Elarqam Ticks All The Boxes At The Curragh

Classic action returns to the Curragh this weekend and punters who are going racing at HQ for the first time this season will see a notable improvement compared to the same venue last year.

Some of the Newmarket Guineas form will be put to the test at the Curragh and it will be interesting to see how that stands up. The colts Classic is first up.

Johnston Qam Win The Guineas
On breeding Elarqam would look born for this. By Frankel and out of Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Attraction, he certainly ticks a lot of boxes and he can be a confident choice for the first Irish Classic of the season on what we’ve seen form wise.

There was confidence about his chances before the Newmarket Guineas and that confidence seems to have doubled ahead of this weekend with some very bold predictions being made from within the camp. The biggest concern earlier in the month was that the colt might lack experience for Newmarket but that run should crown him ahead of this assignment and with a very likeable performance against a potential Triple Crown contender, there is plenty of positives to take.

We can never ignore the ability of Aidan O’Brien to impove his horses from one run to the next so Gustav Klimt has to be shortlisted and the fact that Ryan Moore is opting for U S Navy Flag won’t be overlooked in the ring but…

Elarqam is a worthy favourite and should prove that.

Tas Make It A Good Day For Hamdan
All eyes will be on Irish debutant Merchany Navy as he begins life for Aidan O’Brien in the Greenlands Stakes and the weather forecast might even convince him he’s still racing in Australia. How he’ll fare on debut will probably be best judged by the betting but Tasleet can be picked to oblige here.

William Haggas’ charge makes his seasonal bow but brings some good Group 1 sprinting form to the table and if able to reproduce some that he would look a tough nut to crack for any of these rivals.

A very good day for Hamdan Al Maktoum could be completed in Haydock where he has Battaash going for the Temple Stakes at Haydock.
A race known to throw up decent price winners…

Battaash is likely to be closer to Evens for this but justifiably so.

Recommended Bets:
Elarqam (13/8) – 4.10 Curragh
Tasleet – 3.35 Curragh
Battaash (8/11) – 4.00 Haydock

*Prices correct at time of publication.