Gowran Park, Tuesday 5 May 2026 — Tips and Selections
A three-race featured card at Gowran Park on a yielding surface. The ground is the key variable today. Horses who have shown they handle cut are well-placed, and anything that needs a sound surface needs to be treated with caution. Three races, two Listed contests and a maiden, give us enough to work with.
5:07 — Societies Welcome At Gowran Park Maiden (7f, Yielding)
Selection: Starred — 10/3 Bet365 and William Hill
Thirteen runners, most of them unexposed, but Starred stands out on form and on the eye. Joseph Patrick O'Brien's colt has form figures of 832 and there is clear improvement in there. His RPR of 88 and a TS of 90 put him clear of this field on raw figures, and that TS suggests he is very much in form right now. The 10/3 is fair rather than generous, but in a field this open he is the standout on merit.
Bamako Beach at 4/1 with Bet365 is the obvious alternative. One run, a second, and an RPR of 90 suggests a horse with ability. The stable form of M D O'Callaghan is quiet and there is very little to go on, so Starred gets the vote on the strength of a more solid form line.
Shaws Bay at 11/1 for JP Murtagh, with Ben Coen in the plate, is worth a small each-way interest in a field of 13. Murtagh's yard has sent out five winners in the last 14 days and Coen is the stable's first-call rider. The colt showed a debut fourth and there could be more to come.
6:07 — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Vintage Tipple Stakes (Listed, 1m6f, Yielding)
Selection: Moody — 11/8 William Hill and Coral
The market makes this a two-horse race between Floresta and Moody, and the right call here is to side with the one showing yard momentum. Paddy Twomey's operation has hit 4 from 10 in the last 14 days, a strong strike rate for a trainer whose horses tend to improve sharply once the yard is in form.
Moody arrived from France and won first time out for Twomey in a Listed heat at Cork over 1m4f on soft-to-heavy ground, beating Snapretend by half a length. Today she steps up to 1m6f, and critically, her dam won over this distance, so the trip extension should not be an issue. Yielding ground is similar enough to what she has already handled. She is 3lb worse off with Snapretend on revised terms, but the Cork win was convincing enough to suggest she has more to offer as she settles into Irish racing.
Floresta is the obvious dangers at 9/4. The RPR of 115 puts her clear on ratings and the form is solid, but at 9/4 you are taking a skinny price on a horse who finished second last time out. Moody at 11/8 represents the better risk-reward given the trainer's current form and the trip likely to suit.
Nuit, at 18/1 with Bet365, was five lengths third behind Floresta in a Listed race at Leopardstown last season. The tongue tie goes on today and she is interesting each-way at that price in a race paying three places, but there is a ground concern and she has been beaten in a Dundalk maiden since, which dampens enthusiasm.
6:38 — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes (Listed, 1m1½f, Yielding)
Selection: Faiyum — 8/13 William Hill and Betfred
Faiyum is odds-on and the form merits it. An RPR of 120 puts her in a different league to most of this field, and her record of 1121-3 shows a filly who wins regularly at this level. The one blemish, the third, came at a higher level, which only adds context. Gary Carroll takes the ride for Ger Lyons, and while the yard has been quiet over the last fortnight, Faiyum is the kind of horse who does not need a firing stable to produce her best.
The value play in this race, if you are looking for one, is Sindria Each-Way at 6/1 with Bet365. Dylan Browne McMonagle has chosen her ahead of the more exposed Lemsairbat, which is a meaningful signal. She won a 1m handicap here at Gowran on soft ground at her most recent start, suggesting she handles this surface well, and this course clearly suits. First venture into pattern company is a step up, but at 6/1 in a three-place market, an each-way position makes sense given the jockey booking.
Lemsairbat at 6/1 is the other live contender. An RPR of 111 is solid but the fact McMonagle has opted for Sindria speaks volumes. Leave well alone at the same price.
Today's NAP
Odds: 11/8 — William Hill (others: 11/8 Coral, 2.44 Betfair Exchange)
Paddy Twomey is in excellent form with four winners from ten runners in the last 14 days, and Moody gave the yard a convincing Listed success at Cork on her Irish debut. The step to 1m6f on yielding ground plays to her strengths given her dam won over the distance, and she carries the same headgear that worked last time. The market leader Floresta commands respect but Moody represents the sharper value angle at 11/8.