Naas stages its richest race on bank holiday Monday where the seventh renewal of the €200,000 EBF Ballyhane Stakes has its smallest ever field of just 12 runners.The six-furlong juvenile contest is eligible to the produce of sires with a median sales price of no more than €75,000. Last year’s winner Howd’yadoit was a €38,000 purchase and beat 20 opponents despite the overall prize-fund having been reduced from €300,000.From an original entry of 209 horses, there were 17 at the five-day stage, and a dozen will enter the stalls at 4.47pm on Monday.They include a pair of cross-channel raiders, both owned by Middleham Racing, while Aidan O’Brien will try to win for a third time through his colt South Dakota. His 96 rating is a benchmark, although he is dropping in trip from a mile.Joseph O’Brien won in 2022 with the 28-1 California Voce and bids to continue his form hot-streak with two hopefuls.O’Brien was crowned leading trainer at Goodwood last week with four winners, a feat even his father has failed to achieve. His quartet of victories came from just 11 runners, all ridden by champion jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle.Goodie Two Shoes proved the decisive success when delivering her owner JP McManus a first Goodwood victory in the Group Two Lillie Langtry Stakes.Browne McMonagle narrowly lost out on the leading rider gong with Ryan Moore winning five times, including at Group One level for Ballydoyle through Scandinavia and Diamond Necklace. He also won the Group Two Richmond Stakes for O’Brien snr with Man’s Best Friend.Dylan Browne McMonagle (green and gold) riding Goodie Two Shoes to victory in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood on Saturday. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Moore skips a trip to Naas on Monday, but Colin Keane, fresh from more Group One success aboard Blue Bolt in Sunday’s Prix Rothschild at Deauville, will be on duty for a handful of rides including Livenka, who might prove the Ballyhane solution.Third to the high-class Victorious on her debut, the Juddmonte-owned daughter of Bated Breath ran well over seven furlongs at the Curragh but looked to benefit from dropping in trip when breaking her maiden at Fairyhouse.As a half-sister to the Group One-winning sprinter Babouche, that could hardly be a surprise, and the form of that Fairyhouse effort has been boosted since.A low draw shouldn’t be an issue on quick going and Ger Lyons, who won it last year, also landed the Ballyhane in 2021 with another smart Juddmonte filly, Sacred Bridge.Earlier on the Naas card, Dermot Weld sends Hamiyan past a mile for the first time in a 10-furlong handicap. That could see an upturn in the gelding’s form judged on his staying on finish last time out.There is bank holiday jumps action in Cork and the easy Kilbeggan winner O’Grady Cracker looks up to defying a penalty in a handicap hurdle.Blue Bolt’s French success on Sunday was a second Group One in eight days for Keane following his King George success at Ascot the previous weekend on Kalpana.Once again, English trainer Andrew Balding supplied a Juddmonte-owned older filly to get the better of younger rivals as Blue Bolt proved just too strong for Aidan O’Brien’s Classic winner Precise in the closing stages of the one-mile Rothschild.Jim Crowley is applauded by fellow jockeys after announcing his retirement at Goodwood on Saturday. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire Precise briefly looked set to reverse the Falmouth Stakes order with Blue Bolt outside the furlong pole. However, Keane galvanised his partner up the stands rail and edged the verdict by half a length. Another English filly, Moon Target, was third, while Shane Foley was fourth on Evolutionist.“She’s some filly, she really is, and Colin gave her a wonderful ride,” said Balding. “I wasn’t very comfortable watching it. I thought we were beat, but he’s judged it to perfection.“She’s got great physical strength for a filly. That’s her biggest quality and she’s got the desire as well, that all helps. The great thing is she’s effective on any ground which is a big help,” added the trainer who nominated Leopardstown’s Matron Stakes over the Irish Champions Festival in September as a next target for Blue Bolt.He also indicated the Yorkshire Oaks could be a next target for Kalpana after her King George exploits. That could see a mouthwatering clash with last year’s winner Minnie Hauk and Johanna Walsh, who landed the Irish Oaks last month.In other news, the Shadwell operation has said it is “highly unlikely” they will replace former champion jockey Jim Crowley, who retired at the weekend due to injuries suffered almost a year ago.Crowley has been number one rider to the team set up by the late Sheikh Hamdan for a decade but suffered a serious fall at York last August and has called time on attempts to return to the saddle.“He’s done a brilliant job and obviously we’re going to miss him very much, but if I’m brutally honest, I’m glad for his sake,” said the long-time Shadwell spokesman Angus Gold. “I know it’s not the way he wanted to go out, but at least he’s up and moving, so to speak.“It was such a dreadful fall [that] it could have been an awful lot worse. I was quietly amazed either horse or jockey walked away from it.“We don’t have enough horses really to appoint a big-name stable jockey, so I think it’s very unlikely [to install a new number one]. This year we’ve been using the best available, in conjunction with the trainers, and I’m sure that will continue, certainly for the immediate future.”