Blanc de Blanc favored versus the boys in Patton at Dundalk

Feb 26, 2026

Friday’s Patton at Dundalk offers points on the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby, but there are no early Triple Crown nominees in the field. The one-mile affair at the Irish track has more potential for the European classics.

Amo Racing’s well-regarded filly Blanc de Blanc, who holds early entries in the May 24 Irish 1000 Guineas (G1) and July 18 Irish Oaks (G1), is the hot favorite to extend her record to 2-for-2.

Purchased for $575,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September, Blanc de Blanc is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Not This Time and a blueblood Galileo mare. The Robson Aguiar pupil made a winning debut Jan. 9 over this Polytrack course and distance, albeit by only a neck after racing greenly. While Blanc de Blanc needs to improve here, she figures to do so with that first race under her belt.

$575,000 purchase Blanc De Blanc strikes on debut!

She had to survive a stewards' enquiry, but it was a winning start for @amoracingltd's youngster in the View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Fillies Maiden @DundalkStadium this evening pic.twitter.com/yT1KHa8RdZ

— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) January 9, 2026

Amo Racing won last year’s Patton with a first-time starter, Titanium Emperor, by Night of Thunder.

Trainer Joseph O’Brien now tries the same gambit by unveiling Power Strike, another Night of Thunder colt, in this spot. Owned by Jaber Abdullah, the Irish-bred is out of a Frankel mare from an excellent family. Power Strike has the pedigree power, if not the experience.

Kentucky-bred Outlaw Man finished a clear second in a Jan. 9 course-and-distance maiden that went in a faster time than Blanc de Blanc’s maiden. The Michael O’Callaghan colt now adds a hood.

Flanker Jet, who was a distant third behind Outlaw Man that day, has improved in the interim. A stablemate of Blanc de Blanc’s from the Aguiyar yard, Flanker Jet wheeled right back to score his maiden win going seven furlongs. He just missed by a nose under top weight in his latest at that distance, and he’ll try to maintain his momentum stretching back out to a mile on Friday.

Blanc de Blanc is not the only filly taking on the boys in the Patton. Liberation Date, by the hot young sire Ghaiyyath, should enjoy stepping up to a mile from her seven-furlong maiden win. All the Girls also sports a maiden victory over this track, but she was a well-beaten second next time out.

Whatchadoin is the most experienced entrant with eight career starts to his credit. By champion freshman sire Starman, the Josh Halley trainee was beaten just a half-length in a course-and-distance handicap Jan. 23.

The other two contenders are switching surfaces in their seasonal reappearances. The David Marnane-trained Redemption Road won a maiden at Tipperary last summer, but his best piece of form is a runner-up effort during Listowel’s Harvest Festival in September. Jessica Harrington’s Echo of Faith was last seen Aug. 19, breaking his maiden over the Roscommon turf.

Redemption Road, Echo of Faith, and Whatchadoin rank as co-highweights lugging 137 pounds in the Patton. They’re conceding weight all around, most notably to Blanc de Blanc and Liberation Date, who get in with 129 pounds.

The Patton goes off at 1 p.m. ET, and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.