DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14
3.15 CURRAGH
Rain during the morning should ensure the underfoot conditions ride softer than originally forecast and with that in mind, TWO STARS (best price 11-2) stands out as the value pick at the morning odds.
Fozzy Stack’s inmate has encountered 10 races in his career, and only once did he not run on either soft or heavy ground and even then, he still managed to overcome quicker conditions than ideal to win.
He is, however, a totally different beast when the mud is flying and his rise through the ranks has been equally impressive.
Although he has yet to race beyond listed company, as we’ve seen so many times this season in the sprinting division there is hardly anything between top-quality handicappers and supposedly the best Group performers and that thin divide is even less noticeable when there are extreme conditions.
Interestingly, the four-year-old gelding has won on his last two starts at the Kildare venue off a long break and providing stall 12 helps his cause rather than hinders, a big run looks on the cards from this strongly built sort.
TWO STARS – 1-point each-way@11-2 (four places)
4.25 CURRAGH
Illinois has plenty of star qualities but at the same time he is far from unbeatable at this level and AL RIFFA (best price 9-4) might just turn out to have too much pace for Aidan O’Brien’s inmate in the latter stages.
The son of Wootton Basset has really improved of late since being stepped up in trip and his victory in the Curragh Cup here last time was testimony to that view.
The way he brushed aside his rivals was in the style of a horse who was just plain and simply different class, and it was a performance that clearly persuaded the Australian Bloodstock group to back their judgement and purchase him as a possible Melbourne Cup candidate.
With the big handicap at Flemington still over two months away, there is plenty of time for some fine tuning to take place, but victory here wouldn’t go amiss, and he has all the right credentials to do so.
AL RIFFA – 1point win@9-4
5.35 CURRAGH
Crown Of India quite rightly heads the market following his impressive soft ground win at Ascot last week but there is still a certain degree of bravery attached to those willing to accept a short price and of the better value options, punters could do worse than have a look at SHAOOL (best price 12-1).
Well backed to land a competitive fillies’ handicap here last time out, time may tell she faced an impossible task trying to concede weight to the improving three-year-old It’s A Heartbeat (late withdrawal in a Group 3 at Leopardstown yesterday) but even so, she still put up a brave fight to finish a creditable runner-up.
Moreover, she was forced wider than ideal off the home turn whereas the winner got a dream passage around the inside and, as a result, she can be marked up a considerably better than the bare result suggests.
A real soft ground lover and hailing from a yard who has already bagged two winners over Champion Weekend, Johnny Murtagh’s filly can do her bit for the ever-increasing pot for the Kildare handler.
SHAOOL – ½ point each-way@12-1 (six places)