Mick Halford is looking forward to seeing Dibayani test the water at Listed level in the Coolmore Canford Cliffs Stakes at Tipperary on Friday.
Following a most encouraging run behind The United States on his racecourse bow, Dibayani returned to the Curragh a long odds-on favourite for his next start.
While he was not as impressive as some might have expected, just getting the better of rank outsider Orgligo Bay, Halford was happy to see his charge get the job done in very soft ground.
“He’s been in great form since his last run and this looks a nice next race for him,” said Halford.
“He’s improving all the time and a Listed race is the obvious next step, so we’ll see how he gets on, but he should give a good account of himself.
“He didn’t win by far the last day, but it was testing ground and we didn’t want to ask him any more than we had to. He quickened up well when he needed to and you can only beat what’s put in front of you.”
Although Orgligo Bay could easily have gone for a maiden, his trainer John McConnell lets his two-year-old renew rivalries with Dibayani tomorrow.
The Curragh trainer said: “He’s all ready to go and he’s come on for his first run. We’ll find out how good he is, but he should run respectably,” said McConnell.
“I shouldn’t think there’ll be much in it between him and Dibayani. If he’s competitive I’d like to think we’ll be competitive as well. We could have just gone for a maiden, but this traditionally isn’t the strongest Listed race in Ireland and we thought it was worth a go. If it doesn’t work out, we can always come back and win a maiden with him afterwards.”
Aidan O’Brien saddles Gowran Park winner King George River, while Einsteins Folly, First Cornerstone, Ralston Road, Seussical and Reglisse complete the eight-runner field.
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