Irish Oaks Glory: Beckett and Crouch Masterclass at the Curragh

Hi all,

Inside today’s main piece I look back at Saturday’s big race action.

A delayed train meant I didn’t get home from my London trip to Smart Bash until 1 am on Saturday morning. In hindsight, I probably should have avoided providing selections for Victor Value subscribers. Instead, I provide them with six losing selections on Saturday. Oh, hindsight is a wonderful thing. My fantastic profitable run that started at Royal Ascot was bound to end sometime, and so it did at the weekend.

Smart Bash 2024 Review

Smart Bash 2024 was very well attended, on what was probably the hottest day of the year. Personally, I would have preferred smaller group workshops, but that’s a minor quibble. The networking opportunities alone made it worthwhile. I hadn’t seen Matt Bisogno face-to-face since pre-pandemic, and I also chatted with Alex Frost, CEO of the Tote, during lunch. I exchanged a few words with former BHA chief Nick Rust in the bar after the event. Alex Frost is the sort of leader racing needs, and he shares my concerns for the sport's future.

Saturday Review

Irish Oaks at the Curragh

The rain arrived at the Curragh, but not in the expected large amounts.

You Got to Me: Significant market support for Ralph Beckett’s filly proved accurate. With a first-time tongue tie and a less aggressive ride, she settled much better than in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot to win the Irish Oaks. Jockey Hector Crouch positioned her well early, which was crucial. The race was won at the start as she got a nice position on the rail and took advantage of gaps as they emerged to get first run on 3/1 favourite Content.

Content: Had to wait for room 2f out. Whether that made a difference in the outcome is debatable. Knowing she stays 1m 4f, they might ride her closer to the pace next time.

Purple Lily: Travelled well but flattened out close to the finish. A drop back to 1m 2f should suit her.

Elizabeth Jane: Outran her 28/1 odds with an improved fourth-place effort. A well-bred daughter of Dubawi she could turn out to be the best of these fillies by season’s end.

Other Notables:

Dare To Dream: Likely didn’t stay the 1m 4f, similar to Purple Lily, and probably needs softer ground.

War Chimes: Third in the Oaks at Epsom was a disappointing eighth and is another who might prefer softer ground.

Lava Stream: Runner-up in the Ribblesdale ran poorly and might have preferred quicker ground.

Lope De Lilas: Weak in the pre-race betting, found the jump in class too much.

Port Fairy:  Winner of the Ribblesdale was clearly not the stable's number one here and finished 17 lengths behind.

Irish Oaks Verdict: It was another big day at the Curragh for Ralph Beckett and a significant one for jockey Hector Crouch, who gained his first classic success. Despite being a competitive renewal, it wasn’t of the highest quality. Elizabeth Jane is the one to take out of the race.

Other Saturday Highlights

Once again, a double digit stall was advantageous in the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury albeit only by a neck. Caburn, coming out of stall 10, made it 2 from 2 when landing this valuable prize for trainer Jack Jones. The drop back to 5f wasn’t an inconvenience for the colt. He’s now York bound for the Gimcrack Stakes and another big run could be forthcoming.

Elite Status: Won the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury, proving the 3-year-old sprinters might be a good bunch despite last Saturday’s July Cup. If trainer Karl Burke keeps him sound, he has a good chance in the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup. Regional winner of last season’s Haydock Sprint Cup could only finish fourth here, but Haydock has been the target and I can see him getting closer to the winner there.

Believing: Back to winning ways in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh, showing she’s well-suited to a strongly run 5f.

Tower Of London: Won the Group 2 Curragh Cup, coming from an almost impossible position. A long straight suits the 4-year-old, and he’s a Melbourne Cup contender.

Sure Touch: Won the most valuable race of the summer jumps campaign at Market Rasen, making it 4 from 6 over fences last season. Sure Touch is owned by Geegeez.co.uk and I didn’t even ask Matt Bisogno his thoughts on the horses chance when I saw him on Friday.

Castel Gandolfo: Won the Summer Hurdle, having finished runner-up in the race for the past two seasons. It was nice big race success for the new Fergal O’Brien/Jonathan Burke partnership.

Monday Racing

Windsor

Seek And Destroy: The Ralph Beckett & Hector Crouch combination, fresh from Irish Oaks success, look to have a good chance with Seek And Destroy in the 1m 2f Fillies' Handicap (7:50). The filly won a C&D maiden three weeks ago, and a mark of 79 looks workable on handicap debut.

Sixties Chic An inform sprint handicapper who has won her last two starts, including over C&D.  A 5lb rise may prevent her completing the hat trick in the Fitzdares Sprint Series qualifier (7;20) but she’s a filly going the right way. I just prefer Capotes Dream, a three-time C&D winner. He’s 2lb below his last winning mark and can bounce back to form returned to Windsor, a track he’s only finished out of the places once on eight starts. Below is his record over C&D on good/good to firm going.

Monday Selection:

Windsor

7:20 – Capotes Dream.

Good luck with your Monday bets.

John