We have reached the second day of the Irish Guineas festival at the Curragh, and we have another very competitive days racing ahead. Check out our YouTube and Social Media channels for our teams’ thoughts on the feature race, the Irish 2,000 Guineas, but our racing experts have also looked through the undercard and highlighted a few selections below.
The Curragh Day Two
1:20 Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden (2yo)
We kick off with a 2-year-old maiden over 6-fulrongs at 1:20. There are some nice newcomers on display, most notably City of Troy and Norwalk Havoc, but there is no doubt that UNQUESTIONABLE sets a fair standard for them to aim at.
He finished 3rd to His Majesty in the Listed First Flier Stakes here 3-weeks ago. Sent off the 15/8 favourite, he was always travelling strongly and kept on well in the closing stages despite his inexperience. He has been given a Timeform Rating of 84+ for that effort and if he builds on his debut, he could prove hard to beat here.
1:55 GAIN Marble Hill Stakes (Group 3) (2yo)
One of our main reasons for highlighting Unquestionable was that if he runs well in the opening race, then it will only strengthen the claims of HIS MAJESTY in the second race at 1:55. This looks to be a very strong renewal of the Marble Hill, with 5 of the 6-runners arriving here having won on debut and the other, Valiant Force, was narrowly beaten by His Majesty in the First Flier Stakes.
We should get plenty of Royal Ascot clues from this contest, but there was a lot to like about the debut of our selection, who battled well despite being one of the first horses off the bridle. He looks sure to appreciate a strongly run 6-furlongs on decent ground and will probably be favourite for the Chesham at Royal Ascot if this race goes well.
2:30 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes (Group 2) (4yo+)
The Group races keep coming and we have the first sight of the older horses at 2:30 with the Group 2 Greenlands Stakes. The best way to describe this entire field would be talented, but inconsistent. They all have their quirks, and they all have the tendency to throw in the odd bad run, but there is a horse who looks like he might be ironing out some of his faults and that horse is GARRUS.
He produced a commanding performance to get the better of Commanche Falls and Creative Force in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket and if he arrives here in the same form, he will be hard to stop. Ryan Moore retains the ride for Charlie Hills and with only a field of 8 going to post, the widest draw shouldn’t really be an issue, especially if he travels as strongly as he did last time. He finished 3rd on his only previous start at the Curragh in 2019, so we know that he will handle the track and after a few years of experimenting, it seems that 6-furlongs run at a true gallop has been confirmed as his ideal set of conditions. He should go well.
3:05 FBD Hotels & Resorts Orby Stakes (Listed Race) (4yo+)
Before we get to the 2,000 Guineas, we have the Listed Orby Stakes over 12-furlongs and if there is a horse to watch, it should be Run for Oscar. He won the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in the autumn before running perfectly well in 3 starts over hurdles during the winter. This trip looks to be too short for him but if he runs well, particularly in the closing stages, then he could be a horse to note for a staying handicap at the Royal Meeting next month.
This race is wide open, but with a few question marks around most of the runners it may be worth forgiving OTTILIEN his poor effort on his return at Cork last month. Joseph O’Brien won this race last year with Raise You and although Ottilien didn’t match the level of form that he had shown for David Menuisier on his stable debut last month, if he returns to the level of form that he showed when finishing 3rd in the Prix de Royallieu he will be almost impossible to beat on these terms. His poor run last month will mean he is likely to be a bigger price than he should be on the balance of his form and in a race without a standout candidate, he is worth chancing.
4:15 Finlay Volvo Handicap (3yo)
At 4:15 we have the first Handicap of the day and with 15 lightly raced 3-year-olds going to post this won’t be easy. One thing that was very noticeable when studying this race was that there was a lot of early speed on show and with a strong gallop looking almost a certainty, we wanted to look for a horse who may be played later and that led us to BETTERDAYSRCOMING.
He has looked like a horse who has reached his peak but the return to better ground saw him find some improvement at Naas last weekend where he made good late headway despite racing wider than was ideal. He was within 2-lengths of Fort Vega and Broadhurst in that race and if he is able to match that form a week later, there is no reason to suppose that he won’t be able to make his presence felt here.
4:50 Novibet Guineas Festival Handicap (Premier Handicap) (4yo+)
Our partners at Novibet IE are sponsoring the 4:50 and this looks to be a very strong renewal of this Premier Handicap. Several of these runners arrive in top form, most notably Ceallach who is chasing a hat-trick on his return and Brave Troop who is chasing a four-timer after superb wins at Navan and Gowran Park. It is hard to form a very strong opinion but the recent run of NIBIRU caught the eye.
He can be a difficult horse to predict, especially as he refused to race on his last start over hurdles at Haydock, but he is talented on his day as he showed when 2nd to Gaelic Warrior at the Dublin Racing Festival. He was unlucky when second to Burren Song in a Lady Riders Handicap at Leopardstown last week, just failing to close down the winner who was in the process of completing a hat-trick and if he matches that form, he should go close here, for all that there are risks attached.
5:25 Bet Builder At Novibet Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden (3yo)
We end the card at 5:20 with the Bet Builder at Novibet maiden. There are several nice types on show but all of them will need to produce a very high level of form to get the better of UP AND UNDER.
Although still a maiden, he has already finished 2nd in the Ballysax to White Birch and 2nd again in the Derby trial behind Sprewell this season. A repeat of either effort will be more than enough to win this race and it will be a huge shock if he doesn’t break his maiden tag at the fourth time of asking.
The Curragh Day Two 27/05/2023 – Top Picks
Betting Irish 1000 Guineas – NRNB – 28th May 2023 -Odds Curragh | Novibet
