Andrew Asquith had a 2pt winner in his last Sunday View column and returns with a couple of selections at the Curragh.
Sunday View: Sunday July 19
1pt win Zodiac Bear in the 15:15 the Curragh at 9/2 (bet365, William Hill, Betfred, Betvictor, Ladbrokes, Coral)
1pt win Seven Nation Army in the 17:00 the Curragh at 11/2 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair)
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The main action on Sunday comes in Ireland at the Curragh and, while it isn’t the most exciting betting card from my perspective, there are still a couple to be had.
First up I’m keen to take on Power Blue in the Glenroyal Hotel And Shoda Café Minstrel Stakes. Big Gossey cant be ignored even at the age of nine given he proved as good as ever when winning a Listed event over six furlongs at this course last time and he’s a 10-time course winner after all.
However, I was taken by ZODIAC BEAR’s performance over a mile at this track three weeks ago, and he looks open to further improvement.
He wasn’t unduly punished on his return at Leopardstown over seven furlongs and showed the benefit of that outing when getting the better of the well-fancied Alcantor, who hasn’t quite been at his best since joining Joseph O’Brien, but is a very smart performer on his day.
Admittedly, Zodiac Bear had the run of that race, setting steady fractions from the front, but he found plenty for pressure when it seemed Alcantor was going to run away with the race.
There’s a chance he’ll get another easy lead in this field, too, with Power Blue the only other real pace angle. To me, he’s a sprinter, however, and though this drop to seven furlongs will help, both of his wins have come at five and six furlongs, while he doesn’t appear to have trained on, either.
Zodiac Bear goes in first-time cheekpieces, which suggests to me he’ll be ridden forcefully again, and this unexposed four-year-old has the potential to shift into another gear in my opinion.
Joseph O’Brien has won the James Nolan Bar Kildare Nursery Handicap three times in the last five years, while he also saddled the 33/1 runner up 12 months ago (beaten a neck), and SEVEN NATION ARMY has seemingly been set up nicely for a tilt this time around.
He shaped better than the bare result on debut at Roscommon in May, not given a hard time after trouble in-running ended his chance, and went backwards from that turned out just five days later at Navan.
Seven Nation Army got back on track at Cork next time, keeping on well under a hands-and-heels ride, but that was just three days later. Three runs in the space of eight days suggests he’s been brought along with handicaps in mind and he’s been given a nice break and a gelding operation since.
O’Brien is proving to be a very shrewd operator both on the Flat and over jumps and, even though he doesn’t look particularly well treated from an opening mark of 74, I’d bet a decent amount he’s capable of much better form.
Seven Nation Army is very much the type to take off now handicapping and any strength in the market would support that opinion.
- Preview posted 1600 BST n 18/07/2026
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