Saturday Irish Racing Tips: Mashhoor a good each-way bet on start of the flat

• A big-priced each-way bet in the Irish Lincolnshire

• Insinuendo could be too classy

• Unexposed Broadhurst to land maiden

The deep, dark days of winter are starting to fade in the rear-view mirror and Saturday marks the biggest turning point for racing fans as the flat turf season gets underway at the Curragh in Ireland.

We have to wait another week in the UK before we get the Lincoln at Doncaster but Ireland's equivalent, the 1m Paddy Power Irish Lincolnshire (15:25), is a fiendish puzzle to solve and will certainly whet the appetite of those that love competitive flat handicaps.

Lattam was a horse I had on my radar for a race such as this last season after he started his career with a pair of promising wins in novice company at Haydock and Thirsk. However, the wheels rather came off when he stepped into handicap company at Yarmouth and York, failing to make much of an impact in either of those runs.

The fact that the excellent William Haggas is persevering with Lattam as a 4-y-o is a big hint that the son of Lope De Vega is much better than he showed on those two outings and it would be no surprise to see him go close here, although he is towards the head of the market and plenty has to be taken on trust.

Low-mileage Mashhoor a big price

Johnny Murtagh's Mashhoor is another lightly-raced type who disappointed on his final start last season, but he's a much bigger price than Lattam and could be worth chancing to bounce back.

This well-bred son of Kingman only ran three times last season and it could well be significant that he gets back on an easy surface here, connections citing the quick ground as an excuse for his Royal Ascot disappointment when last seen.

Mashhoor ran out an impressive winner of a good Cork handicap on easy ground prior on to his poor run at the Royal meeting and he still looks fairly handicapped off mark of 96.

With just eight runs under his belt, he's also still low mileage for his age and it could well be that his draw in stall 29 is the ideal place to be, too.

Runners have tended to win from most draws over the past few years in this race, but the majority of fancied horses appear to be in high stalls this year and the pace also seems to be a little stronger in the double-figure boxes.

With plenty in his favour, Mashhoor looks overpriced at 25/1, particularly with enhanced each-way terms available on the Sportsbook.

Insinuendo can go one better in Group 3 contest

The 1m Group 3 Park Express Stakes at 15:57 looks to provide an ideal opportunity for last year's runner Insinuendo to go one better.

Willie McCreery's 6-y-o mare brings some solid Group form to the table, not least when denied only by the previous year's 1000 Guineas winner Mother Earth in this contest on her seasonal return last term.

She can also boast a runner-up finish behind Luxembourg on second start last season, was well as making the frame in the Fillies & Mares contest on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot last October.

Any one of those efforts would likely be enough to get the job done here, for all that Insinuendo is probably at her best over just a bit further than this 1m trip.

The current soft to heavy ground should ensure that the emphasis is firmly on stamina in this year's renewal, which ought to play into the hands of one that clearly stays much further.

Expensive Ballydoyle purchase to break maiden

The final horse to concentrate on is Aidan O'Brien's Broadhurst in the 7f maiden at 16:32 and he has strong claims of going one better than when runner-up on debut at Navan last May.

He's clearly had his share of problems since then but this €620k purchase can start making up for lost time now, and it could well be significant that O'Brien's charges hit the ground running in the first few weeks of last year's flat season, hitting at a 25% strike-rate.

Wayne Lordan became an increasingly important part of the Ballydoyle team in 2022 and he'll no doubt be looking to cement that partnership this term, starting with a win on this son of No Nay Never.

The form of the maiden that Broadhurst debuted in last year looks strong and there is probably still plenty of hope in the yard that he can go on to become a pattern-class performer.

If that's to be the case, he really needs to be going close here.