Tyros Stakes Racing Roundup

Leading Irish Flat trainer Aidan O’Brien will send the Twinspires 3-5 morning line favorite Tenth Star and Vault (12-1) to the post tomorrow of the 7-furlong, $64,000 Korean Racing Authority Tyros Stakes (Group 3) at Leopardstown Racecourse.

Since 1990, O’Brien has won the Tyros Stakes seven times and he’s won the past three editions with Zoffany (2010), Cape Blanco (2009) and Rip Van Winkle (2008). Cape Blanco went on to become a Classic Champion Thoroughbred winner of the 2010 Irish Derby.

Of O’Brien’s two entries, I like Tenth Star the most.

In three starts, Tenth Star has never been out of the money and he likes the Leopardstown course.

Tenth Star finished second by a neck going 7-furlongs in the Irish Stallion Farms E.b.f. Maiden race at Leopardstown on June 9. He came back 21 days later going the same distance at the same track to easily win the Golden Fleece Stakes by 4-lengths.

Tenth Star is a descendant of the Danzig branch of the Northern Dancer sire line and since 1990 that line has produced five winners of the Tyros Stakes: Dress To Thrill (2001), Privy Seal (2003), Elusive Double (2004), Modeeroch (2005) and Zoffany (2010).

Dansili, the sire of Tenth Star, was a first-class miler in Europe and the sire of the 2010 Tyros Stakes winner Zoffany.

Jim Bolger, second on the trainer leaderboard and looking for his ninth victory in the Tyros Stakes, will send Parish Hall (4-1) and Cheerful Giver (30-1) to the post of the seven-horse field. Of those two, I like Parish Hall best.

Parish Hall comes into the race with a three-quarter length victory in his maiden debut of the Irish Stallion Farms E.b.f. Maiden race on April 10 at Leopardstown. Third-place finisher Requinto, a Dansili colt making his debut, has since earned a 110 Timeform ranking and is tied with Red Duke in fourth-place on the Timeform list of Top Two Year Olds.

Parish Hall is stepping up in class and although he has not raced in three months, he should improve off of his maiden win and he has the pedigree to be factor in the race.

Of all the horses in the race, I really like the pedigree of Parish Hall the most and I like him for the upset.

Teofilo, the sire of Parish Hall, won the 2006 Tyros stakes and went to become a Champion European 2-Year-Old Colt. Galileo, the grandsire of Parish Hall, is a Classic Champion Thoroughbred and sire of the Tyros Stakes winners: Teofilo (2006), New Approach (2007), Rip Van Winkle (2008) and Cape Blanco (2009).

With five Classic Champion Thoroughbreds – Galileo, Sadler’s Wells, twice, Montjeu and Quest For Fame – in the first three pedigree generations, Parish Hall has the potential to be a Classic Champion Thoroughbred and only time will tell if he lives up to his breeding.

Orchestra Leader (6-1) comes into the race off of a maiden win in a 6-furlong Irish Stallion Farms E.b.f. Median Auction Race at Navan Racecourse. Orchestra Leader tracked the leaders in fourth-place and made a nice move in the final furlong, defeating a field of seven two-year-olds by 1¼-lengths.

David Watchman, the trainer of Orchestra Leader, believes that his colt will be competitive.

“He’s fine and we’re hoping he’ll give a good account of himself,” said Watchman in an At The Races news article. “I think the trip will help him very much. This race will tell us more.”

Orchestra leader is stepping up in class but he also has the breeding to be a factor. Van Nistelrooy, the sire of Orchestra Leader, won the 2002 edition of the Tyros Stakes. The Classic Champion Thoroughbreds Seattle Slew, Northern Dancer and Sea Bird are the sires of the first three dams of the tail-female line.

Good luck with you Tyros Stakes selections!