Gowran Park, Thursday 9 April 2026: Tips and Selections

Gowran Park, Thursday 9 April 2026: Tips and Selections

Gowran Park stages a seven-race card on yielding to soft ground today, and the conditions are the filter that matters most here. Several horses in these fields have question marks over soft ground, and that alone eliminates a good chunk of the opposition before you've looked at a line of form. Three races stand out as genuinely puntable. Here's where the money goes.

7:45 — Gowranpark.ie Handicap (1m4f)

Selection: Rock Of Ireland (5/2, Bet365)

This is the most straightforward race on the card. Rock Of Ireland won over this exact trip at the Curragh last month in testing conditions, and that going note is crucial today. While Robbies Rock won on good ground and Zoffman probably wants better ground, this horse has already proven he handles soft. Trainer Rory Anthony Devine is 1/2 in the last 14 days, meaning the yard is ticking over. The 8lb rise for that Curragh win gives punters pause, but the handicapper hasn't buried him. Luke McAteer rode a positive race last time and will likely replicate that approach.

Robbies Rock at 9/1 is the value alternative. Gavin Cromwell is in cracking form (6/50 in 14 days, which for an Irish handler is a healthy strike rate) and the horse has the profile of a dual-purpose type who could show up on return. The softened ground is a concern but don't dismiss him entirely. Whimsy at 9/2 is interesting too: former Andrew Balding mare with a genuine fitness edge on some of these, and fell at the last flight when looking like placing at Leopardstown last month. She stays this trip and isn't without a chance.

Rock Of Ireland is the play at 5/2 Bet365.

4:30 — Follow Gowran Park On Insta (C & G) Maiden (1m)

Selection: Johanna Walsh... wait, this is the colts maiden.

Apologies, let's focus. This is a weak affair and the Spotlight says it plainly: Only One Scobie and Point Cartwright can be crossed out immediately. Among the remainder, Lunar Tide (9/2, Bet365) catches the eye. The Sea The Moon gelding is a 70,000gns foal with a half-brother who won on the AW at 91 RPR, and the dam is a Listed-placed two-year-old winner. He showed nothing on his Dundalk debut in February but horses trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien frequently improve sharply when switched to turf, and the step back in trip to a flat mile suits.

Sir Aston is the unknown quantity here, a 55,000 euro foal who cost £68,000 as a yearling and 56,000gns at the breeze-ups. That kind of investment in a maiden for a Sioux Nation colt is telling, and trainer Aidan Melia is 1/1 in the last 14 days. First-time-out runners with market support from well-capitalised connections deserve respect. Watch the market; if Sir Aston is backed into something sensible from 28/1, he's a live danger.

Gatlinburg has shown nothing in two starts and Nicky Larson is more a handicapper in waiting. Lunar Tide each-way at 9/2 is the play, with Sir Aston as the watchlist dark horse.

Each-Way Lunar Tide — 9/2 Bet365, 9/2 William Hill

5:40 — Irish Injured Jockeys Fillies Maiden (1m1½f)

Selection: Johanna Walsh (13/8, Bet365)

The race of the day, and it's a cracker. Three fillies with genuine claims, and the form angle narrows it nicely. Johanna Walsh and Cape Primrose met at Thurles last October over a mile, with Cape Primrose finishing 0.5 lengths ahead. But Johanna Walsh was visibly green that day, racing with plenty in hand mentally, and she's a Sea The Stars filly by a stallion whose progeny routinely improve a stone or more when stepped up to a mile-plus. The extra furlong and a half today is a significant advantage for her profile.

Cape Primrose is Irish Oaks-entered and has a fine page herself, but she was odds-on when beaten at Thurles and faces a filly who almost certainly has more improvement to offer over this longer trip. At 13/8, Johanna Walsh represents solid value against a market rival who was beaten at shorter odds last time.

Chestnut Palace is the interesting outsider. Her Naas debut produced a never-nearer fifth under very considerate handling, and she's a half-sister to Fighting Irish (a Group 2 winner at 106 RPR). The step up in trip suits the pedigree, and Noel Meade's yard is firing (5/21 in 14 days). At 11/1 she's overpriced if anything, and Colin Keane has the booking.

Feel The Love, half-sister to the top-class Fancy Blue, is bred to relish this trip too but weakened late on at the Curragh and the market doesn't fancy her especially. She's a future winner in a better race.

Johanna Walsh wins this. Cape Primrose will be close. Chestnut Palace is the each-way play at 11/1 for the patient punter.

Each-Way Chestnut Palace — 11/1 Bet365, 11/1 Unibet (placed runner in a 7-horse field, 2 places at 1/4 odds)

Today's NAP