Curragh, Sunday 24 May 2026: Group 1 Double Header Day

Curragh, Sunday 24 May 2026: Group 1 Double Header Day

The Curragh serves up two Group 1s on a Sunday afternoon with good ground underfoot and a partly cloudy sky overhead. This is serious racing. The Tattersalls Gold Cup at 3:55 and the Irish 1,000 Guineas at 4:30 are the headline acts, bookended by a fascinating Group 2 at 3:20 that deserves more attention than it tends to get. Three races, three clear angles. Let’s get into it.

3:20 Lanwades Stud Stakes (Group 2, 1m, Good)

The betting here is shaped by two Twomey runners, and the market logic is sound enough, but the one that catches the eye at a price is Celestial Orbit (11/1, Boyle Sports and Betfred) for Joseph O’Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle.

She won a C&D Group 3 on Irish debut earlier this month, beating stablemate Princess Child in the process. That form is right here. Before that, she had a solid record for Ollie Sangster at two, including a Listed win at Sandown over 7f. She now steps into Group 2 company, which is a jump, but Joseph O’Brien is operating at 10/67 in the last 14 days and that yard doesn’t throw horses in at this level without believing they belong there. Good ground suits, the course form is fresh, and 11/1 looks generous.

The principals in the market are Jancis (11/4) and City Of Memphis (3/1). Jancis posted a career-best at Newmarket three weeks ago over a mile and one, winning a Group 2 with something in hand, and that run stamps her as the one to beat. The concern is the Spotlight comment that she seems ideally suited by a quicker surface, and today’s good ground at the Curragh is not as lively as Newmarket can be. Worth a second thought before going in at odds-on territory.

City Of Memphis has been in excellent form, winning a Group 3 at Leopardstown last time out and doing it emphatically. Pat Twomey’s yard has fired at 3/16 in the last fortnight and this filly is clearly the stable’s lead hand. At 3/1 she represents the safer route. But the value play is Celestial Orbit at 11/1.

Selection: Celestial Orbit Each-Way at 11/1 with Boyle Sports or Betfred. Four places at 1/5 odds.

3:55 Tattersalls Gold Cup (Group 1, 1m2½f, Good)

Minnie Hauk heads this field on ratings and recent form, and Ryan Moore on board makes the 4/9 shot look even more imposing on paper. Last year’s top-rated filly worldwide, winner of two Classics and the Yorkshire Oaks, she opened her 2026 campaign with a smooth Group 2 win here over course and distance. The question isn’t whether she’s good enough. It’s whether 4/9 represents the kind of price that makes sense when you consider she’s dropping in trip from her ideal range and stepping into open company against males for the first time.

The most interesting challenger at a worthwhile price is Saddadd (4/1, Boyle Sports) for Roger Varian and Ray Dawson. This colt has climbed through the ranks relentlessly, from handicaps at Newbury and Sandown to a Group 3 on seasonal return at Sandown, a race that has historically flagged up high-class performers. He’s having just his eighth career start. Roger Varian’s yard has been ticking along at 6/28 in the last fortnight, not spectacular but active and capable. At 4/1 on a horse with clear improvement still to come, stepping into a Group 1 on good ground that suits, there’s a genuine case.

Almaqam at 6/1 (Boyle Sports) is another worth considering. Ed Walker’s horse beat Ombudsman at Sandown, a horse who went on to win three Group 1s, and ran a cracker at Ascot on Champions Day last October. The Spotlight flags him as a horse with more to come this term. The lack of a prep run is the concern, while Minnie Hauk arrives race-fit from her Curragh win. But 6/1 for a horse rated 132 RPR in a wide-open renewal isn’t to be dismissed.

Selection: Saddadd at 4/1 with Boyle Sports, with Almaqam as the saver at 6/1 each-way if you want cover.

4:30 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas (Group 1, 1m, Good)

Twelve runners for the Irish equivalent of one of the most prestigious Classics on the calendar, and the market is unusually open. No dominant jolly, no obvious Ballydoyle steamroller at short odds, and a handful of runners who carry genuine claims at double-figure prices.

Abashiri Each-Way (13/2, Boyle Sports and Betfred) is the one that stands out most. Charlie Appleby and William Buick is a combination worth respecting at any level, and this filly by Frankel out of a Prix Saint Alary winner is bred to get this trip comfortably. She ran fifth in the English 1,000 Guineas, finishing third of eight in her group, which the Spotlight notes as a fine performance for one so inexperienced. That was only her second career start. Appleby is operating at 6/18 in the last fortnight, one of the better trainer strike rates among the runners in this race. At 13/2 with four places on offer at 1/5, the each-way case is strong.

Magny Cours Each-Way at 16/1 (Boyle Sports) is a fascinating outsider. The Spotlight notes she deserves a shot at this based on her second to True Love at Leopardstown six weeks ago. She’s a talented maiden who had a result stripped from her after a positive test at Listowel, which arguably kept her mark lower than it should be. The best form on the board is a second to smart colt Alparslan in a sales race at the Curragh and runner-up in a 7f Group event at Chantilly. Trip looks fine, venue holds no fears, and 16/1 looks far too big.

America Queen (14/1, Boyle Sports) for Richard Hughes and Billy Loughnane is another with each-way claims. She beat everything bar one runner in the Nell Gwyn on her return, and that was her first attempt at 7f. This is a mile. The step up in trip looks likely to suit, and the form of the Nell Gwyn has substance behind it. Hughes has been operating at a decent clip, 5/27 in the last fortnight.

Selection: Abashiri each-way at 13/2, Magny Cours each-way at 16/1.

Today’s NAP