Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips

Last Saturday was mostly frustrating. Lord Glitters didn’t get into the clear until too late but he ran a blinder to reward e/w support in 2nd. Alpine Stroll didn’t travel a yard and it looked as though something was amiss. Rosemary And Thyme wasn’t good enough and Makawee didn’t get the front-running ride I had hoped for. We go back into battle on Friday at the Curragh with a cracking card that includes three Group 3s as well as a Premier Handicap. Check out our Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire meeting tips below.

4.45 – Flame Of Tara Stakes (Group 3)

On Thursday the ground was good to yielding at the Curragh but that will likely change. It has been a sweltering few days here in Ireland and it should be beautiful, good ground for racing on Friday. It won’t be ideal for horses that like it testing but the rest won’t have any excuses. Aidan O’Brien runs two and he has won this for two of the last three seasons. Seamie rides debutant Lullaby, a nicely bred daughter of Galileo. Wayne Lordan gets the leg up on Kiss You Later, another daughter of Galileo who was well beaten on her debut but she is likely to improve plenty for that run.

Joseph also runs a daughter of Galileo, first time out winner Albula. She scored decisively in a mile maiden at Naas (gd) but that form has not worked out yet. Magical Lagoon has over 3L to find with Albula from that Naas race and if she settles better early on she could get a lot closer.

Trouble Nicely Bred

Jim Bolger runs She’s Trouble, a full sister to the reliable Smash Williams. She won her maiden on heavy but if she is anything like her brother, good ground should suit even better. Gradulations and Pink Fire Lily will need to take huge steps forward from their previous form to figure.

Unfortunately, just the seven run in this so it doesn’t make much appeal as a betting heat. In any case, the form is very hard to weigh up from those who have run and the unraced O’Brien filly won’t need to be anything special to land this race. Of those that have run, She’s Trouble is probably the most interesting one but she is short enough in the betting. This is one to watch with a view to future engagements. No bet.  

Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips: No Bet

5.15 – Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes (Group 3)

Another Group 3, this time over 9f for the older fillies. This has attracted a field of 13 horses and you could make a case for plenty. 10 of the last 11 winners have been 3yos. O’Brien (4) and Harrington (2) have won the last six renewals. Aidan only runs one this season but the O’Brien clan is still well represented by Joseph with four runners and Donnacha with one.

It is Shale who heads the market for Donnacha with Gavin Ryan booked. She has failed to fire so far this year but this represents a big drop in class for the former G1 winner. However, given her poor form this season she makes limited appeal at around 2/1.Champers Elysees has a similar profile but 4yos do not have a great record in this race. She has been beaten a combined distance of over 30L in four runs this season. She badly needs to rediscover her best form.

Flirting Looks Overpriced

At the prices, Flirting Bridge may be worth giving another chance to. She has so far failed to build on her excellent 2nd in the Guineas trial at Leopardstown (8f gd). In her defence, the bottomless ground was against her next time at Royal Ascot. At, Killarney I don’t think she was ridden to best effect.

When she ran well at Leopardstown she broke smartly and was sent forward by Wayne Lordan. She again broke very quickly from a wide draw at Killarney but Billy Lee took her back into midfield. She had a wide trip and I am not sure she appreciated being in amongst horses in the home straight. At Leopardstown she ran on really well for 2nd and on pedigree, this 9f trip looks ideal. If Lee rides her more aggressively today I think Flirting Bridge could hit the frame at odds of 25/1.

Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips: Flirting Bridge e/w @ 25/1

5.45 – Round Tower Stakes (Group 3)

Sam Maximus has form with some seriously good horses but the bookies haven’t missed him at around 9/2. Instead, I am going to take a punt on last time out maiden winner Drombeg Banner. This son of Starspangledbanner showed clear promise when 5th on debut at Naas (6f gd). He was a shade green in the closing stages that day but it was a nice run. Held up in rear, he was switched to the outer to make his challenge but he nearly ran into the back of Tio Dama. Once he got re-organised he stayed on very pleasingly all the way to the line.

New tactics were employed last time at Cork (6f sft). He came out of the stalls a bit slowly but Niall McCullagh got him to the front after a furlong. Drombeg Banner travelled very smoothly up until 1.5f out. Once he came under pressure, he quickened up well and beat Orinoco River by an ever increasing margin of 1.25L.

