Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 16 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Irish racing analyst Wayne Bailey picks out five horses trained in the Emerald Isle for his 2009 flat season notebook...

Mastercraftsman
(Three-year-old colt, trained by Aidan O'Brien. Lifetime record: 11114)
I was lucky enough to find myself in Longchamp for the 2008 Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe meeting - but I was unlucky enough to back Mastercraftsman in the Prix Jean-luc Lagardere at [1.6]! The Irish trained horses had a poor time in Paris, and Mastercraftsman missed the break costing him a couple of lengths. It's very doubtful that he would have won anyway, but it was disappointing to lose a serious amount of dough at those odds on what I believe to be a great horse. Instead of Champagne as promised, the wife had to settle for a bottle of cheap plonk with her meal that night!
So why am I keeping the faith? Firstly, there was a strong word in the Irish bars on race morning that Mastercraftsman didn't travel over to France too well. While following the rumour mill is the quickest way to the poorhouse in this game, I should have known better than to plough in at such shorts odds, in what I'll admit was a partly patriotic bet - something I've warned punters against on these pages before. But more importantly, I can now see that he was starting to tire after a fantastic season and with the benefit of hindsight, a trip to Paris may have been a bit too much to ask.
I'm not the only one keeping faith, and Betfair punters have pushed him into favouritism for the 2,000 Guineas at [5.8]. That price is a little short for me just yet, but I'm going to keep a close eye on the Craven today (3.35 Newmarket) where Delegator's race will have an impact on the betting.


Cuis Ghaire
(Three-year-old filly, trained by Jim Bolger. Lifetime record: 11128)
Her form tailed off as a two-year-old at the end of the 2008 season, and without doubt her worst performance was her latest race in the Group 2 Ballygallon Stud Debutante Stakes at Leopardstown back in August. She only managed eight place out of nine runners, despite going off at a Betfair SP of [2.82]. However, Jim Bolger is adamant that the soft ground was the only problem that day and she's definitely one to follow. I met the teetotal handler (at a Cheltenham event of all places) last month and he insists she's wintered well. I'm not keen on taking [15.0] ante-post in the 1,000 Guineas if she's so dependent on ground, but I don't believe we've heard the last of her yet and will definitely keep any eye on her when she runs again on firm ground.

Mad About You
(Four-year-old filly, trained by Dermot Weld. Lifetime record: 1233228131)
I did my brains on this horse when she was beaten at the Curragh at [1.37] recently, and the perils of early season betting at short odds were hammered home once again to those of us foolish enough to take that price. She hit [1.03] in-running and looked home and hosed - however, Oh Goodness Me had different ideas and Mad About You could only manage third place, with stablemate Firey Red coming second. I got my money back when she found herself in the winners' enclosure last Sunday and the first time blinkers work a treat for her concentration levels. She's a few Irish entries coming up in May, and Weld has been very pleased with her progress.

Oh Goodness Me
(Three-year-old filly, trained by Jim Bolger. Lifetime record: 031221)
As mentioned, she beat Mad About You in a Group 3 race at the Curragh, and that performance commands respect. She has an entry in the 1000 Guineas amongst other races, but I believe she'd like further and it's not 100 percent clear what her target is. She's perhaps suited to soft ground, but she seems a versatile sort and is definitely one for the notebook in 2009.

Baron De'L
(Six-year-old gelding, trained by Eddie Harty. Last ten races: 7491144481)
I won't list all 37 career races above, but you can see from his last ten runs that this dual purpose hurdler and Flat horse has been a great servant to the Dobbins Syndicate and trainer Eddie Harty. Once again, he returned to winning ways last-time-out at his favourite venue: The Curragh. Indeed, each of his six career wins to date were at Irish HQ and his trainer was ecstatic to see him win a Listed race at this stage of his career, stating that he would love to give him a run around Ascot. It's also noteworthy that all career wins were over the 1m2f distance (six wins from 12 attempts) so it will be interesting to see where he goes next. He may go hurdling later on this year, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him win another good flat race throughout the summer and will keep an eye on his entries for that code.