Kevin Blake's Big Race Verdict: Take on Irish 2000 Guineas jolly with 14/1 Rashabar

• Fields Of Gold a short-price favourite for Irish 2000 Guineas

• Jolly worth taking on with potential trapdoors awaiting

• Kevin Blake fancies Rashabar in his Big Race Verdict

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Field Of Gold was perceived to be an unfortunate loser of the English 2000 Guineas earlier this month and John and Thady Gosden's talented 3yo is out for redemption today, as he bids to win the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh (15:40).

He's a strong 1/12.00 favourite to win the race, but the Betfair Sportsbook have super-boosted his price to 6/42.50. To take advantage of this superboost just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

*Please Note: This superboost is provided by the Betfair Sportsbook and not by any of our tipsters or writers.

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The Classics return to our screens this weekend with the Irish Guineas meeting at the Curagh taking centre stage. The Irish 2,000 Guineas in the main event on Saturday (15:40) and it really does look like an excellent renewal of the race.

This contest has often been about staging a rematch from what we saw in the 2000 Guineas, but this year is more so about Field Of Gold representing that form line against a series of mostly new opponents.

Into the crocodile pit

Indeed, the presence of the John & Thady Gosden-trained Field Of Gold as the short-priced favourite adds serious layers of intrigue to the make-up of this race in tactical terms.

Rightly or wrongly, when a short-priced favourite in an Irish Classic is trained in Britain, the situation is very much likened to a dive into a crocodile pit. In general, Irish Flat racing is a much tighter race-riding environment than the British equivalent on a day-to-day basis and when the stakes are as high as they are in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, not a single inch will be given, especially to a British raider.

This is of course a generalisation and it doesn't always prove to be the case, but that is the reputation that these races hold and it often impacts the tactical mindset of the trainers and riders of those diving in amongst the crocodiles.

The worse case scenario can often be considered getting locked up in deep traffic with zero favours forthcoming, but jockeys can sometimes overcompensate by committing to wide positions, using early petrol to secure better early positions and/or potentially firing up their mounts by doing so.

It is a very fine tightrope that needs to be negotiated and races like these are the ones that sort the world-class big-race jockeys from the ones that are just very good.

Horse to blame for English Guineas defeat

A huge part of this race will revolve around Field Of Gold and what they choose to do with him.

Those that read my pre-race thoughts about the 2000 Guineas will recall that I was concerned about the wide draw for Field Of Gold given that Kieran Shoemark's first priority would be likely to be getting him into cover and settled as he had over-raced in the Craven.

Despite all the stick that Kieran got for the ride, I felt he did a fine job in achieving that goal, finding cover and getting Field Of Gold more relaxed that he had been in the Craven. Unfortunately for Kieran, the horse didn't deliver the push-button acceleration in the 2000 Guineas that he had in the Craven, with him looking not to let himself down as well on the descent into the dip on the firmer ground.

Once he met the rising ground and really flattened out to come home, he found himself with a little bit too much to do to chase down a horse that had flown in and out of the dip. While Shoemark got blamed for the defeat, personally I would be pointing more at the horse than the rider when assessing what happened.

Potential trapdoors mean jolly is worth taking on

Now, there could be consequences from that defeat in the form of the orders given to his new rider Colin Keane. A common flaw in human psychology is to overcompensate after experiencing short-term pain. After what happened at Newmarket, will Field Of Gold's connections approach this race with the mindset of the last thing they want to happen is for him to be delivered too late again?

That could lead to more risk-averse tactics that seek to lessen the likelihood of traffic problems or getting too far in the race.

A key factor in this plan could be Windlord (6) who is in the same ownership, has made the running in the past and wears first-time cheekpieces here. The tactics could well take the form of Field Of Gold (9) being asked to follow Windlord (6) on the wing of the field, out of trouble and with a friend to track.

That might sound all well and good, but the risk I see in that plan is that we should not forget just how free Field Of Gold was in deep cover in the Craven. He settled better in the 2000 Guineas, but a big part of that was the conservative ride that Shoemark gave him.

A more positive ride with less cover could well see him fire up again and race too freely. It will be fascinating to see how the Juddmonte team play it, but my inclination is to take on Field Of Gold at what looks a short price in a race that has it's share of potential trapdoors for him.

Tactical setup looks ideal for Meehan raider

In terms of what might represent some value at a bigger price, I'd be happy to make a case for the Brian Meehan-trained Rashabar, who was 20/121.00 when the day of the race market opened, but is now down to 14/115.00.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor won the Coventry Stakes at a big price last year, but very much backed up that form with close seconds in both the Prix Morny and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, finishing in front of Field Of Gold on the latter occasion.

Bred to be better as a three-year-old, he made a more than satisfactory return when being beaten by Jonquil in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury, shaping as if in need of the run. While he missed the Poule d'Essai des Poulains due to a minor hold-up, he can be expected to be in top shape for this contest. 

As much as anything, I like the look of the tactical setup for him. The race lacks an obvious leader bar him and with plenty of the big guns being likely to be ridden patiently, he might well be able to set a steady tempo in front on his first attempt at a mile.

The Curragh is a pace-favouring track and with Rashabar having a lot of pace, he might well take a fair bit of catching if allowing to dictate. He looks a big price to me. 

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