Sligo, Wednesday 5 August 2026

Sligo, Wednesday 5 August 2026

A seven-race card at Sligo on good ground, and there is enough here to work with if you know where to look. The tight, undulating track rewards horses that handle cut and movement through a race, and the going today suits handy types that can travel through the contest rather than grinders who need things to set up perfectly. Joseph Patrick O’Brien’s yard is the one to follow at this course, firing at 19% with a healthy 13 winners from 72 runners in the last 14 days alone. Noel Meade is also ticking over nicely. Three races stand out as bankable opportunities.

6:00 — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Connacht Oaks Fillies Handicap

Selection: Alice Monet at 11/4 (Boyle Sports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

The 313-day absence is the one thing stopping this from being a banker, but everything else points Alice Monet’s way. Dermot Weld is a master of placing horses back from long breaks, and he has a 19% strike rate at Sligo to underline his ability to get results here. Alice Monet brings back-to-back wins on her card coming into this and our ratings have her clear of the five rivals. She has run over today’s trip and handles good ground, so the conditions are not an issue. At 11/4 in a six-runner field, this is not a price to get excited about, but the class angle is solid and Weld’s horsemanship with returning horses makes the lay-off less of a concern than it looks on paper.

Spanish Temptress at 4/1 is worth a second look as an alternative, arriving in fine form with a win two starts back and plenty of placed efforts, but her rating of 88 against the profile needed here makes Alice Monet the cleaner selection.

6:30 — Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden

Selection: Emotional Hedging Each-Way at 5/1 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Thirteen runners, a 6f dash on good ground, and a two-year-old maiden that is wide open. In races like this, you want a horse with at least some form on the board and a live jockey booking. Gary Carroll rides Emotional Hedging and Carroll is the standout jockey at this track, operating at 16% with an A/E of 1.2, meaning he punches above his weight relative to market expectations. Gavin Cromwell’s yard has been quiet recently, but the 5/1 available reflects the situation honestly enough, and in a 13-runner maiden where half the field are debutants, getting on board with a jockey who knows this course at those odds makes sense each way, with three places paid at 1/5 odds.

The Green Helmet is the favourite at 11/4 and commands respect, but at those odds in a maiden this competitive, value simply is not there. Elyatta, trained by Noel Meade and ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, at 13/2 is the other one that could outrun the market.

7:00 — John Gilligan Memorial Nursery Handicap

Selection: Mr Montauk Each-Way at 11/8 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Joseph Patrick O’Brien sends out Mr Montauk with Dylan Browne McMonagle in the saddle, and that combination in a 13-runner nursery handicap at Sligo is exactly the kind of angle to follow. O’Brien has been relentless over the last fortnight with 13 winners from 72 runners, and Browne McMonagle has a solid book at this track. Mr Montauk ran a genuine third last time out, handles today’s trip and going, and drops into a nursery off a mark that gives him every chance. Yes, he is winless in his last four, but the third at his most recent start showed the ability is there, and the yard clearly has him fit enough to go close again.

Tatianna is interesting at 4/1 having won last time out, and in a four-place each-way race there is an argument to cover both, but the O’Brien/Browne McMonagle axis at a track they know is the angle that gives Mr Montauk the edge.

Woodlawn Lily at 7/1 is the value outsider, fitness looks sharp and the figures are respectable, but the J.P. Murtagh yard has been modest lately and she would need things to fall perfectly from a wide draw.

Today’s NAP

Mr Montauk — John Gilligan Memorial Nursery Handicap (19:00, Sligo)
Odds: 11/8 — Boyle Sports (others: 11/8 Betfred, 5/4 LiveScore Bet)

Joseph Patrick O’Brien’s yard is firing at 13 winners from 72 runners over the last fortnight, Dylan Browne McMonagle knows this course well, and Mr Montauk showed genuine ability when third last time out over today’s trip and going. In a wide-open nursery, the trainer and jockey combination alone justifies the confidence, and a horse with upward momentum on a sound surface for a red-hot yard is the NAP on the card.

Each-Way Recommended — 4 places at 1/5 odds