Nap of the Day: Harrington’s 6/4 queen can rule at Cork

Saturday's selection was sadly a non-runner, but that means we remain on a Nap of the Day hat-trick going into Sunday.

Carrying the weight of my expectation this time is a hurdling debutant at Cork, whose bumper form I've become very well aware of.

I expect Jessie Harrington's ARUNTOTHEQUEEN to take plenty of beating in this mares' maiden hurdle over 2m4f.

The five-year-old daughter of Milan disappointed when highly-tried in the Goffs Defender Bumper at Punchestown in April 2023, but she's since displayed a relatively good level of form in that discipline.

Second to Willie Mullins' Ballygunner Castle - my 25/1 antepost selection for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival - at Tipperary exactly 386 days later, she went on to finish third and second in outings at Punchestown and Killarney respectively.

Aruntothequeen then got off the mark, at the fifth attempt, at Gowran Park last month - and in style too.

She claimed Listed honours in County Kilkenny despite being relatively unfancied in the market at 25/1, pulling three widening lengths clear of the runner-up Mozzies Sister, who had the rest of the field trailing by over eight lengths.

That's strong form in the context of Sunday's race. Mozzies Sister was a dual bumper winner who finished second in a Grade 3 at the Punchestown Festival earlier this year, and she was victorious on her hurdling debut at Galway just last weekend, downing a 113-rated rival.

The selection's main rival here is Henry de Bromhead's 112-rated Grooveykindoflove, so it's fair to say I fancy her to win that particular battle quite strongly.

Blue Mosque is hard to weigh up but she's a once-raced four-year-old having her first run in over 200 days which is a fair ask.

Barry Connell's Meet My Loreley is the biggest danger as far as I'm concerned. Her second to Sansrisk at Fairyhouse last month was given a fair boost by the latter winning the Grade 3 mares' novice at Down Royal on Friday and improvement is expected.

But I think Aruntothequeen brings the best form to the table, she's race-fit, bred to improve for having obstacles in front of her and this step up in trip ought to suit too.

After her Gowran Park triumph, jockey on the day Harry Swan told Racing TV: "She's a big galloper and all she does is stay... she's a proper good staying type of filly."

Everything looks to be in her favour for her first go over flights and I'll be disappointed if she's beat.

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