Jessica Harrington’s two runners top and tail the 15-strong field for Saturday’s Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and Albigna will be widely expected to prove tops all round.
The No 1 horse is the sole proven Group One winner in the Curragh Classic and officially rated clear of her rivals.
That's due to a victory in last autumn's Prix Marcel Boussac on very soft ground although she is also a dual-Curragh winner on good ground.
As for her two career defeats, Albigna was in season after failing to fire in the Moyglare, while a slow start at the Breeders’ Cup meant her race was all but over straight away around Santa Anita’s tight bends.
Harrington’s 2018 Guineas heroine, Alpha Centauri, also carried the Niarchos family colours and the trainer’s electric start to the resumed season means stable form is a major plus.
It's why her other runner at the bottom of the field, Valeria Messalina, will have her supporters too, as will Fancy Blue who will try to give Donnacha O'Brien a first Classic success as a trainer in his first season with a licence.
Both O’Brien’s father and brother will have two runners apiece in another ‘domestic only’ Irish Classic and horses such as Peaceful and New York Girl are open to any amount of improvement.
The evidence suggests though it will have to be very significant to bridge the gap to Albigna.
Magic Wand has the 25th start of her remarkable globe-trotting career in the Lanwades Stakes although it will be the first race at a mile since the very first of them.
Class can help overcome that obstacle while it may also prove decisive for Speak In Colours in the Gladness Stakes.
The 110-rated horse can boast a place in last season’s Prix de la Foret and has a formidable track record at the Curragh.