This will be a tougher task on different ground. However, he looked like he handled the faster conditions fine at Naas on debut, it was more inexperience that beat him. He should have no issues staying 6f and Ken Condon must rate him pretty highly to be running in this Group 3. With an extra place on offer from a couple of firms, Drombeg Banner is the e/w pick at 18/1.

Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips: Drombeg Banner e/w @ 18/1 NB (4 places)

6.15 – TRI Equestrian Handicap (0-100)

The interesting one here stepping back up to 6f is Shabaaby for Jimmy Levins and Donagh O’Connor. Formerly trained in the UK by Owen Burrows, this horse was picked up at the October sales for 16k. He managed three wins for former connections, two as a 2yo and one in 2019 when he was a 3yo. All of those victories came over 6f. However, he has tried the distance just twice for Levins on turf. On the first occasion he ran a huge race at Naas under today’s jockey off 92. He finished 2nd, just 2L behind the winner Coill Avon. It wasn’t so good on his next try at the trip at Fairyhouse but that was likely a stepping stone towards bigger pots later in the summer.

His run in June at Tipperary (5f yld) behind Master Matt was also an excellent one. That horse sluiced up in a Listed contest there on Thursday night and Shabaaby was only 1.5L behind him off a mark of 90. In June, the son of Kyllachy ran a nice race over 5f here in the Rockingham, beat 4.75L for the win but only 2L off a place. That effort came off 89 and after a below par run in a hot race on good to firm over 5f at Cork, he is now down to a rating of 87. On his form at Tipperary, his Rockingham effort and his last good run over 6f at Naas he is well capable of hitting the frame off his current mark. At odds of 20/1, he is the e/w NAP of the day.

Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips: Shabaaby e/w @ 20/1 NAP (5 places)

6.45 – Irish Cambridgeshire (Premier Handicap)

We were on In From The Cold at huge odds when he was an unlucky 4th at Galway (8f sft). He has disappointed the last twice, over 12f 4 days later and then in a Listed heat over 8f at Killarney a week ago. He had excuses for the first of those runs (coughing post-race). The son of Alhebayeb is in off 97, just 1lb higher than he was at Galway and the same mark off which he was beat just 2L by Lafayette in a C&D heavy ground handicap on his seasonal return. His last win came off 88 and so it is hard to argue that he is well handicapped. However, I do believe he is capable off this rating once things fall right for him.

His last three wins have come on soft/heavy but he has won on good. The ground was described as soft at Galway when he finished 4th. However, the winning time suggested it closer to good to soft. Sirjack Thomas won that race off 90 (Sheehy claimed 5lbs) and he is in off 100 today with McRedmond claiming 7lbs. That means Mulvany’s charge is effectively 7lbs better off for a 3.5L defeat. In From The Cold’s stablemate Comfort Line is drawn close enough to him and I am hoping he sets a scorching early pace like he tried to do at Galway. If he does, hopefully our selection can stay on late for place money at least from stall 19 at 50/1.

Lapin Looks Interesting

A higher draw has usually proved to be advantageous in this race in recent seasons but in case low numbers are favoured today, I am also going to take a chance on Pierre Lapin. Ado McGuinness has been farming these Premier Handicaps and this fella is a fascinating contender now upped in trip to a mile. A Group 2 winner at Newbury last season (6f gd/fm) he has had just one run since joining McGuinness in July. It came at Naas over 7f and he ran a very nice race in 3rd behind Mr Wendell.

On the evidence of that run, Pierre Lapin looks well worth trying at 8f. He admittedly has a speedy pedigree but one of his half brothers won over 10f and his dam is related to G1 winning miler Xtension. Nebo hacked up off 99 on his next outing (a neck behind Pierre Lapin at Naas) so a mark of 101 looks more than workable for Ado’s charge. Ronan Whelan keeps the faith and of those drawn low, Pierre Lapin makes most appeal at odds of 16/1.

 Curragh Friday Cambridgeshire Meeting Tips: In From The Cold e/w @ 50/1; Pierre Lapin e/w @ 16/1 (Both 6 places)