16-1 WINNER IN 50-1 DOUBLE FOR SHAMROCK: Takeover Bid (WON 16-1) had form figures 000 this year but Shamrock made a case out for him at Cork last night and completed a 50-1 double with Wrote (WON 2-1) in his Daq Trio.
SHORT HEAD COSTS HIM 139-1 TREBLE: Takeover Bid and Wrote were doubled and trebled with the nap, Secret Hero, who led at several stages of his race but not on the line. He was beaten a short head at 7-4, robbing Shamrock of a 139-1 treble.
Pace yourself! You’ve got four days ahead of you at the second summer festival at Killarney, god’s little acres of fabulous scenery. If you can’t drive West make sure your money doesn’t go west.
Sit back in your computer chair and keep your cursor poised for runners from Aidan O’Brien, Joseph Murphy and Tommy Stack, who farm this meeting, O’Brien and Murphy with around a 40% strike rate but Stack 50% with his two-year-olds.
So it is that the nursery (6.10) takes centre stage, as the first puzzle of the week. David Wachman, who is doing so well with his juveniles just now, has two representatives but is 0-31 at Killarney.
Wachman ran one two-year-old, Requinto, in the Nunthorpe at York last week – England’s best venue by far – but, before I accuse him of travelling for the picnics, he scored with another juvenile, Limetree Lady, yesterday: she hacked up seven lengths at Cork.
Ballydoyle has Secretary Of State off a high rating in his first nursery, often thereabouts without winning. The Stack runner, Vegas Rocks, has been handicapping before without success. So what can we make of it all?
Of the Wachman pair, Money Spider was running on at the end of a 7f nursery at Gowran, whereas Orchestra Leader has been dropped from a Group 3, so is (or was?) seemingly highly regarded.
The stats for this race say the winner had already been successful, which creates a straight choice between the Navan scorers, Crimson Sunrise and Orchestra Leader.
Crimson Sunrise won in much better time, with the form franked by success for the runner-up; she gets 21lb from Orchestra Leader today – including the boy’s allowance – and, though badly drawn, finished close up at the Curragh last time: 6.2 in an eight-horse race is fair-dos for an each way bet.
The feature race of the day, the Vincent O’Brien Ruby Stakes, is top notch for a Listed, with Group performers in the field: Barack, Banna Boirche, Duchess Of Foxland, Gossamer Seed, Sapphire Pendant, Stunning View and Wild Wind, third in the French 1,000 Guineas. The rest are handicappers.
Gossamer Seed has a wide draw; Stunning View ‘stole’ the Topaz at Galway under an inspired Pat Smullen ride and, anyway, I’m siding with the three-year-olds.
That leaves me a match between Wild Wind and the runner-up in the Derrinstown (1,000) trial, Sapphire Pendant, now tried in blinkers. I’ll take Wild Wind.
SHAMROCK’S BETS
NAP: Wild Wind (6.40 Killarney)
NEXT BEST: Magical Cat (7.40 Killarney)
EACH WAY: Crimson Sunrise (6.10 Killarney)
DAQ TRIO: Crimson Sunrise (6.10 Killarney), Wild Wind (6.40 Killarney) and Magical Cat (7.40 Killarney)
