2024 Naas Madrid Meeting Preview & Tips – DS
2024 Naas Madrid Meeting Tips
Saturday started well and finished even better. The bit in the middle wasn’t great but to end up with winners at 16s and 20s and a 20s place, not a bad day at the office. We go in search of more places (and winners) tomorrow, Dave Stevos’ 2024 Naas Madrid Meeting preview is below.
2.35 – Devoy Stakes (Listed)
There’s nothing of interest in the opening two races so we’ll start here. Just seven have been declared for this 10.5f Listed heat and the ground is going to be bottomless. Serious Challenge is the only one with a recent run and it was a fine effort in the Irish Lincoln last weekend. Jim Bolger’s son of Fracas handles this sort of ground and that fitness edge could be huge in these conditions.
Is there anything at a price worth a second look? Not really, to be honest. Alanya is a talented mare that hails from a shrewd yard. However, her two runs on soft and heavy haven’t been great and she was pulled on account of slow ground at Listowel last year.
Lady Lunette has won on soft and she ran alright in a Fairyhouse G3 on her final start of 2023. However, there’s a valuable fillies’ handicap at Gowran next month that I suspect she might be aimed at as she won her maiden there. If Sunchart was double figure odds I might be tempted by him e/w but he’s only 8s. Unfortunately, this is a no bet race.
2024 Naas Madrid Meeting Tip: No Bet
3.10 – Madrid Handicap (Premier)
A dozen 3yos will fight it out for the 26k first prize and Aidan O’Brien, who won it last year with a little known horse called Paddington, provides the market leader. Military, a maiden winner here on good to yielding last September (7f), gets in off a mark of 100 and Wayne Lordan rides.
He ran really well in a fast ground G3 at Newmarket after his maiden win but he was a shade disappointing on his last run of 2023 on heavy. Looking at his pedigree, he may need better ground than he’ll get here.
Ground Key
Jim Bolger didn’t get a winner last weekend at the Curragh but he had a few run nice races and even though she is 3lbs out of the weights, Neo Smart could outrun her odds for him here. This filly is by Belardo, a sire whose progeny usually relish this type of ground.
She was kept busy last year, running eight times, and her best effort by far came on debut when a neck behind the now 110 rated Porta Fortuna at the Curragh (5f hvy). She ran alright in a 6f handicap off 76 back here on her penultimate run of the season, shaping as though 7f would suit better.
Bolger’s filly finally broke her duck in November, winning a Dundalk maiden. She had Bergamasco 6L behind who has won twice since and the 3rd home also came out and won next time.
Given that she ran so well on bad ground on her debut last year, she could be a filly that comes to hand early. She should like the conditions, she has a strong pilot in Rory Cleary on board and hopefully she can sneak into the frame at odds of 50/1.
2024 Naas Madrid Meeting Tip: Neo Smart e/w @ 50/1 (4 places)
3.45 – Far Above Handicap (4yo+)
As is often the case at this time of the flat season, the horse I like here’s fitness has to be taken on trust. Ramiro, formerly trained in England by Brian Ellison, has his second start for McLoughlin and if there is one thing for certain, he absolutely relishes bad ground.
The son of Born To Sea has career form figures of 1115223 on ground with heavy in the description. He ran a lovely race on his stable debut at Dundalk three months ago off 75, keeping on well for 4th off 75 in a first time hood (retained). That’s the same mark he races off here and he’s only 2lbs higher than when beat a neck at Newmarket on his last run for Ellison.
His last win came off 70 but he did win off 78 at Limerick a few years back and that Newmarket run proved he is more than capable of being competitive off his current rating. Joey Sheridan has finished in the frame in three of his four rides for this stable (1 win) and he had a sighter on this fella at Dundalk. If he is fit, Ramiro is capable of outrunning his odds of 18/1.
2024 Naas Madrid Meeting Tip: Ramiro e/w @ 18/1 (5 places)
4.20 – King of Change 3yo Handicap (47-70)
Three year old handicaps can often be trappy and you can’t get much trappier than this. Dark Viper, who ran a huge race at the Curragh on Monday over 6f, is the most likely winner. This is similar ground and he looked like he might appreciate an extra furlong. Interestingly, his previous trainer Richard Hannon never ran him on soft, maybe he missed a trick.
Apollo Prince rates as an obvious danger, if fit. However, the bookies haven’t missed him and instead, I’m going to take a punt on Rogerwaswrong at a big price. This fella was in action last month at Dundalk so he should be fit. It wasn’t a great effort off 47 but perhaps he needed it after a winter break.
Best Effort
His best effort by far last year came on his first run on heavy at Bellewstown (7.5f). Running off 51, he finished third in that nursery, beat just over 4L. His next run came just 19 days later at Gowran and he finished sixth, again on heavy ground, beaten 6L.
That was his fourth run in six weeks so maybe he was over the top for that last run. Like Neo Soul, he’s wrong at the weights here but that is negated by Rory Mulligan’s 10lbs claim.
Sean Davis hasn’t had a winner yet as a trainer (0/46) but he had one go close at Dundalk on Friday. If Rogerwaswrong can repeat the form of his Bellewstown run off effectively 9lbs lower, hopefully he can do the same and sneak into the frame at odds of 25/1.
