Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 19 May 2009 / Leave a comment

It's a cracking weekend for Irish racing with Delegator and Mastercraftsman going head-to-head on Saturday. Meanwhile, Sunday's big race sees Cuis Ghaire take on Fantasia and Again. Wayne Bailey takes an early look at both markets...

3:45 - Boylesports.com Irish 2,000 Guineas (Group 1) 1m

The 89th Irish 2,000 Guineas takes place this weekend and the early money has pushed Delegator into favouritism around [3.0]. He went off at [4.7] on Betfair at Newmarket, but there was no stopping the John Oxx-trained Sea The Stars and he had to settle for second place in the end. Sea The Stars is absent from the declaration list this Saturday, and Delegator's trainer Brian Meehan is upbeat:"We shall have to monitor the ground, but it looks as though it will be easier than the surface at Newmarket and that should suit him."

The past seven winners of the Irish 2,000 Guineas all raced in the English version last-time-out, with three of those horses actually winning the Newmarket classic. The Aidan O'Brien trained Mastercraftsman still has some support, despite coming fifth in that race.

Some race readers are suggesting that he needs further than a mile, so it will be interesting to see where O'Brien takes him next should he fail to prove successful at the Curragh this weekend. In fairness to the Danehill Dancer colt, he ran into trouble in-running and Pat Smullen had to work hard to find some space in the final furlong. He looked like he was staying on, but it's unlikely he would have won so his current price of [4.3] for Saturday looks about right.

The John Oxx representative Rayeni is an interesting contender at [5.6]. We haven't seen him race since last October when winning the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown in good style, and he's expected to improve this season. The one downside is that the last horse to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas when making their seasonal reappearance t was Fourstars Allstar back in 1991 - however, it's become an expensive business trying to second guess John Oxx trained horses lately, and The Curragh based handler certainly knows which races to target, so I'm not going to be the one to question his approach.

Kevin Prendergast's Recharge comes next in the betting at [12.0] with the rest of the field priced [15.0] and upwards.


3:35 - Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas (Group 1) (Fillies) 1m

Finsceal Beo was only the second horse to do the English/Irish 1,000 Guineas double (Attraction being the first in 2004), but Ghanaati is missing from the declaration list so we won't see a repeat of that feat in 2009.

Jim Bolger's Cuis Ghaire is attracting early support, and I marked this horse down as one of my Flat Irish Horses to follow some time back. She was friendless at Newmarket going off at [19.0] on Betfair, but she surprised many by finishing ahead of Rainbow View and Heart Shaped and definitely has more to come. Both of those horses are listed in the early decs but neither have seen any real support as yet. It's well known that Jim Bolger thinks highly of this animal, so a win on Sunday would be a big boost for the yard. She currently trades around [25.0] for the Oaks at Epsom.

Once again, all recent winners had raced in the past two months, so David Wachman's Again will have to buck the trend as she hasn't been seen since coming 14th in the Group one Total Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp back in October. However, punters are forgiving that run it seems, and it would have been almost impossible to win from such a bad draw. Previously, she was very impressive when winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh and the word from the yard is that she's in flying form at home.

Luca Cumani has an early entry in the guise of Fantasia (pictured), and one on-course layer has told me that he's received a couple enquires about early prices from some notable backers. She couldn't produce the goods when going off odds-on in the Poule d´Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp, and she may need further - but otherwise her record is impressive and she has claims if making the final line-up.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that Brian Meehan's Super Sleuth (third in the English version) has been supplemented on Tuesday morning. Her breeder Philip Freedman told the press: "She has gone on soft ground at Newbury and it looks as though it will be pretty soft at the Curragh....It would be a very unusual way to lose the maiden tag. Yes, she is a maiden but she has been third in a Guineas, beaten in two photos in a Listed and a Group 3 so I think she is worthy of her place in the race."

Roll on the weekend!