Albigna back on home turf for Irish 1000 Guineas
Albigna traveled all the way from Ireland to Southern California for her final start at age 2 last fall but has a much shorter trip ahead of her Saturday to begin her 3-year-old season as the favorite in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas.
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Albigna, based in Ireland with trainer Jessica Harrington, finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, but it was a very encouraging fourth. Albigna didn’t have quite enough pace to get any position into the first turn of the Juvenile Fillies Turf and wound up getting shuffled back to second last while appearing to race too keenly while slightly unbalanced. She was ridden for luck, hewing to the inner rail, while moving up around the far turn, and by the time she shook free and was able to lengthen her stride it was too late.
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But my, what a stride Albigna possesses. She had the fastest finish in the Juvenile Fillies Turf and covered a somewhat shocking amount of ground with every turnover of her chestnut legs at Santa Anita, and the gentler configuration and slower pace of Saturday’s test at The Curragh ought to unfold much more to her liking.
Albigna, a Niarchos family homebred by Zoffany out of Freedonia, won both her starts last summer at The Curragh over course conditions, good or firm, she’s likely to get Saturday. Before she won the Group 1 Prix Marcel-Boussac on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe undercard last fall, Albigna finished second in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes behind Love, who won the English 1000 Guineas last weekend.
Aidan O’Brien trains Love and sends out Albigna’s chief challengers in the one-mile Guineas -- Peaceful, Fancy Blue, and So Wonderful. So Wonderful is more exposed than the other two fillies but provided Albigna has wintered well, none of them will be beating her Saturday.
In the Saturday finale at The Curragh, Magic Wand races in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes, a one-mile race well short of Magic Wand’s best distance. Globe-trotting Magic Wand last was seen finishing ninth on dirt in the Saudi Cup following second-place finishes in the Pegasus World Cup Turf in January and the Hong Kong Cup in December.
First post for the card is 11 a.m. Eastern with the Guineas scheduled for 2:15.