Leopardstown Racecourse 08/06/2023
Racing is off to Leopardstown on Thursday evening, with the Listed King George V Cup the feature race at 7:30. We will come to that later, but our team have looked through the card and highlighted a few of their best bets throughout the evening.
5:30 – Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden
Racing starts with a 2-year-old Fillies Maiden at 5:30. There is no obvious betting opportunity here, but we do have some very smart pedigrees on show, especially from Ballydoyle. Content is a Galileo out of the Nunthorpe winner Mecca’s Angel, whilst Opera Singer is a Justify filly who is a half-sister to the Breeders Cup winner Hit it a Bomb. If either ran well here, they could easily develop into Royal Ascot hopefuls but on debut, it can only be a watching brief.
6:30 – Irish Stallion Farms EBF Glencairn Stakes
Our first selection comes up at 6:30 in the Listed Glencairn Stakes. We have 7-runners going to post and 6 of them have to concede weight to Salt Lake City, who is the only 3-year-old to be declared. He was last seen finishing fifth behind Auguste Rodin the Futurity at Doncaster and would be of some interest on his seasonal return, although the drying ground may well be against him if his 2-year-old form is anything to go by (best efforts came on Soft or Heavy going).
He may outclass this field in receipt of a weight for age allowance, but with doubts over his fitness he is worth taking on. Giladah has run well in a pair of handicaps this season and she should run her race, for all that she has a lot to find based on the official ratings. The best piece of recent form on offer is that of Kerkiyra, who finished 3rd behind insinuendo in the Park Express last time, but the suspicion is that MOON DE VEGA was back to her best when she made her stable debut for Paddy Twomey at Gowran, and she gets the vote.
She was considered good enough to run in the Oaks last season (finishing 8th) when she was trained by Ralph Beckett and although she disappointed after that, she seemed to relish the better ground at Gowran to suggest that she had returned to form for her new connections. That was a weak race, but she dominated it to win by 3-lengths and if she builds on that effort, she should win this.
7:30 – King George V Cup
We move on to the feature race at 7:30. Joseph O’Brien has a pair of once raced fillies entered, with both Thunder Roll and Shamwari presumably in search of some early Black Type for their CVs. The former holds an Irish Oaks entry and is an interesting prospect, but neither look likely to trouble the in-form NEW VARIANT. Trained by Jim Bolger, he has improved significantly this season since winning a maiden at Tipperary in April and his 10-length demolition of Roman Hands in a Rated race at Naas was a sign of better things to come. He was given a Timeform rating of 103 for that win, which puts him top in this field and with his stamina assured, he looks the most likely winner.
8:30 – Leopardstown Handicap
Our final selection comes up in the lucky last at 8:30. We have 16-runners going to post for this 3-year-old handicap over the mile course, but the horse who appeals most is BATAAN. A filly by Showcasing, she has been given an opening mark of 68 after 3 relatively quick runs in handicaps in October and November last year.
She was sent off at 5/1 for her 3rd start, when she chased home the subsequent Derby 3rd White Birch (finished 6th beaten 10-lengths at Dundalk) and the race report states that she was “Not Knocked About” which is a fair description of an educational ride. She is bred to do better as a 3-year-old and has achieved more than her stablemate Mobilise, who also makes his handicap debut in this contest.
Provided that she has trained on over the winter, she could make her opening mark of 68 look very lenient and is of obvious interest on handicap debut, especially if she is supported in the early markets.
Curragh Racecourse 07/06/2023 – Top Picks
