Haydock, York and Curragh Saturday Tips – DS
Haydock, York and Curragh Saturday Tips and Preview
It is pretty safe to say this is one of the busiest days of the year. In the UK we have action at Haydock, York and Goodwood. On the other side of the Irish Sea it is Guineas weekend at the Curragh. Check out who Dave Stevos fancies for the 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas. He is going to preview a selection of races from all four meetings this weekend. Check out his Haydock, York and Curragh Saturday tips below.
2.35 Haydock – Silver Bowl Handicap (Class 2)
I looked at the first three live races on ITV4 but couldn’t see anything at big enough odds. So, we start off Super Saturday with this £100k, 8f handicap for 3yos only. There is rain in the air at Haydock and while the ground was described as good on Friday evening, it should be softer by the time racing gets underway on Saturday. The fav here, Mighty Ulysses, is yet to encounter softer than good. He is a promising colt but his sire, Ulysses, has only produced one soft ground winner so far.
Quite a few of these have it to prove on soft but one horse who will handle it is Ring Of Beara. This son of Wootton Bassett was an excellent second to Irish Guineas hopeful Imperial Fighter on debut at Goodwood (7f sft). A 7.5f win on good ground at Ffos Las followed before he found things tough in a G3 at Newmarket (7f gd).
His pedigree suggests that a bit of an ease will suit. His dam is related to four winners and they all won on soft ground. Hughes’ charge’s comeback run was a non-event in a far less valuable contest than this and I am hoping that was just a prep run. On the form of his first two runs 92 looks a workable mark and Danny Tudhope is 1/5 with two top 4s for Hughes. At odds of 28/1, Ring Of Beara is the e/w selection.
Haydock, York and Curragh Tips: Ring Of Beara e/w @ 28/1
2.45 Curragh – Greenlands Stakes (Group 2)
Rain will also have an influence on proceedings at the Curragh. The fav here, A Case Of You, won’t care what the weather does. A winner on all sorts of ground, he was last sighted landing a massive pot in Dubai. If he is in the same form here, it is hard to see him finishing out of the frame. Last year’s runner up Make A Challenge will relish the rain that has fallen. Denis Hogan’s sprinter loves easy ground and the last time he had it, he finished 2nd behind Gustavus Weston in this race.
However, the fact that Seamie Heffernan rides has put me off. Joe Doyle, Make A Challenge’s regular pilot, has jumped ship and he rides Hogan’s other contender, Majestic Colt. This German import caught my eye when I was studying the Listed heat he ran in at Naas last time. He trailed in 5th, 6L behind the winner Brostaigh, but with that run under his belt and returned to softer ground, he could take a big step forward.
His form figures with soft in the ground description read 2131122 and six of those runs were in Listed or G3 company. It is hard to weigh up that form for the most part but he beat Ainsdale by 4.5L when 2nd at Baden Baden last September (6f gd/sft). That horse finished ahead of Glen Shiel on his next outing at Ascot. Majestic Colt isn’t one to be having the farm on but at 66s, he is worth backing e/w for small stakes.
Haydock, York and Curragh Tips: Majestic Colt e/w @ 66/1
2.55 York – William Hill Handicap (Class 2)
York is set to remain relatively dry on Friday night/Saturday morning. The ground there today was good, good to soft in places so there should be a little bit of juice in the ground on Saturday. Fourteen will go to post in this 5f sprint and it looks an open contest. Tim Easterby runs three and the one I like is the biggest priced of them, Showalong.
This former C&D Novice winner (5f sft) ran really well in a 6f handicap here last season off 92 (gd/fm). He is pretty versatile regarding ground and his best effort this year came on his penultimate start at Ripon (5f gd). In that race he was beat 0.5L off 82 and last time at Hamilton a combination of a testing track and a poor start meant he never landed a blow.
The assessor has dropped him back to 82, 10lbs lower than when beat 3L here last season. Jo Mason rides and she is 1/5 with two Top 4s when riding for Tim Easterby. This horse last won a handicap off 85 at Chester last season so he is now 3lbs below that mark. With trip, track and ground all to suit, Showalong is the e/w selection.
Haydock, York and Curragh Tips: Showalong e/w @ 20/1 NB (5 places)
3.10 Haydock – Sandy Lane Stakes (Group 2)
Gis A Sub is a horse long time followers should be familiar with. We backed this horse twice last year. At Goodwood Kevin Stott took a pull on him and he hated being held up. Next time at York Stott learned from his mistake and he ran a cracker to finish 2nd, beat 1.25L by Lusail. Connections put him away for three months after that run and had a go at a G2 in France. The very soft ground blunted his speed though and he trailed in 6th of 6.
While there is rain forecast at Haydock, it is unlikely to be as soft as it was in France. It was good to soft for his return at Hamilton and while he was beaten at short odds, I am hoping it was because he needed the run rather than not handling the ground. If he can ping the gates from stall 3 and get his own way in front, Gis A Sub could sneak into the money at odds of 33/1.
Haydock, York and Curragh Tips: Gis A Sub e/w @ 33/1
3.45 Haydock – Temple Stakes (Group 2)
Last year’s runner up, Moss Gill, looks a big price at 16/1. Ed Bethell’s son of No Nay Never isn’t the easiest to win with. He has won five of his twenty two starts but he should have won more with the ability he possesses. His last triumph came at York in a Listed heat back in July 2020 (5f gd). Since then he has run some massive races in defeat, including at the top table.
In August 2020 he finished 3rd in the Nunthorpe (5f gd), 3L behind the mighty Battaash. Last season he ran his best race in this contest when beat a neck by King’s Lynn (5f gd/sft). On his final outing of 2021 he reversed that form with King’s Lynn emphatically but it was still only good enough for 2nd, 0.75L behind Hurricane Ivor.
Bethell’s charge got to within a length of today’s favourite Winter Power at York last season too. He was giving her 7lbs that day and he is 4lbs better off with her now. Moss Gill has an excellent record on his seasonal comebacks (212) and he won’t mind a drop of rain. 16/1 looks far too generous and if he produces what he is capable of, he should be bang there at the business end.
