Fran Berry with four for My Stable from Ireland

A couple caught the eye over Guineas weekend at the Curragh starting with Red Evolution in the six furlong maiden.

It was run in quite tough conditions with a strong headwind and seemed to produce a good winner in Henri Matisse. The second, Cadogan, ran to his pre-race hype, but it was the performances of the third and fourth that I liked – particularly the third Red Evolution.

He was an expensive Craven breeze-up purchase at 300,000 guineas and having initially been keen out of the gates, he then found himself towards the stands’ side rail behind weakening rivals as the race began to develop more out towards the middle of the track.

His rider Colin Keane was forced to sit and wait for a gap which only appeared around the final furlong marker. Once getting the rail he picked up strongly to finish third, beaten just a short-head and a neck, eating up the ground very well late on.

Given the pre-race hype around some of the runners in this, Red Evolution emerged with a lot of credit and on the back of this run he looks a sure-fire maiden winner in the coming weeks. As can often be the case this time of year, connections may elect to pitch him into Listed or Group company but as regards going for a maiden, he’s almost a readymade winner as far as I’m concerned.

Sunday’s Gallinule Stakes may not turn out to be a genuine Irish Derby trial again, as it’s intended, but the winner Chief Little Rock was an impressive one having got to the front and just never looked like being caught from quite a long way out.

However, back in third, Ecureuil Secret was the eyecatcher having just the third run of his career. Stepping up in trip after running over a mile in his first two starts earlier this season, he pulled for his head and didn’t settle for the first couple of furlongs and it’s testament to his ability that once he finally settled, he was able to keep on in the final furlong to be third.

The first part of the race clearly didn’t go to plan and with the benefit of this race behind him, he could be dangerous wherever connections decide to take him next.

We’re in the dark with no entries at this stage but there’s potentially a chance they may wish to take him to Royal Ascot for the 10-furlong handicap for three-year-olds on the Saturday there (Golden Gates Stakes) and he might appreciate a sound surface having only really run on testing ground so far.

Also on Sunday, the steadily-run fillies’ maiden over a mile and a quarter produced quite a few promising efforts but none more so than Pink Orchid who was fifth for Aidan O’Brien and jockey Jack Cleary.

The third-string in betting terms, the daughter of Justify was making her debut and shaped far better than the bare result would suggest. The race got congested on the home turn and this filly found herself in amongst horses.

She had to be checked and lost momentum at a key stage when the pace quickened – the race turning into a bit of a dash – and she was rallying strongly before again getting a bit tight with her rivals, ultimately finishing strongly.

It was a highly encouraging effort and she looks one well capable of winning over 10 furlongs, if not a mile and a half, in the coming weeks.

The final one from last week is another from the Ballydoyle yard and Alfred Tennyson is worth noting after his debut run over five furlongs on soft ground at Tipperary on Tuesday.

Not a lot went right for him in the run but it was paddock inspection that suggested he’d improve a lot for the outing and that’s just how it looked really as he appeared to flounder around halfway before sticking on late without being unduly punished by jockey Ryan Moore.

There’s a chance he might be slightly overlooked in the betting on his second start given he could finish only fourth on debut, but there’s loads more to come from him with this initial outing under his belt which should tighten him up physically.