Top 40 Prospects winner Patrick Sarsfield makes a mockery of mark

The Top 40 Prospects in Ahead On The Flat continue in decent form with Patrick Sarsfield (6/5) making a mockery of an opening mark of 86 at Leopardstown on Sunday. Joseph O'Brien's four year old, who had been gelded during the winter, was stepping up to nine furlongs for the first time on his handicap debut and justified short price favouritism with a dominate display. Always to the fore, the son of Australia led turning for home before strolling clear to win by five lengths. It will be interesting to see if he entered for a handicap under a penalty at the Curragh's Irish Derby meeting next weekend because he will never race off such a lenient mark again. Having only raced a handful of times, he is open to significant improvement and, given his sire, he ought to stay at least ten furlongs in due course. He is an exciting prospect for his young trainer.