Poet Master seeking Gladness gold on seasonal bow

Poet Master returns to the scene of his finest hour for the Lester Piggott Gladness Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.

Karl Burke’s charge secured the biggest victory of his nine-race career so far at the home of Irish Flat racing last summer when running away with the Group Two Minstrel Stakes in the hands of Sam James.

The five-year-old went on to finish fifth in both Doncaster’s Park Stakes and the Prix de la Foret at ParisLongchamp and with opportunities to make his return on home soil thin on the ground, he travels back to Ireland for his reappearance at Listed level this weekend.

Burke said: “He’s a horse who has wintered really well, he’s definitely strengthened physically from the winter.

“It’s not ideal going away that far for his first run of the season and I’m sure he’ll come on for it, but there is no seven-furlong race I can run him in here until the first weekend of May at Haydock, which seems ridiculous.

“I thought about running him over six furlongs in the Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday but he’s not qualified because he won a Group Two last year, so we were a bit snookered and that’s why we’ve sent him over to Ireland.

“He’s in great form and looks really well, but I’m sure he’ll come on slightly for the run.”

Poet Master heads an 11-strong field, with Aidan O’Brien saddling the two three-year-old participants in Camille Pissarro and Officer.

Camille Pissarro rounded off a busy juvenile campaign with a Group One victory in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend, while Officer won over this course and distance on his sole start to date.

Joe Murphy’s Lord Massusus, the Charles O’Brien-trained Big Gossey and Jessica Harrington’s recent Naas scorer Hurricane Ivor also feature in a competitive event.