'Brien's other contenders are coming back in distance and it looks bound to suit Dower House under Declan McDonogh. 

She beat subsequent Listed winner Spirit Gal over 6f in her maiden last season and was not beaten far in a bunched finish in the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes in September. The daughter of Galileo has coped with an ease in the ground well before and is an each-way player.

Maybe Just Maybe will want the rain to stay away, while Dame Kiri stormed clear in a Naas maiden on soft ground over 6f last season so could relish a bit of juice in the going.

What they say

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Dower House, Maybe Just Maybe, Dame Kiri and Beginnings
We're guessing a bit with Dower House, but she shows plenty of pace in her work so hopefully this trip will suit her. Maybe Just Maybe is the same, we think the shorter trip may suit her and she did run well at Navan. Dame Kiri's best run came with an ease in the ground over six furlongs at Naas so she is coming back in trip. Beginnings is a fast-bred horse by Lord Kanaloa, so we may have been going the wrong way in trip with her.

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