Irish Racing Preview: Curragh Betting Preview

005 Irish Racing / Editor / 26 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

If the Galway Festival is all about quantity, then Today's Curragh card is all about quality. Niall Cronin has examined the formbook and is confident of boosting the 'tank' ahead of a week out West!

An upcoming feast of top quality and entertaining horse racing gets underway at Irish flat racing's HQ today with the Phoenix Stakes the feature on the eve of the Galway Festival which is set to be yet another epic week.

At Leopardstown last Thursday evening Rip Van Winkle raced his way to the head of next year's 2,000 Guineas betting with an ultra impressive performance in beating antepost favourite for the fillies equivalent Cuis Ghaire (11.5).

Rip Van Winkle is now trading around about [10.5] on Betfair for next year's Newmarket assignment but there is sure to be plenty of activity in that market following today's showcase which also involves a Ballydoyle inmate.

Mastercraftsman is trading at around about a [3.7] chance on Betfair with the Michael Bell trained Art Connoisseur the jolly at [2.3] or thereabouts. Johnny Murtagh, retained jockey to the Coolmore operation rather than just Ballydoyle alone, would have clearly had the choice of three in this six-runner contest with only two being of relevance.

Indeed Murtagh could have made a major oversight here as the David Wachman trained Bushranger is the one who could be set to cause an upset carrying the colours of Derrick Smith.

Bushranger will probably be a very best priced [4.0] on the exchanges once we get a settled market and it may well be worth snapping up.

This Danetime colt won a Tipperary maiden in June and while it didn't look the very strongest of contests it hasn't worked out to bad and the winner has subsequently went on to finish second in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot when things just didn't go his way. Wayne Lordan was back in the plate when Bushranger returned to winning ways at the Curragh on Oaks weekend and there was a lot to like about the manner in which he went about his business to suggest that this Group 1 is far from beyond him.

Whatever happens, betting for next year's 2,000 Guineas is set to be significantly different with Art Connoisseur (14.5), Mastercraftsman (20), and Bushranger (28) all set to fluctuate to some extent.

Today's opener is the listed Curragh Stakes, where incidentally, Nubar Lady, who was second to Bushranger in that aforementioned Tipperary maiden lines up for Tommy Stack and ironically Wayne Lordan will be doing the steering. Stack's filly (also by Danetime), has ran very consistently to her credit in all six of her racecourse starts and indeed, her run in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot was very eye-catching.

However it is another which caught the eye at the Royal meeting who gets the NAP tag of the weekend. Northern Ireland-based Andrew Oliver will have come to the attention of many in the last season or so and had Connie Mac finished ever so slightly better in the Queen Mary Stakes, Oliver would have escaped the attention of very few.

This Elusive City filly ran a blinder that day finishing in front of Nubar Lady and although she hasn't been seen since, Connie Mac is selected to maintain the form of that run at Royal Ascot and further enhance both her own reputation and that of her trainer.

The colours of the O'Rourke family and the Plantation Stud were carried to one of their most famous victories almost 12-months ago when Farmer Brown landed the Galway Hurdle and carrying those same colours, the John Oxx trained Age Of Chivalry can land the listed Sweet Mimosa Stakes.

It may not be as high-profile as Farmer Brown's success but it is ironically fitting that on the eve of the Ballybrit activities that those colours can return to the winners enclosure on the card's chief supporting race.

The selection has proven somewhat expensive to follow this season, winning just the once but last time out the three-year-old Invincible Spirit filly met a real classy sort in Cheyenne Star and is selected to go one better on this occasion over the likes of Dimenticata.

At 4.45, the fillies line up for the only maiden on the card, the Grangecon Stud fillies two-year-old maiden and this really looks a wide open affair for which early morning market moves will be one of the best guides. Only seven of the 17 runners have previous experience and in fairness at least two of them could be discounted without much thought. As well as that all the top yards are represented with Aidan O'Brien, Jim Bolger, Dermot Weld and Michael Halford all unleashing newcomers.

On jockey bookings Spira is the best of a Ballydoyle trio, whilst Again is the more fancied of David Wachman's duo. It may be best to take a watching brief here but Spira, a daughter of Saddler's Wells would get a tentative vote.