The Curragh | Horse Racing Free Tips

Longines Irish Champions Weekend to Be Held Without Spectators

The Longines Irish Champions Weekend, held Sept. 12-13, will take place behind closed doors, the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee confirmed on Wednesday. The committee’s recommendation, which was made as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, was approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland at their July meeting on Monday, July 20. The Sept. 12 card at Leopardstown features the G1 Irish Champion S., and G1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron S. The Curragh plays host on the second day, with four Group 1 races on tap: the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S., the Moyglare Stud S. and the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five S.

“With less than eight weeks to go before Longines Irish Champions Weekend, it was the committee’s view that this was the optimum time to give people certainty,” said HRI Racecourses Chief Executive Paul Dermody. “It is a great shame that our feature weekend of Flat racing will not be enjoyed by racegoers in person this September, but we will ensure a warm welcome for everybody when they return next year. In the meantime, we will be refunding all of those who availed of early-bird and advance ticket offers. We will now focus our attention on providing racing fans with a brilliant at-home experience.”

Added Harry McCalmont, Chairman of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee, “We had dearly hoped that circumstances would allow us have racegoers back on the racecourse for Longines Irish Champions Weekend but that doesn’t look at all likely so it is best to make a call on it now. It is a great pity, but we still have a wonderful weekend of racing to look forward to. The committee would like to take the opportunity to thank the sponsors of all races for their loyalty and we look forward with interest to see the array of horses that will line up at Leopardstown and The Curragh.”

It was also announced on Wednesday that the seven-day Listowel Harvest Festival from Sept. 20-26 would also be conducted without spectators. The Listowel Race Company Committee met on Tuesday evening, and, after consulting with Horse Racing Ireland, decided to hold the festival behind closed doors. The Guinness Kerry National is the featured highlight.

Pat Healy, Chairman of Listowel Race Company, said, “In these unprecedented times, and in line with Government guidelines, the Listowel Race Company has made the extremely difficult decision to race behind closed doors, this means the event will not be open to the general public this year. The health and safety of everyone is our number one priority and with crowd restrictions in place, it would be very difficult for us to run the festival, as it attracts significant numbers of visitors to Listowel each year.”

The post Longines Irish Champions Weekend to Be Held Without Spectators appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Misty For Me’s Sister Unleashed at The Curragh

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Sunday’s Insights features a full-sister to Classic heroine Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

1.40 Newbury, £6,400, 2yo, c/g, 6fT
MUJBAR (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) debuts for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and Charlie Hills with more than an outside chance that he could be another sprinting star for the combination who enjoyed so many red-letter days with his sire. A half-brother to the G1 Commonwealth Cup hero Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and to the G2 Hungerford S. scorer Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), the March-foaled bay meets nine rivals including the Richard Hannon-trained Pure Dreamer (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a granddaughter of the G1 Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Pure Grain (GB) (Polish Precedent) who sports the famed Barnett silks.

2.00 Curragh, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 7fT
APRIL SHOWERS (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) represents the Donnacha O’Brien stable and is a full-sister to the four-times Group 1 winner and Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Misty For Me (Ire) who is now the dam of the high-class War Front duo U S Navy Flag and Roly Poly. Carrying Susan Magnier’s colours, the March-foaled bay meets nine rivals including Ballydoyle’s Snowfall (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) , the relative of Found (Ire) who was unlucky here last month.

The post Misty For Me’s Sister Unleashed at The Curragh appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Irish Oaks Headlines Saturday Action

Aidan O’Brien will be looking to bring down more barricades on Saturday as he chases the record of Sir Michael Stoute in The Curragh’s G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks. With five wins in the mile-and-a-half Classic, he sits one shy of the tally wracked up over the decades by the Newmarket-based legend and it will be no surprise were he to join him in 2020. Four fillies contest the latest renewal from Rosegreen, with Evie Stockwell’s G1 Epsom Oaks and G2 Ribblesdale S. runner-up Ennistymon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) the current standard-bearer on that form. Normally, being beaten nine lengths in the Epsom monument would be no commendation coming into this equivalent, but to be that distance from her exalted stablemate Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is probably creditable. “We’ve been very happy with Ennistymon since her last run in Epsom. She ran a great race, so we’re looking forward to this,” O’Brien said.

