Tramore, Saturday 15 August 2026

Tramore, Saturday 15 August 2026

A seven-race card at Tramore on good ground, and while this isn’t Leopardstown or the Curragh, there’s genuine betting interest across three featured races. Willie Mullins continues to dominate the Irish training ranks and his 30% course strike rate here makes anything from Closutton worth a second look. With the York Ebor Festival just three days away, the sharpest horses on the Irish Flat scene may be saving themselves for bigger stages, which opens doors for unexposed types and improvers carrying light weights. Let’s get into it.

7:25 — Brennan’s Pharmacy Handicap (2m, Good)

Selection: Delta (2/1, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Nine runners over two miles on good ground, and Delta heads the market for good reason. His RPR of 95 tops this field outright, he has already proven he handles this trip and this going, and the second-last-time-out win confirms he can win at this level when conditions stack up. The most recent run was unplaced, which invites a small question mark, but Joseph O’Brien’s yard is ticking over at a respectable clip and J.J. Slevin doesn’t ride horses he doesn’t fancy in races like this.

The danger is Spasiba at 3/1 for Willie Mullins. A rating of 91 makes him second in the field on figures, and Mullins is running at a stunning 33% over the past fortnight at a national level, with a 30% course record at Tramore to boot. The snag is 587 days off the track. Coming back from nearly 20 months off in a competitive handicap is a huge ask, and even for the champion trainer, that absence is difficult to overlook. At 3/1 there are shorter odds to take on a horse who could blow the cobwebs out at home and then go on to better things next time.

Filey Bay at 11/4 for Emmet Mullins ran well four starts back but has failed to place in two of his last four outings. The yard’s 14-day form is moderate and there’s nothing in the recent profile to suggest a big run is imminent.

Delta at 2/1 isn’t the most exciting price in the world, but in a nine-runner handicap where the form reads clearly, backing the top-rated horse with a proven record over the course and distance is the logical move.

4:50 — Newly Weds Sara & Nigel Irish EBF Fillies Maiden (1m4f, Good)

Selection: Phlox Each-Way (10/3, Boyle Sports)

Six runners in a fillies maiden and Sea Of The Celts is the 11/10 favourite on debut, trained by P. Twomey who is in decent form at 2/7 over the past fortnight. But maiden favourites on debut warrant caution, and with Robbie Colgan aboard, the market support clearly means something. The problem is the price tells you nothing about the form.

Phlox for Johnny Murtagh catches the eye at 10/3. Yes, the yard has been quiet recently at 2/22 over the fortnight, but this filly has already racecourse experience from two starts (form 5-6), she handles this trip, and crucially Jamie Powell rides. Powell carries an 18% course win rate at Tramore with an A/E of 1.11, which means he’s delivering value beyond his market position here. In a small-field maiden, that kind of jockey angle matters.

Mawhibah at 9/4 for Joseph O’Brien has shown something with a fourth and a fifth, and the yard’s 7 from 56 in 14 days is respectable at this level, but the price doesn’t give you much room to manoeuvre on a filly who has placed twice without winning.

Phlox each-way at 10/3 with two places at 1/4 odds is a calm, considered play. Powell’s course record tips the scales and you only need a placed run to profit.

6:55 — Perennial Freight Handicap (1m4f, Good)

Selection: Marmeladova (5/1, Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet)

Seven runners over a mile and four on good ground, and this race is more interesting than the market suggests. Churchwarden at 3/1 returns just two days after his last outing, which is a brutal turnaround regardless of the winning run last time. Henry De Bromhead is at 4/35 over the past fortnight, which is not a yard in full flow, and four unplaced efforts from five recent starts is a pattern that doesn’t vanish with one win.

Rakki at 11/4 for Mullins is the big pull in the market, but he’s winless in four starts and ranked seventh of seven on the ratings. Even a hot yard can’t manufacture wins from nothing.

Marmeladova at 5/1 with Boyle Sports is the value play. She won two starts back, she has experience of today’s trip and going, and her rating edges above her official mark according to the figures, which is exactly the kind of line that matters in a flat handicap. The concern is an unplaced run six days ago, but on a quick turnaround herself, she gets to line up in a race where the favourite has an even tighter schedule. K.J. Condon is at 1/6 over the past 14 days, which is quiet, but Robbie Colgan takes the ride and he’s a man who knows the Irish circuit intimately.

At 5/1 in a seven-runner handicap with a recent winning run on her C.V. and a rating that says she’s running off a workable mark, Marmeladova represents the most compelling each-way case on the card. Boyle Sports and LiveScore Bet are both at 5/1, with Betfred going 11/2.

Today’s NAP

Delta — Brennan’s Pharmacy Handicap (7:25, Tramore)
Odds: 2/1 — Boyle Sports (others: 2/1 Betfred, 2/1 LiveScore Bet)

Delta tops this nine-runner field on ratings at 95, has already proven he handles two miles on good ground, and arrives at Tramore on a retrieval mission for Joseph O’Brien with J.J. Slevin in the saddle. Spasiba, the main danger at 3/1, carries nearly 20 months of ring rust and that layoff is too long to trust at this price. Delta’s recent form is not flawless, but his credentials over the course and distance are the strongest in the field and the market has priced him correctly as the one to beat. A straightforward win pick.