Irish Oaks weekend at the Curragh: The main races previewed

005 Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 11 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Bailey marks your card as Ireland hosts its fourth Classic of the season

Economic downturn?

No one told the Curragh racecourse thankfully, and they finally got the go-ahead for the much awaited €100m re-development.

Described by the Irish turf club as "the biggest development project in the history of Irish racing", the 50,000 spectator new course will incorporate a hotel, bars, restaurants and even a museum. The building work gets underway in September next year, so the 2010 classics will take place at Leopardstown instead - handy for those of us who live next door to that track!

For the moment however, we'll have to make do with the old Curragh set-up, but that's not to say the racing itself isn't up to scratch:

Saturday, 4:00 - Keeneland Minstrel Stakes (Group 3)

As usual, it looks like a small field for this contest, but that's doesn't mean you must settle for a small price. Indeed, I'm keen to take on the likely market leaders Al Qasi and Georgebernardshaw. In fairness to the former, he was well out of his depth in the Juddmonte at Newbury last time out so his last run can be forgiven. It's fair to say however, it looks like he peaked as a three year old, and I believe his best days are in the past.

Georgebernardshaw hasn't lived up to his hype, and Group racing may be out of his league for now. Still, there'll be plenty of people willing to follow the horse simply because he's from O'Brien's yard - thus ensuring a short price for the layers.

Personally, I'm far more interested in Jessica Harrington's Jumbajukiba - a course and distance winner that hasn't deteriorated with age. The bookies have him pencilled in at 11/2 but I'd expect a far better price on Betfair come race time.

Suggestions:

• Back Jumbajukiba
• Lay Al Quasi
• Lay Georgebernardshaw in the place market

Saturday, 4:30 - Keeneland International Stakes (Group 3)
Again, I'm keen to avoid the top end of the market here, and Regime doesn't offer much value in what looks like a tight one. Lisvale may be the dark horse of the race, and looks set to go off at a nice price. He won a listed race at the Curragh with ease last time out, and a race at Group level is the obvious next step. Lord Admiral has a good Group record and shouldn't be too far off.

Suggestion:

• Back Lisvale for a win and place

Sunday, 3:35 - Dubai Duty Free Anglesey Stakes (Group 3)

Aidan O' Brien has three entered here, but Westphalia is clearly the best betting proposition. Already, people are mentioning his name as a Newmarket 2000 Guineas horse, and if he can repeat his performance when breaking his maiden tag back in May, he'll have no problem taking these on. The big danger should be Kevin Prendergast's Heart of Fire, who was good enough to win a listed race last time out at Cork.

Suggestion:

• Back Westphalia

Sunday, 4:10 - Darley Irish Oaks (Group 1) (Fillies)

It's the big one, and I've already nailed my colours to the mast in Tuesday's article by suggesting a back bet on Moonstone. She's in to 7/4 with the bookies, so the 3.2 available then looks like a good price. As mentioned in that article, Katiyra should give her the most to do and I'll keep her on my side in the place markets. Chinese White looks out of her depth and I believe she'll run out of steam in the business end of the race.

Suggestions:

• Back Moonstone
• Back Katiyra in the place market
• Lay Chinese White in the place market

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