Horse Talk with Simon Jackson:

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MAC Swiney’s price was slashed for the Cazoo Derby at Epsom on June 5 after his narrow win over stablemate Poetic Flare in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday.

The Jim Bolger-trained Mac Swiney was cut to 7-1 from 20-1 (Paddy Power) for Epsom after showing redoubtable character to prevail by a short-head from Qipco 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare.

Mac Swiney, a son of Bolger’s 2008 Epsom Derby winner New Approach, concluded his two-year-old campaign with victory in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.  

Mac Swiney disappointed on his reappearance this term when fourth of seven runners in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown in early May but put that run behind him with an emphatic victory that impressed Bolger.

“As they say in the west of Ireland, I was mighty impressed with him [Mac Swiney],” Bolger said.

“I thought that he stuck to the task really well – any horse wishing to take him on and beat him in the future will have to be up for it because he isn’t going to give in easily.

“I’m very fortunate that the two talented three-year-olds colts I have at the moment both have great temperaments and they can take anything that I throw at them,” Bolger told Racing TV.

“They’re only different in the amount of work that they take. Mac Swiney takes very little work, whereas the other fella takes an awful lot of work, which is why I felt he would stand up to the three Guineas.”

“In my mind there isn’t anything ahead of him – the form is there now.”

Bolger also revealed the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot is the immediate target for Poetic Flare.

Horse Talk with Simon Jackson. Showcasing horse racing in London and the south east.