Fran Berry tackles the Curragh’s Irish Oaks card on Saturday and wonders whether there’s a home-based sprinter who could fend off the British challengers.
Beating Minnie looks too big a task
It’s highly surprising and very disappointing that there’s no overseas runners in this year’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks, particularly when you look at the record of visitors in the past few runnings of this race. In the past decade alone, we’re at 5-5 between Irish and British-trained winners.
So it’s been left as a home game if you like and it’s a rematch between Epsom winner Minnie Hauk and the fourth home, Wemightakedlongway. Minnie Hauk just got the better of Whirl that day and with Whirl going on to win the Pretty Polly, beating Kalpana in the process, the form looks solid given that they did pull over five lengths clear of the reopposing fourth at Epsom.
And while you could argue that Wemightakedlongway will be more comfortable on the track at the Curragh than she was at Epsom, that would also apply to Minnie Hauk too, so it’s hard to see Joseph’s horse getting the better of the argument on this occasion, for all that she is a very likeable filly in her own right. She has a good cruising speed but Minnie Hauk has that touch of class and should confirm the form.
Of the rest, Subsonic has been held in high regard by Johnny Murtagh and connections for quite a long time and was only beaten half a length by Minnie Hauk on her debut last year, when Minnie Hauk had the benefit of a previous run already under her belt.
So it’s highly interesting to see she comes here having performed seemingly below-par in April on her seasonal debut. She’s a sporting runner back from another break and now wearing a tongue-tie, and I’d imagine getting Group 1 black type would be a great result. So she’s probably best watched despite it being a weak renewal of the Oaks.
Eyes on City for possible Ebor trial
The Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup often draws the attention of one or two Melbourne Cup participants and previous winners of this race do include Twilight Payment, who went on to land the big one in Flemington during the Covid pandemic.
Vauban was third here last year too of course, before going off among the favourites for the Melbourne Cup, so the eye is drawn to the likely favourite Al Riffa, who won a Group 1 in Germany last year and has performed with credit in top-class races around Europe and in the Middle East since.
It’s great to have him competing back in Ireland for the first time in two years and, following a fantastic performance behind Rebel’s Romance in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, it’s fascinating to see connections now upping him in distance to a mile and six furlongs.
Given the way he tends to relax and finish off well over the 12-furlong trip, it looks a very good move by connections and might open up a new world of opportunities for him in the staying ranks later this year.
Aidan O’Brien runs three and it’ll be worth watching how London City performs having shaped like he would come on markedly for his seasonal debut in a handicap on Irish Derby weekend, where he had a wide draw. It was his first run since running at the Dante meeting last spring so he still has lots of potential over staying distances.
He’s entered in the Irish St. Leger later on but might be worth monitoring in the Sky Bet Ebor betting as he’s 20/1 with the sponsors at the time of writing. He could also come into the Melbourne Cup equation too I suspect.
O’Brien’s other pair, Queenstown and Shackleton, are capable on their day, while Al Riffa’s stablemate Uxmal returns for the first time since being an impressive winner of the Queen Alexandra at Ascot last summer. On top of that, Harbour Wind shaped better than the bare result at the Curragh in a handicap with a big weight recently. He may be getting back to his peak and could ultimately be the main threat to the favourite, so it’s obviously a very good race.
A home-trained gem in the Sapphire
As is often the case in the Sapphire Stakes, you’ve a good UK representation with Rumstar and Mgheera bringing strong, recent sprint form to the table.
Over the last 10 years, six of these have been won by British horses including a one-two-three for the challengers last summer. Trainer Ed Walker had the third last year with Makarova and the booking of Ryan Moore for Mgheera looks to mean business. She appears to have improved a lot at the age of five, while Rumstar stayed on well to win the Coral Charge last time out at Sandown and is generally quite reliable nowadays.
However, if there’s one potential high-class sprinter in the making in Ireland then it could be Powerful Nation.
This horse, trained by Andrew Slattery, has been placed on multiple occasions since breaking his maiden at Dundalk last September and it all came together for him again at Cork last month, when he travelled strongly and won in a very good manner (replay below).
