Ben Linfoot picks out three solid chances to consider for your Bank Holiday Monday bets from Ireland and France.
Queen Aminatu 3.35 Curragh
Look, the secret’s out, William Haggas doesn’t send them over to Ireland for the fresh air. We all know this and the bookies certainly know this, so Queen Aminatu will be prohibitively priced up for the Group 3 Coolmore Stud Circus Maximus Irish EBF Athasi Stakes.
The Haggas record in Ireland since 2018 is nine winners from 21 runners at 43%, a +£38.08 profit to SP from £1 stakes, Lattam’s last-gasp win in the Irish Lincolnshire last time out adding extra sparkle to an already shiny set of figures.
Seven of those nine winners were in Group races and Haggas is a master at spotting opportunities overseas for his elite-level runners, so it’s not really a surprise that Queen Aminatu has her first crack at Group company away from England.
Indeed, she won a Listed race at Deauville at the end of November, a career-best success, and she confirmed her liking for the all-weather with an impressive win at Newcastle on her seasonal reappearance earlier this month.
She’s well capable on turf, though, will handle the soft conditions fine and she’s best-in on official ratings in a race her trainer won in 2020 with With Thanks. She’s very solid and will be the cornerstone of Monday’s bets.
Queen Maedbh – 3.00 Curragh
It’s a quality card at the Curragh and earlier on in the afternoon there is plenty to like about Joseph O’Brien’s Queen Maedbh in the Treacy Group Irish EBF Fillies Handicap.
The Irish 1,000 Guineas entry has to give weight away to everything here from a perch of 92, but she has a touch of class about her and could be up to the task.
On debut she finished second to her new 96-rated stablemate Montesilvano, who had had the benefit of a run, where she beat Wave Machine who won a Curragh maiden on her next start.
Nearly four months later on her debut for Joseph O’Brien she bolted up at Dundalk in a race where the second, third and fourth have come out and won since, so she comes into this with two strong pieces of form to her name.
O’Brien is six from 29 at 21% in fillies handicaps at the Curragh and with Queen Maedbh being a daughter of Gleneagles she is expected to handle the soft ground conditions just fine.
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Erevann – 2.48 Saint-Cloud
Over in France it’s the Group 2 Prix du Muguet and Erevann can justify likely favouritism for Jean-Claude Rouget.
Rouget had a bit of a setback on Sunday when Vadeni was beaten in the Prix Ganay but in Erevann he has a late-maturing son of Dubawi on his hands who could be a player in the top mile races in Europe this season.
He was beaten just half a length in the Prix Jacques le Marois on just his fourth career start last August and the four-year-old finished his campaign with a cosy beating of The Revenant in testing conditions in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein on Arc weekend.
The Revenant has been out twice this season already and while that does mean he’ll be match fit, he has looked short of his best and it could be that the eight-year-old is finally regressing.
Erevann is going the other way and in his lightly-raced career he has gone well fresh, so can land this Group 2 contest on his way to a second crack at the very top level.
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