Galileo To Strike Guineas Gold

There’s a cracking weekend of sport in store and the racing is up there with the best of it as the Guineas take centre stage at the Curragh.

Golden Value
In this blog we’ve attempted to find as much value as possible and tried to keep the selections to bigger prices but on Saturday, the 7/4 on offer about Galileo Gold can be considered a very decent price.

It’s a good, intriguing renewal of the 2,000 Irish Guineas and probably has more depth to it than previous years but in Galileo Gold we have a very worthy favourite and one who is trained by a very good trainer in Hugo Palmer.

Palmer just continues to go from strength to strength and he certainly can’t be accused of sitting on the fence in relation to his upbeat and bullish remarks about Galileo Gold ahead of the Guineas, yet you just get the feeling if the horse was trained by Aidan O’Brien that he’d be even shorter.

Air Force Blue was due to be the next coming over the winter months. This was the horse that was going to dominate the flat season and given the training powers of O’Brien it is very possible he can put Newmarket behind him, it’s still hard to see how in just three weeks.

Does He Stay?
Talk of dropping him back in trip is still there and you just get the feeling they aren’t sure themselves that they’ll be able to reverse the form from Newmarket with Galileo Gold. I’m sure their margin will be reduced but it would be another magnificent training feat from O’Brien if he can turn this one around.

Awtaad is probably as short as he is going to get at 5/1 and there’s plenty of confidence around him, as there is about 10/1 shot Blue De Vega but if there was to be an each-way selection in the 2,000 Guineas it would be Air Vice Marshal, who was fourth in Newmarket and can be expected to make a nice step forward from that outing. The 6/1 seems a bit big for him and I’d see him making the frame.

It is all well and good finding horses at bigger prices but in this instance the Classic form is staring us in the face and Galileo Gold is the horse they all have to beat and 7/4 looks a steal.

Greenlands For Lynam
Richard Fahey sends over his unbeaten sprinter Don’t Touch for the Group Two Greenlands Stakes on the same card and with the good record of British-trained sprinters on these shores connections will be hopeful that Don’t Touch can leave the Curragh with that flawless record still intact.

However, I’m going to oppose Don’t Touch with Eddie Lynam’s Fort Del Oro. The filly doesn’t boast the same record as Don’t Touch but her consistency is there for all to see and after making a nice start to the season at Naas over five furlongs, she can continue on winning ways in this valuable sprint.

Recommended Bets:
Galileo Gold – 5:40 Curragh
Fort Del Oro – 5:05 Curragh

*Prices correct at time of publication

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