Sunday at the Curragh: August 16 Tips

Sunday at the Curragh: August 16 Tips

The Curragh stages eight races on Good ground this Sunday, with the Group 3 Royal Whip the headline act and a cracking Listed juvenile sprint to follow. The York Ebor Festival is just two days away, which makes a sharp eye on today’s form all the more relevant for those tracking horses in form. Three races stand out for punters with a point to invest.

1:35 — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Nursery Handicap (6f, Good)

Selection: I Ready at 7/1 (Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Nine runners, a competitive handicap, and a horse sitting on top of the ratings. I Ready tops the field on figures with a mark of 84, and that win two starts back is recent enough to take seriously. Dylan Browne McMonagle takes the ride, which is not a booking yards make lightly in Listed and handicap company at the Curragh. The 17-day turnaround is sharp rather than rushed, the 6f trip is proven, and Good ground is exactly what he wants.

The concern is trainer Paul Flynn’s lean recent spell, but McMonagle’s presence suggests connections are confident. Banks Of The Boyne at 11/4 keeps finding a way to be second, and that instinct to run into a place rather than win is a real question mark. At 7/1 with I Ready rated top of the pile, the value is clear.

I Ready Each-Way — 7/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 7/1 LiveScore Bet. Three places at 1/5 odds.

4:25 — Newbridge Silverware Royal Whip Stakes, Group 3 (1m2f, Good)

Selection: Charles Fort Each-Way at 12/1 (Boyle Sports / Betfred)

A Boy Named Susie at 2/7 is the kind of odds that makes each-way angles on the others compulsory reading. Oisin Murphy’s mount carries the weight of market expectation and a form line that reads consistently placed rather than dominant. Donnacha O’Brien’s yard is winless in the last 14 days across five runners, which is not a stat to ignore when the favourite is trained there.

Charles Fort is the interesting one at a big price. Aidan O’Brien’s yard is running at 8/33 in the past 14 days, which is a genuine live yard stat. The 92 rating might look inferior on paper, but Wayne Lordan is a rider who knows this track intimately. Yes, 328 days off the track is a real question, but O’Brien routinely brings horses back from long absences in fine order, and the 1m2f trip on Good ground suits the form profile. At 12/1 in a five-runner Group 3 where the favourite may be vulnerable, the each-way terms are generous enough to take a swing.

Cowardofthecounty at 10/1 (LiveScore Bet) also deserves a mention. The comment on that form line is solid and the trip and going box ticked, but the fifth last time out is too recent to dismiss.

Charles Fort — 12/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 11/1 LiveScore Bet. Two places at 1/4 odds each-way.

4:55 — William Hill Irish EBF Juvenile Sprint Stakes, Listed (5f, Good)

Selection: Grayrobin at 5/1 (Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Back-to-back winners deserve respect. Grayrobin arrives here in red-hot form, with the only blip in the form line coming three starts ago. Two wins on the bounce over today’s trip and going is the cleanest profile in a ten-runner Listed race full of fillies still finding their feet at this level. The 131lb weight is the same as Star Prospect, so no significant disadvantage there.

Rossa Ryan rides Armor Supreme, and the jockey’s 21% course strike rate with an A/E of 1.28 at the Curragh means that ride is worth watching. Armor Supreme’s win three starts back was smart work, but a 60-day absence after a disappointing ninth makes her a risk at 10/3. Concorde Landed at 11/4 is trained by P. Twomey, who hits at 18% at this track, but the step up into Listed company from a fourth last time is an ask.

Grayrobin’s back-to-back wins over this exact trip and going puts him in a different category to most of this field. At 5/1 in Listed juvenile company that is far from deep, this is a fair price for the in-form horse.

Grayrobin Each-Way — 5/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 9/2 LiveScore Bet. Three places at 1/5 odds.

Today’s NAP

I Ready — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Nursery Handicap (1:35, Curragh)
Odds: 7/1 — Boyle Sports (others: 7/1 Betfred, 7/1 LiveScore Bet)

Top-rated on figures in a nine-runner nursery handicap, with a recent win to back that up and Dylan Browne McMonagle in the saddle. Good ground, proven trip, sharp enough turnaround to suggest yard confidence. Banks Of The Boyne may fill a place again rather than win, leaving the door open for a horse with an actual recent victory on its record. At 7/1, this is where the value sits on the Curragh card.

Each-Way Recommended — 3 places at 1/5 odds