The Curragh

The emphasis is on speed on Saturday, with a quartet of Europe's six pattern races being sprints and only one taking place beyond a mile. Glinting in the midst of them is the jewel that is the first of the Curragh's 2022 Classics, the €500,000 G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas. With a distinct form edge, it seems on paper to be simply be a case of going through the motions for Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) with Godolphin's Guineas treble hanging tantalisingly within reach. However, this is a tough...

Last seen finishing a close-up fourth in Doncaster's G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy in October, Ecurie Ama Zingteam's acquisition Hannibal Barca (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) made his debut for his owners and the Joseph O'Brien stable a successful one in Friday's G3 Heider Family Stables Gallinule S. at The Curragh. Sent off the 7-4 favourite, the bay was keen under restraint early held up towards the rear by Shane Crosse before being angled out at the top of the straight. Reeling in Lyrical Poetry (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and hitting the...

The European champion 2-year-old of 2021, Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), is clearly the class act of the field as he bids to go one better than his runner-up finish in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas. Should he do so, he would give his trainer an unprecedented third European Guineas victory with three different horses in the same season. Also represented is last year's winning owner/breeder/trainer combination of Jim and Jackie Bolger, while, at 420,000gns, Amo Racing's Malex (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) was the most expensive of the field to...

Less than a fortnight after it was announced that legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast would remain on the Shadwell roster, the 89-year-old operator confirmed that he was not the retiring kind and spoke for the first time since Hamdan Al Maktoum's passing about his long and successful relationship with the hugely influential owner. The Shadwell operation has been winding down gradually since Hamdan Al Maktoum passed away just over a year ago and, while major operators like Dermot Weld and Sir Michael Stoute will no longer train any of the horses...

No amount of money will persuade the owners of impressive Curragh maiden winner Matilda Picotte (Ire) (Sioux Nation) to give up on their dream of walking into the winner's enclosure at Royal Ascot, according to the filly's trainer Kieran Cotter, who said "everyone wants a slice" of the Queen Mary-bound speedster. Matilda Picotte maintained the flying start of Coolmore's first-season sire Sioux Nation by making all to score on debut at the Curragh on Monday and, in doing so, she landed some hefty wagers. The owners of the filly are...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday's Observations features a full-brother to MG1SW Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}). 1.10 Curragh, Mdn, €25,000, 2yo, 6fT SIMPSON'S PARADOX (IRE) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) is the 10th foal out of the Niarchos Family's now-legendary Alpha Lupi (Ire) (Rahy), whose prior offerings by this sire are the Group 1-winning distaffers Alpha...

After the Guineas at Newmarket, the attention will turn to the Irish equivalents and Monday's card at The Curragh sees a course-and-distance trial in the Listed Coolmore Arizona Irish EBF Tetrarch S. which features Dr Zempf (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Taken out of the 2000 Guineas by Ger Lyons, Peter Brant's 'TDN Rising Star' steps up to the mile for the first time after registering a winning comeback in Leopardstown's seven-furlong Listed Ballylinch Stud 2000 Guineas Trial Apr. 2. He meets two other TDN Rising Stars including the Jim Bolger...

The 2022 €220,000 Champion Collection Series, for 2-year-olds, was launched by GAIN Equine Nutrition in partnership with The Curragh. The series comprises three races: the May 2 Listed GAIN First Flyer S., the May 21 G3 GAIN Marble Hill S. and the June 25 G2 GAIN Railway S. GAIN and The Curragh's partnership began back in 2012. The winning horse from the Railway S. will receive a free entry into the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S., on Aug. 6. Joanne Hurley, Irish Country Manager, GAIN Equine Nutrition commented, "2022 marks a...

It has been mooted more than one this spring, but without labouring a point it seems clear after the declarations for the racing at ParisLongchamp on Sunday that Messrs Fabre and Peslier are linked again, at least for the time being. France's dynamic duo combine with two major chances in the group races on the fixture, with Lady Bamford's Dreamflight (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the nine-furlong G3 Prix la Force and with Gestut Schlenderhan's returning Mare Australis (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G2 Prix d'Harcourt over a mile and a...

Coolmore's G1 Phoenix S. hero Sioux Nation (by Scat Daddy) got off to the brightest start to his stud career possible on Saturday as his daughter Ocean Quest (Ire) struck in the Irish flat turf season opener at The Curragh. Missing the break in the five-furlong Alkumait Standing At Castlefield Stud With A €100,000 Bonus Irish EBF Maiden, the Jessie Harrington-trained chestnut soon raced behind the leaders and would have been an unlucky loser had the gap not come in time so well was she travelling inside the final furlong....

   Thursday saw the final fields take shape for Saturday's flat turf season prologues at Doncaster and The Curragh and with them the sensation of new winds careening the established order. While the hardened tifosi look to the established pillar of the Town Moore fixture, the Lincoln Handicap, the breeding merchants will pivot towards the arrival of untested and unproven stock in the card's "Brocklesby" and in the Co. Kildare venue's opening maiden. These two juvenile medleys contain the first runners for some of Europe's most enticing first-season sires, with...

By Alayna Cullen and Emma Berry The start of the Irish Flat turf season is now only a matter of weeks away and one man who will be itching to make an impression this year is John O'Donoghue, the new trainer at one of Ireland's most revered stables, Currabeg.  Training at the yard from which John Oxx sent out so many top horses, not least Sea The Stars (Ire), Sinndar (Ire) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB), could bring with it a degree of pressure, but Oxx's successor prefers to view it...