Ennistymon’s rider Wayne Lordan was on Snow (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when she beat her elders in the G3 Munster Oaks at Cork July 5, which was her first try at this trip. Previously runner-up in the June 21 G3 Blue Wind S. over 10 furlongs June 21, the full-sister to Kew Gardens (Ire) is charting the kind of progress that makes one from her stable with her pedigree impossible to discount in this company. That also applies to Laburnum (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who came off second-best in a tussle with the Ger Lyons-trained Even So (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the Listed Naas Oaks Trial over a mile and a quarter last time July 4.

“We were delighted with Laburnum the last day, she was very inexperienced going into it–a baby, really,” O’Brien said of the full-sister to Roderic O’Connor (Ire). “When she won her maiden she didn’t know much, so we felt that she had to run again to learn. She seems to be in good form and is stepping up to a mile and a half. It will be very interesting to see what happens with her, but there is every chance she is going to move up plenty. She is a very straightforward filly.”

Earlier on the Curragh card, the O’Brien-Lordan combination is in evidence in the G2 Paddy Power Minstrel S. on the exciting Lancaster House (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who beat the high-class Speak In Colours (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) with authority in the G3 Gladness S. over this seven-furlong trip June 13. He has to contend with last year’s winner Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who stages his return to action for Robert Ng and Ken Condon. Already successful in the 2018 G1 Irish 2000 Guineas, he proved himself a genuine top-class performer on his latest two outings when winning the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and finishing runner-up in the G1 Prix du Moulin.

Aidan O’Brien’s record in the G2 GAIN Railway S. is remarkable, with his tally of 13 successes just one short of the late great Vincent O’Brien. Wayne Lordan is on the June 26 course-and-distance maiden winner Merchants Quay (Fr) (No Nay Never), leaving Michael Hussey to partner the July 3 Navan maiden scorer Forest of Dreams (Ire) (No Nay Never). Jessie Harrington saddles Zhang Yuesheng’s June 8 Naas maiden winner Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), while Ger Lyons relies on To Glory (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) who was off the mark over another 150 yards on debut at Limerick June 29. The fixture’s other pattern race is the G2 Comer Group International Curragh Cup, in which Lordan is on Ballydoyle’s unexposed June 18 Fairyhouse maiden-winning 3-year-old Memorabilis (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as he takes on Lloyd Williams’ veteran Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) who scored over course and distance last time in the June 27 G3 Vintage Crop S.

Earlier in the afternoon, Newbury host the G3 bet365 Hackwood S. for the sprinters, with Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s TDN Rising Star Repartee (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) looking to step up on his winning return in Windsor’s Listed Carnarvon S. over this six-furlong trip June Jun 28. Among the unexposed 3-year-old’s opponents is last year’s G2 City of York S. winner Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was third when attempting to force the issue in the seven-furlong Listed Surrey S. at Epsom July 4. “As long as the ground is on the quick side, I would hope he’ll run very well. I think they’re calling the ground good at the moment and as long as it stays that way, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” trainer Andrew Balding said. “He’s a very useful horse on his day and I was happy with his last run at Epsom.”

Also on the card is the Listed bet365 Rose Bowl S. over six furlongs, where Manton Park Racing’s Method (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) bids to uphold the form of his Doncaster debut June 26. Having beaten the subsequent G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. runner-up Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) there by 4 1/4 lengths, there is an understandable air of excitement surrounding the latest Martyn Meade project. “He was quite impressive at Doncaster, but this is a totally different ball game,” he said with a dash of humility. “He’s come out the race really well and I’m expecting him to progress and make a good showing of himself. It’s a natural stepping-stone. It’s just the right sort of race for him. I think he learnt a lot the other day.”

The post Irish Oaks Headlines Saturday Action appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Eight Declared For Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks

Eight fillies have been declared for Saturday’s Juddmonte-sponsored G1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh. Aidan O’Brien is set to send out half of the the field with a team of four, all daughters of Galileo (Ire), headed by G1 Epsom Oaks runner-up Ennistymon (Ire).

The post Eight Declared For Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post