Horse Racing Ireland’s coffers has got a boost from a trio of high-profile supplementary entries for this weekend’s Guineas Festival at the Curragh.
The first domestic Classic of the season, Saturday’s Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas, saw the exciting English colt Royal Scotsman added to a dozen-strong entry at Tuesday’s acceptance stage.
Royal Scotsman was third to Chaldean in the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas earlier this month and his connections have paid out €50,000 to give him another Classic shot.
“We have supplemented him, so fingers crossed,” said Alex Cole, racing manager to owner Fitri Hay, “He seems in good form, so we thought we’d roll the dice again.”
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Oliver Cole, who trains the colt alongside his father Paul, confirmed that Jamie Spencer will ride Royal Scotsman for the first time as regular jockey Jim Crowley has commitments elsewhere for his Shadwell retainer.
Spencer, 42, won the race four years ago on Phoenix Of Spain. The Irishman first secured Classic glory at the Curragh quarter of a century ago on board Tarascon in the 1,000 Guineas.
Another €50,000 was handed over by Coolmore to get their filly Jackie Oh into Sunday’s 1,000 while, as anticipated, the Aga Khan forked out €45,000 to get his top-class French star Vadeni into the Tattersalls Gold Cup on the same programme.
Both Classics will still be worth €500,000 each – with the Gold Cup worth €450,000 – as supplementary entry income goes back into HRI’s general prizemoney pot.
Royal Scotsman will clash once again with Hi Dubai, who belied 125-1 odds by chasing home Chaldean at Newmarket, half a length ahead of his rival who met some interference in the race.
Oisín Murphy is set to team up once again with Hi Dubai as the 27-year-old from Killarney attempts to break his Curragh Classic duck alongside Hi Dubai’s Tipperary-born trainer Kevin Ryan.
The pair top a strong cross channel challenge for the colts’ Classic and are set to be joined by Galeron (fourth at Newmarket), Charyn (eighth) and Knight. The latter was withdrawn by the starter at the French Guineas after kicking the starting gate.
Donnacha O’Brien’s Proud And Regal is among the home defence that will see Paddington head Aidan O’Brien’s attempt to secure a record-extending 12th win in the race.
O’Brien Snr has also left in Cairo and Age Of Kings while Jessica Harrington will hope to scoop a first 2,000 Guineas through either Bold Discovery or the Dundald winner, Quar Shamar.
Immediate reaction by some firms was to make Hi Dubai a 5-2 favourite to emulate both Kingman (2014) and Native Trial a year ago by winning at the Curragh having finished runner-up in Newmarket.
Ground conditions at the Curragh are currently good to firm in places with selective watering set to continue and a warm weather outlook forecast for the rest of the week.
That’s a new challenge for the likely 1,000 Guineas favourite Tahiyra who finished runner-up to Mawj at Newmarket earlier this month. That was on soft ground, and it was also soft when Dermot Weld’s star won the Moyglare at the Curragh last season.
Weld has another Aga Khan filly, Tarawa, among the 11 entries left in at Tuesday’s acceptance stage and appears happy at this stage to let both take their chance.
“We’ll make a decision about Tahiyra in the next day or two but she’s most likely to run,” he said.
“It’s just like any other horse, you just want to check all the parameters out and if we’re happy with everything when the time comes, she runs. And right now, she’s most likely to run.
“The same applies with Tarawa. A decision will be made on her, if not tomorrow, then on Thursday, but she’s quite a possibility to run as well. We’re very happy with both fillies,” Weld added.
The Aga Khan has never won either of the Curragh Guineas races but the 86-year-old owner could have a potential bumper Sunday to enjoy after adding Vadeni into the Tattersalls mix.
A total of 10 other older horses remain in the 10-furlong highlight, including last year’s Champion Stakes winner, Bay Bridge.
Local trainer Willie McCreery has Insinuendo among the Tattersalls contenders but has also left the mare in the reckoning for the Group Two Lanwades Stud Stakes on the same card.
The prospect of quick going is a proven plus for Aidan O’Brien’s top 1,000 candidate, Meditate, who finished runner-up in the Moyglare and was sixth in the Newmarket Guineas. She ended her juvenile career with success at the Breeders’ Cup in Keeneland.
Meditate is joined at the entry stage by a trio of Ballydoyle stable companions including Jackie Oh and Never Ending Story, who finished fifth to Blue Rose Cen in the French 1,000 at Longchamp.
Meditate is a 6-1 second favourite with Paddy Power behind the odds-on Tahiyra.