That first win of the season should tee him up nicely and, given the way he goes through a race, he could produce a big performance especially as he gets the weight-for-age allowance as one of the four three-year-olds in the field. If his rider is able to pick a spot and pick a target to follow, I can see him bucking the trend and really putting it up to the UK-trained sprinters.
If the eight runners stand their ground then Powerful Nation is a decent each-way bet.
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Love too fast for Railway test?
The first Group race on Saturday is the rescheduled GAIN Railway Stakes which has been moved from its traditional slot on Irish Derby weekend to be run this weekend instead, with the theory being that you’d allow horses more time to recover from Royal Ascot and enhance the field a bit.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t look to have worked on this occasion given the four runners – the smallest field for a long time. So the theory seemed solid but it hasn’t quite worked.
Aidan O’Brien has two in there including the filly True Love, who looked very good when she won the Queen Mary at Ascot. Prior to that she was beaten by Gstaad, himself a Royal Ascot winner subsequently, over the thick end of six furlongs, so there would have to be a small concern that True Love may not be a stout stayer over six at the Curragh.
It’ll be interesting to see how she goes although I see she’s a very short price which is fair given her proven class. She’s so fast, I just wonder if there’s one reason to take her on then it might be the stiff six furlongs on this track.
Looking at the opposition, Learntodiscover beat Puerto Rico last time and they are likeable individuals with not a lot between, while Power Blue has a fair record at the Curragh and I think a stiff six furlongs here will suit him. He ran well in the Coventry Stakes and I think if True Love settles and sees it out well enough, the Amo horse could be best of the rest. He might even be able to give her a real race late on.
Horses to follow
Pivotal Attack/Smexy
Going back a little to Fairyhouse earlier in the month, the six-furlong fillies’ maiden contained a number of debutants who had been subject to good reports, and a few others who had already shown promise on the track.
The well-backed Quiet Mutiny eventually won it for Gavin Cromwell but there were a couple of notable performances in behind, Smexy looking a surefire future winner and the horse who finished just in front of her in fifth, Pivotal Attack, another horse to follow.
She was drawn 15 which can be very difficult to overcome at Fairyhouse and she found herself quite far back through the early stages. She then came very wide and made up ground without being unduly knocked about by her rider Ben Coen.
Pivotal Attack is a half-sister to Flight Plan who won some nice races a few years ago for Karl Burke, including the Boomerang at Leopardstown, so you’d imagine Pivotal Attack’s future lies over seven furlongs and a mile.
This pair can almost certainly both win maidens before having their sights raised.
Krasimir
The colts’ maiden on the same card featured quite a well-touted horse called Krasimir. From stall 10 of 10, he found himself on the wing of the field without cover for much of the race.
As the contest started to develop, he showed greenness and was then impeded when initially looking to challenge. He stayed on very nicely to be third at the line and you’d imagine he would have been a good second without meeting the trouble.
Trainer Ger Lyons tends to expect big improvement from his juvenile newcomers and he’ll be pretty confident going into Krasimir’s next start I would have thought.
Lake Swan
At Navan on Monday, Star Of Sapphire justified favouritism to get off the mark at the second time of asking in the six-furlong maiden but there were a few nice performances in behind from others making their first start.
Probably the most notable was the eighth home, Gavin Cromwell’s Lake Swan. There was some market support for this filly and she shaped far better than the bare result will tell you having found herself near the back towards the far rail, neither of which were ideal.
She looked to be making inroads before being quite badly interfered with by the eventual fourth (replay below) and, having lost all momentum at that point, she came home in her own time. She could easily have a race of this standard within her compass with that debut effort behind her.
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Killarney juvenile maidens have a real history of throwing up Classic horses and that could obviously apply to Monday’s winner, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Bevenuto Cellini.
Stablemate Endorsement shaped like a future winner in second, as did third Limestone but the latter’s Joseph O’Brien stablemate Hardy Warrior is definitely one to watch as well.
He made up good ground to stay on strongly in the final furlong, doing his best work at the death, and given the way he went through the race and finished off, he could be as nice a prospect as the placed horses. He looks a mile maiden winner in the near future.
Published at 1530 BST on 17/07/25
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