'She could be a star' - £1,575,000 buy makes her debut at Leopardstown

‘She could be a star’ – £1,575,000 buy makes her debut at Leopardstown

Liam Bramall

Published: June 4, 2025

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

It takes a lot of money to stay at the top in this sport and that’s particularly true on the Flat. We’ve seen some big spenders make a splash at the sales of late and the Coolmore partners are no different. They went to 1,500,000 guineas (£1,575,000) for a daughter of Frankel, who is set to make her debut for Aidan O’Brien at Leopardstown on Thursday.

Here we assess her chances of getting off the perfect start and take a look at the potential dangers amongst her seven rivals. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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CLAIM

4.20 Leopardstown

Minerva is the filly in question and Ryan Moore is heading over to take the ride. There’s loads to like about her pedigree and she could be a star if all goes to plan. Her full-brother bolted up in a maiden over 1m2f at the Curragh recently and she has a Group 3-winning half-sister.

Both trainer and jockey have been in good form recently and that bodes well for her chances. O’Brien’s strike-rate with his juvenile runners on turf is particularly healthy in 2025 so big things will be expected.

Moore has five winners from eight rides at Leopardstown this year and perhaps Minerva can add to that tally. Expectations will be high due to the price tag but the yard’s juveniles progress from their debuts as a rule. Patience could be key with that in mind but you can’t rule out victory at the first time of asking.

Stablemate Moments Of Joy also makes her debut here and the daughter of Justify needs consideration. Jessica Harrington’s Thenandnow has an exceptional pedigree and is entitled to run well, whilst Parallax is probably the best of the previously raced fillies.

Minerva

Analysis

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