RACING/Rest of Leopardstown preview: It takes a contender for "race of the season" to put today's Coolmore Matron Stakes into the role of best supporting contest where Attraction and Soviet Song clash for the second time.
The older filly emerged best in July's Falmouth Stakes and Soviet Song progressed to also pick up the Sussex Stakes against the colts. In contrast Attraction flopped on soft going in the Prix Jacques Le Marois and on the face of it she does look to have it all to do to reverse placings.
With last year's winner Favourable Terms an unlikely starter, there will be plenty of interest in the returning heroine Yesterday but if there is a Group One dark horse today it looks to be Phantom Wind.
John Gosden trained this one's dam Ryafan who chose the second half of her three-year-old career to hit peak form and win three Grade One races in the US.
In the circumstances then it was surely significant that Phantom Wind bounced back to something like her best when landing a Group Three at Goodwood a month ago, with Chic only third, and there is surely plenty of improvement in her yet.
John Oxx and Dermot Weld will have huge interest in the big race but between them they have dominated the Listed Kiltiernan Stakes for the past five years and it looks to be a similar story now.
Weld runs Medicinal and Misty Heights but it's the Oxx runner Trefflich who gets the vote now that he gets better ground and a weight swing from Medicinal on Royal Whip running.
The John Oxx-Michael Kinane team also looks the one to follow in the Nursery with the topweight Alayan while another topweight to follow could be Valentina Guest who didn't enjoy much luck on soft ground at Tralee last time.
