Navan, Sunday 7 June 2026: Tips and Selections

Navan, Sunday 7 June 2026: Tips and Selections

Rain is forecast across Navan today and the ground is already riding good, so expect conditions to ease as the card progresses. That matters. Horses who have already shown a liking for cut in the ground move to the top of the shortlist, and anything bred or form-booked for soft goes gets a second look. Ryan Moore’s 45% strike rate at this track is extraordinary and he rides the favourite in the feature. The other Aidan O’Brien yard sits at 23% course wins, a number that commands respect in any race they saddle up for.

Three races catch the eye today. Here are the selections.

1:42 — Navan Racing Festival Handicap (5f, Good)

Selection: Stag Night (3/1, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Seven runners, tight handicap, and the form book is crystal clear on one angle: soft ground form at the Curragh is exactly what you want here once that forecast rain arrives. Stag Night has done nothing but progress this season. Third on reappearance over 6f on heavy ground, a neck second to Bodhi Bear over the minimum trip on soft-heavy, then a straightforward win over 5f on soft at the Curragh last time out. The runner-up from that latest victory has since franked the form by running well in Listed company, which makes the 5lb rise look entirely fair rather than punitive.

Bodhi Bear also warrants respect at 7/2 and shapes like the main danger, having beaten Stag Night previously, but he was 8lb lower that day and the revised weights make this far more competitive. W McCreery has one winner from twelve runners in the past fortnight, which is modest, but the horse is clearly in the form of his life and the 3/1 reflects the danger rather than the merit of the case.

The Highway Rat’s two turf wins have come over this course and distance on yielding and soft, and a yard-in-form angle is there, but at 9/2 with only seven runners and a plodding record on better ground, Stag Night gets the vote at a slightly bigger price.

Stag Night: 3/1 (Boyle Sports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

3:27 — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Hill Of Tara Stakes (Listed, 1m1f)

Selection: Wemightakedlongway Each-Way (6/1, Boyle Sports)

Hotazhell is the clear market leader and the form reads well on paper, a Group 1 winner at two, placed in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at three and a fair fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes. But he has not won since that Futurity and his reappearance is always an unknown quantity. The price reflects potential rather than proven current form, and at 11/8 there is no value.

Wemightakedlongway is an interesting price at 6/1 considering she was runner-up in the Irish Oaks and only narrowly beaten in the Prix de l’Opera last season. Both those runs came at 1m2f to 1m4f so today’s 1m1f is on the sharp side for her, and that is the concern. The Haydock third this season was a confidence-restoring run after flopping at Cork on reappearance, and if the rain softens the ground to very soft, which suits her profile, she can stay competitive throughout. Joseph Patrick O’Brien’s yard is operating at a 12 from 77 clip over the last fortnight, a reasonable return at this level.

Lemsairbat at 16/1 is an underrated each-way option in a 12-runner field. Twice placed in Listed races this season, she finished behind Sindria at Gowran and is not out of her depth. But the value each-way play at a bigger price in a competitive 12-runner Listed sits with Wemightakedlongway, who has the class to place even if the trip proves too sharp for a winning run.

Wemightakedlongway: 6/1 (Boyle Sports) — Each-Way, 3 places at 1/5 odds

4:02 — Darley Irish EBF Kooyonga Stakes (Listed, 1m, Fillies and Mares)

Selection: Fingerpaint (7/2, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Drop Dead Gorgeous is the 2/1 favourite and Ryan Moore at Navan is normally enough of an angle on its own given his absurd 45% course record. But the form asks questions. She looked smart on debut, then was beaten in a Group 3 before a lifeless run over 1m2f last time out. The step back in trip is logical, but she has something to prove and 2/1 in a Listed race with 11 runners feels short for a filly who has not shown that debut level since.

Fingerpaint is the pick. Dermot Weld has been finding the net at a 3/8 rate over the past fortnight, which is a red-hot yard stat for this grade. The filly won on debut at the Curragh over 7f, ran a genuine Group 3-level race at Tipperary when badly hampered, and then ran into heavy ground at Leopardstown on her final start of last season, which clearly did not suit. She is returned here on good ground with a genuine excuse for every run that went wrong. Colin Keane takes the ride. At 7/2 she represents the most logical value in the race.

La Fogata is a 5/1 shout worth considering each-way given the form Donnacha O’Brien’s yard showed when she finished second at Naas on her first start for them, but the safer play is Fingerpaint at a sensible price with the form excuse fully intact and a trainer who is firing.

Fingerpaint: 7/2 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Today’s NAP

Stag Night — Navan Racing Festival Handicap (1:42, Navan)
Odds: 3/1 — Boyle Sports (others: 3/1 Betfred, 3/1 LiveScore Bet)

Three wins from three outings at the Curragh this season, all on soft or soft-heavy ground, and the forecast rain at Navan today plays directly into his hands. The runner-up from his last winning effort has since run well in Listed company, underlining the form. The 5lb rise is warranted and the opposition is beatable at this weight. At 3/1 in a seven-runner sprint with soft ground arriving, this is the most straightforward bet on the card.