Agartha, Homeless Songs Renew Rivalry in Moyglare Stud

The Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) provided Joseph O'Brien with his first group 1 victory as a trainer with Intricately  five years ago, and it appears his best chance of adding to that top-level haul this weekend.

It took her five starts to get off the mark but Agartha  has more than earned her place as a market leader for the Sept. 12 seven-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies in her last two outings. Sunday's race is a Breeder's Cup Challenge event, providing automatic, paid entry to its winner into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

Any doubts around her front-running breakthrough in the Silver Flash Stakes (G3) at 16-1 were quashed emphatically after blitzing the field in last month's Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes (G2).

It was a clear step up on her first start since being snapped up by owner Scott Heider and she seems extremely versatile in terms of ground, landing group contests on both good and soft going.

"She's a tough and hardy filly who wears her heart on her sleeve," O'Brien said. "There are some new challengers here who she didn't encounter last time, including Homeless Songs. We were second to her in a maiden but I'd like to think that our filly has come forward from then and hopefully she'll be able to put it up to them."

The daughter of Caravaggio   has beaten four of her seven rivals in the last couple of months but her biggest challenger could be Homeless Songs, who had her measure in a Leopardstown maiden in July.

It must be acknowledged that Agartha has clearly come a long way from that encounter three starts ago and the experience gained in pattern company gives her an edge over the Dermot Weld-trained contender.

However, it's hard to get away from the fine impression that Homeless Songs created on that occasion, and given it was her debut—in comparison to Agartha making her fourth outing—it's certainly plausible that the Frankel  filly is the more exciting long-term prospect.

Homeless Songs would be an apt winner of this race given she's owned and bred by the race sponsors, hailing from a strong Moyglare family. It's been nine weeks since her successful debut and Weld—bidding to win the race for the first time since Flutter Away in 1987—believes his representative faces a demanding task.

"The form of her Leopardstown maiden win has obviously worked out very well with Agartha winning twice since," he said. "She has obviously improved a lot and we'll have our work cut out to finish ahead of her again. Homeless Songs is a nice filly though, and she goes there with a chance."

Ger Lyons supplemented bright prospect Cairde Go Deo at a cost of €30,000 earlier in the week and needs to finish at least third to earn that back in prize money. She oozed class when beating History here five weeks ago and makes more appeal than the Ballydoyle pair of Concert Hall and Prettiest, both needing to bounce back from below-par efforts.

"Concert Hall came out of her last run in good form and seems well but when she steps up even further in trip; I think it'll suit her even better," trainer Aidan O'Brien said. "We think she's gone the right way from her last start. It might not have suited Prettiest last time in the Phoenix Stakes (G1), but she'll prefer going seven furlongs and seems to be in good form."

The beautifully bred Discoveries  has 2 1/2 lengths to find with Sunset Shiraz  on their Debutante Stakes form, but quicker ground should bring them closer together.

Gavin Cromwell, trainer of Sunset Shiraz, said: "We've held her in high regard, that's why we ran her in the Debutante last time. The trip is fine for her but ideally she'd prefer more rain to have more of an ease in the ground."