Horse Racing Tips: Murtagh to open up the Flat season with Group 3 win

• Aidan O'Brien's Water Nymph down in distance

• Aga Khan filly can progess again

• Alan Dudman has two for the Curragh on Saturday

Water to triumph in the O'Brien family battle

Back Water Nymph @ 6/1 in the 14:50 Curragh

The dawn of the new Flat season in Ireland has attracted me like a moth to a flame this afternoon, and with field sizes in five of the races totalling 17, 26, 20, 18 and 19, it's certainly an afternoon to use those each-way multiples.

The key poser this year, and often faced with by many a punter is how forward will Aidan O'Brien's horses be? Hopefully it's the affirmative, as I like the claims of Water Nymph, especially as she's priced up at 6/1 on the Sportsbook.

The top four in the betting are all trained by one O'Brien or another, with Joseph and Donnacha saddling Honey Girl and Bold As Love.

Water Nymph was a back-end filly last season, as she didn't maker her debut until October. Her first effort at Killarney was a nothing sort of performance, clearly in need of the run and dropped away.

However, the benefit of that first run was evident and she finished second at Gowran Park and looked far more clued-up. It was quite the improvement in the space of a week.

Her mother Chenchikova has been a fine broodmare - having produced five individual winners with three winning on soft or heavy. The drop in trip is clearly the issue here, as she appeared to want going up rather than down from last season.

But she did make the running at Gowran Park, and with testing conditions, the 7f might feel more like 1m2f.

Water to triumph in the O'Brien family battle

Back Kerkiyra @ 7/1 in the 15:57 Curragh

The first sighting of the famed green and red livery of the Aga Khan will be spotted in one of the feature races today - the Group 3 1m Lodge Park Stud Irish EBF Park Express Stakes and 4yo mares/fillies have dominated this with four of the last six winners.

Johnny Murtagh's Kerkiyra fits the age bracket and she was progressive last term with improvement to the tune of 14lb.

She landed a Premier Handicap last term at the Curragh in 2022, and scored in a big field of 22. She followed that up with a decent effort in Listed grade.

The race to tap into though is that Curragh victory, as while the official going was yielding, times suggested it was more heavy and she handled the ground well over the 1m2f.

Indeed, she was wide for much of the race and her move inside the 2f marker saw her float into the inner part of the pack, and with the way she travelled, I have no issue with the drop back in distance today as she has enough pace.

She's a two-time winner at the track so clearly goes well here.

She did try 1m4f last term but didn't stay, and considering Murtagh's team are usually quite forward, I like her price at 7/1.