Wexford, Friday 7 August 2026: Tips and Best Bets

Wexford, Friday 7 August 2026: Tips and Best Bets

A seven-race evening card at Wexford on good ground, and there are some genuine angles to get stuck into. Joseph Patrick O’Brien leads the Wexford trainer stats on A/E value at 1.04, and his string has been in cracking form over the last fortnight at 13/74. Mr A P Ryan is the jockey to follow at this track above all others, with a remarkable 36% strike rate and an A/E of 1.87 from 14 rides. When those two factors combine, you pay attention.

Three races stand out for punters looking for value. Here are the selections.

5:51 Neville Hotels Handicap Hurdle (2m1f, Good)

Selection: Shaboozee at 6/5 Boyle Sports (5/4 Betfred, 5/4 LiveScore Bet)

The 316-day absence is the obvious conversation starter and the bookmakers have not ignored it, keeping him as odds-on favourite rather than a red-hot jolly. But look past the layoff and you find a horse with two wins from his last five starts, experience over this exact trip and going, and crucially, the backing of Joseph Patrick O’Brien, whose yard is firing at 13/74 over the past fortnight. J J Slevin takes the ride, and he does not waste his time on horses without a chance. Of the market principals, Mode Avion at 5/1 is dangerous on form but Gordon Elliott’s string has returned 1/44 recently, which is alarming. Shaboozee, despite the question mark over fitness, is training with a yard that knows how to have a horse cherry-ripe for a return.

Ma Belle Etoile Each-Way at 8/1 is worth a small each-way interest at three places. She fell last time but won three starts back and handles the conditions, and Henry De Bromhead has had 4/30 over the past 14 days, which is a solid return. At 8/1 with three places on offer, a pound each-way makes sense alongside your win stake on Shaboozee.

4:45 Think Print and Design Maiden Hurdle (2m1f, Good, 16 runners)

Selection: Sea Eagle Each-Way at 5/2 Boyle Sports (5/2 Betfred, 5/2 LiveScore Bet)

Sixteen runners in a maiden hurdle is a field that demands respect for the placed positions, and with three places paid at 1/5 odds, the each-way play is sensible even at 5/2. Sea Eagle is priced as the clear market leader and his form reads 26U, so he has unfinished business in this sphere. A six-year-old gelding with experience of the hurdles game already under his belt, and Gerard O’Leary’s yard has had one winner from 13 in the last 14 days, which is modest, but the booking of Thomas O’Connor speaks to confidence from connections. In a field this big with several runners that have little or no form to speak of, the race revolves around Sea Eagle. He needs to jump cleanly, and if he does, this has his name on it.

Earthwatch at 16/1 is an each-way flier if you fancy a punt at bigger odds. Four starts, three fourth-place finishes and a fourth on debut. He finds a way to be involved without winning, and in a 16-runner maiden with modest opposition, his consistency might earn him a place at the very least.

8:11 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Flat Race (2m½f, Good, 12 runners)

Selection: Get It Girl at 7/4 Boyle Sports (7/4 Betfred, 13/8 LiveScore Bet)

Willie Mullins running at 28% over the last 14 days is the context. Get It Girl returns after a 295-day break, which would ordinarily be a red flag, but the Mullins operation treats bumpers as a production line and they do not send lightly raced mares to Wexford without a plan. She ran third on her only start, suggesting there is untapped ability sitting underneath that run, and with Patrick Mullins unavailable, the yard has sent her out with Mr P W Mullins in the plate. She is open to any amount of improvement.

Pat O’Brien De Bromhead’s Pat O’s Rock is a debutante at 7/2 and worth noting, but an unknown quantity on debut. Shuil Solas at 9/4 was fifth last time and is unexposed, but there is nothing about her profile that suggests she beats the Mullins mare. Royal Tiara at 13/2 showed promise when third last time and handles conditions, a solid each-way option if you want to spread the risk in a mares bumper with a wide-open look to it.

Today’s NAP

Get It Girl — Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Flat Race (8:11, Wexford)
Odds: 7/4 — Boyle Sports (others: 7/4 Betfred, 13/8 LiveScore Bet)

Willie Mullins has hit 28% over the last 14 days and does not run lightly raced mares in evening bumpers as a fitness exercise. Get It Girl was placed on her only start 295 days ago, has everything still to give, and with the Mullins machine firing on all cylinders, this mare is here to win. The 7/4 represents fair value in a 12-runner field where the opposition is largely unexposed or out of form. Mullins-trained bumper debutantes and returning lightly raced mares are how fortunes are made at Wexford.