Irish Guineas meeting: horseracing tips

The Irish are dominating racing this weekend with the Boylesports 2,000 Guineas (Sat,3.45pm) 1,000 Guineas (Sun, 3.35pm) and Tattersalls Gold Cup (Sun, 3pm) all taking place at the Curragh. To get the blood pumping, there is the heavyweight clash in the Irish 2,000 Guineas between Newmarket 1-2 Henrythenavigator and New Approach.

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Henrythenavigator slipped underneath our radar at Newmarket last time, purely because the ground was supposed to ride slow that day. The class of Aidan O'Brien's colt was for all to see, and it is amazing to see that he isn't favourite for the big race on a surface that suits him.

New Approach showed that he had trained on at the Rowley Mile, and the pair pulled four lengths clear of Stubbs Art, who re-opposes once more. Jim Bolger's star got a soft lead that day though, and the monstrous effort that Henrythenavigator put in to pull alongside, and then beat New Approach, should surely make him the market leader.

O'Brien also runs Jupiter Pluvius, who was heavily touted ahead of Newmarket before being scratched from the contest. The Johannesburg colt won a Group 3 at Leopardstown at the end of last year on firm ground and looks a big price at 8/1. Considering the Irish haven't won this contest since O'Brien sent out Rock of Gibraltar in 2002, it is only fitting that the master of Ballydoyle should win it back for them, and if anything, New Approach should be opposed once more.

Mick Channon trains the favourite of the 1,000 Guineas, and Nahoodh owes her 11/4 favouritsm to defeats to star fillies Natagora and Muthabara. As punters though, we want to be able to see a horse with the ability to put its head in front, and 11/4 looks far too short for a filly with one victory in five starts.

Jim Bolger's Saoirse Abu is in a similar predicament having finished third to Natagora, with a tally that reads three wins, a second, and five thirds in her ten-race career, having finished fifth in her only other race. It's not a glorious record, and one that reflects the lack of quality in this contest.

Aidan O'Brien's Savethisdanceforme is one for the notebook, as she flopped last time out against Natagora in the 1,000 Guineas on good to firm going and came eighth from a field of nine the last time she encountered such ground. She will probably flop again at the Curragh, but on softer going, she should go well at a big price.

Dermot Weld can often be relied upon to produce a tough nut, and in Caribbean Sunset, he has a filly who looks as hard as they come. The daughter of Danehill Dancer has been mopping up Group 3 races recently, and her 1,000 Guineas trial win at Leopardstown has worked out well, with second-placed Halfway to Heaven going on to finish third in the French 1,000 Guineas. At 9/1 she should be backed.

Verdict: 1pt Henrythenavigator to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas @ 15/8; 1pt Caribbean Sunset to win the Irish 1,000 Guineas @ 9/1

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