Has Moore Picked The Wrong Horse At The Curragh?

The weather forecast isn’t great for the Curragh on Sunday but hopefully we’ll be able to witness some Classic contenders prior to the washout.

September Taking The Summer By Storm
Ryan Moore’s choice of ride in the Debutante Stakes looks to have formed the market.

With Moore opting against Royal Ascot winner September in favour of recent Leopardstown winner Happily, you would expect the latter to the head of the market at the off.

There’s still little between them in the betting though with Happily 6/5 and September an 11/10 shot and the latter is given the nod to come out on top under Seamie Heffernan.

It clearly must have been a tough call for Moore. It’s unlikely that two fillies as talented as these would have ever worked with each other in Ballydoyle so what is between them will only be found out today but if the rain does come, it certainly should be no problem for September who won her maiden (where Happily was back in seventh) at Leopardstown on yielding to soft ground.

It’s a good race and will be interesting to see how Shekiba steps up to this company, while Black Sails looked decent on debut, but September can edge this and continue her unbeaten sequence.

Prince to Prevail
Two-time course and distance winner Doonard Prince has yet to get his head in front this season but the eight-year-old has been knocking on the door of late for trainer Ross O’Sullivan and back at the Curragh he can land the finale on Sunday.

O’Sullivan’s charge was a big price when finishing second at Naas on his penultimate start and he was a decent price at the Curragh earlier this month too when only going down by a length, but

he definitely looks like he has another one in him off this rating.

Hopefully today he can be rewarded for his consistency on ground that should be ideal.

Kennedy Back With A Winner
Jack Kennedy returns to action at Tramore today after suffering a broken leg three times in less than a year and Kennedy’s return can be marked with a winner on the Gordon Elliott-trained Presenting Julio.

The 10-year-old is a previous course winner over fences at Tramore but has been campaigned mainly over hurdles since that win back in April and he has got himself up to a rating of 110 over hurdles during the summer months.

This is a step up in class compared to what he has been at of late but he is still 12lbs lower over fences and that mark of 98 could be exploited here with Presenting Julio carrying a lovely racing weight of 10st1lb. If he can creep around just behind the leaders he could just get the better of the higher handicapped Sir Jack Yeats and stable companion Cecil Corbett.

Recommended Bets:
September (11/10) – 3.20 Curragh
Presenting Julio (7/2) – 4.40 Tramore
Doonard Prince (14/1) – 5.30 Curragh

*Price correct at time of publication.