Curragh Sunday Card: August 9, 2026

Curragh Sunday Card: August 9, 2026

A cracking Sunday at The Curragh with Group 1 heat the centrepiece, good to firm ground suiting quick types throughout the card. Three races worth targeting, with the Phoenix Stakes the headline act. Ryan Moore’s 30% strike rate at this track is the kind of number you back blindly in the right spot, and today he lands in a very good spot indeed.

1:45 – Grand Hotel Malahide Irish EBF Fillies Juvenile (7f)

Eighteen runners makes this a lottery in places, but the market has it about right with Aidan O’Brien’s Ibelieveicanfly heading the market at 5/4. Ryan Moore takes the ride, and his 30% course record is the immediate hook. She’s been placed twice from four starts, handles today’s trip and going, and that second two starts back showed she’s capable of mixing it at a decent level.

That said, at 5/4 in an 18-runner juvenile fillies’ race, this is not a betting heat. If you’re playing, a small stake each-way on Admired Beauty Each-Way at 9/2 (Boyle Sports) makes more appeal. The Jim Bolger yard has been ticking over with a 1/6 14-day stat that suggests selective use, but Admired Beauty ran a solid race on debut when second over this trip and going, and 21 days between runs keeps her fresh. With five places on offer at 1/5 odds in a big field, she’s the value play at the price.

Selection: Admired Beauty each-way at 9/2 (Boyle Sports)

3:25 – FBD Hotels And Resorts Phoenix Sprint Stakes (Group 3, 6f)

Just five runners, so each-way terms are tight and this is very much a win market. The top-rated runner is Big Mojo at 5/4 favourite, but four unplaced efforts since his last win make him a tough sell at that price. Michael Appleby’s yard is winless from 26 runners in the past 14 days. That is a yard that is not firing, and backing a short-priced runner from a cold stable is exactly the kind of bet to swerve.

James’s Delight at 5/2 (Boyle Sports) is the each-way nap of the sprinters if you want an alternative, but a 78-day absence leaves fitness genuinely on trust. Clive Cox has been modest lately at 2/22 over the fortnight.

The selection here is Big Gossey at 7/2. He is nine years old, yes, but Charles O’Brien’s veteran arrives having won two starts back and finished second last time out. He knows this trip and going, returns on a fresh 21-day turnaround, and in a small field of five, winning form outweighs everything else. The yard is quiet but the horse’s own recent form is the story. At 7/2 with only five runners, this is a win bet.

Selection: Big Gossey win at 7/2 (Boyle Sports and Betfred)

4:00 – Keeneland Phoenix Stakes (Group 1, 6f, €240,000)

The big one. Eight juvenile sprinters on good to firm, six furlongs, and a quarter of a million on the line. This is where the card gets serious.

Sun Goddess at 5/4 is the selection and the confidence is high. Ryan Moore takes the ride for Aidan O’Brien, and the combination of Moore’s 30% course strike rate and O’Brien’s deep familiarity with this track makes it a standout angle. The filly arrives on the back of a win last time out, has won twice from four starts, and crucially she has form over this exact trip and going. The 43-day break is the only question, but O’Brien does not run Group 1 fillies cold, and she carries 3lbs less than the colts on a track that gives fillies every chance.

The opposition is respectable. Celeron at 9/4 is the danger, having won two of his last three and arriving fit on 22 days. Oisin Murphy is a world-class jockey. But at 9/4 versus 5/4, the gap in price does not reflect a comparable gap in credentials. Sun Goddess has stronger recent form, a lighter weight, and the best jockey at the track in the saddle.

Carry The Flag at 20/1 has a win in his last three and that stall one draw could suit in a pace scenario, but the form figure of 7 in recent starts is hard to ignore at that price. Folsom Blues and King Of Cloughan are Group 1 fillers. Tribeca at 16/1 showed promise when second last time but the unplaced run in between is unexplained.

Selection: Sun Goddess win at 5/4 (Boyle Sports and Betfred)

Today’s NAP