Curragh – Irish Champions Weekend – Sunday 12th September

On the day that Cristiano Ronaldo bulged the back of the net again in the Premier League… twice, it seems the crossbar received a fair battering instead, from the selections on these pages. Moving on to day two of the Irish Champions Weekend at the Curragh, I’ll attempt to change that trend.

Kicking off with the opening affair at the Curragh – Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Bold Lad’ Handicap at 1.45, it’s the rare combination of Dermot Weld and Ryan Moore that I am siding with, and Hightimeyouwon at 10/1 each-way with Paddy Power or Betfair Sportsbook, who both offer 6 places.

Trawling back through the records, I can only find one previous occasion where the two masters of their respective trades have teamed up.

Hightimeyouwon has been a big improver this season, seemingly on account of gradually dropping in trip and also taking solid steps forward with racing. He only has one win to show for it, which came over 7f at Cork in May, which have been followed by two huge runs here at the Curragh since then.

Firstly, over 7f in June, Hightimeyouwon raced close to a very strong pace, hit the front going well a furlong out, before being swamped by horses ridden from off the pace. This run prompted Weld to drop his progressive five-year-old a ½ furlong in trip for the valuable Scurry Handicap, in which he again sauntered into the race and looked for all the world the winner, before being just outdone by Major Power.

Having raced in the centre to far side group that day, he finished well clear of any other horse that raced on that section of the track, and given (apart from Hightimeyouwon), the other horses that filled the first eight spots home came from stalls 15, 19, 14, 13, 16, 18, 12, it’s fair to say the Hightimeyouwon way outperformed the bare form.

Dropping to 6f here, on decent ground and being drawn in stall 6, where all the expected pace is in the middle to far side stalls, and quite simply Hightimeyouwon has what looks like an absolutely ideal set-up, and must be backed at 10/1 each-way for 6 places with Paddy Power or Betfair Sportsbook.

The other bet on the Curragh card comes in the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes at 2.55, and the main talk will be of last year’s winner, Glass Slippers, being pitched against the Nunthorpe brazen heroine Winter Power.

What is clear about this race is that it will not be devoid of early pace, as clearly Winter Power will bid to give them the slip like at York, but she will have the attentions of a number of others.

Quietly slipping underneath the radar is another rapidly improving filly, in the shape of Jack Davison’s three-year-old Mooneista, who is 11/1 in the outright market with Paddy Power, for 4 places each-way.

That price was very tempting, but I’m going to take the conservative option, and recommend her at 9/2 each-way in Paddy Power’s market ‘without Winter Power and Glass Slippers’, which is option C in their ‘betting without’ section.

Last time out, Mooneista travelled all over some good horses, and pulled clear with next time out winner Gustavus Weston, and will absolutely thrive in the pace scenario that the Flying Five promises tomorrow.

It is also Arc trials day at Longchamp and the culmination of the Sky Bet Sunday Series at Haydock, and while the first named meeting will be informative for sure, the latter has a betting opportunity in the Sky Bet Sunday Series Sprint Handicap at 4.35.

Manigordo led home the far side group in the Great St Wilfrid on penultimate start, which etched his name in my notebook, but next time out here at Haydock, he was held up off a slow pace and never featured as a result.

In this competitive looking 6f handicap, Manigordo lines up in a 0-85 handicap for the first time since hacking up at Thirsk back in April, and at 11/1 each-way with sponsors Sky Bet, who offer 6 places, he is wildly overpriced granted what looks like a lovely opportunity for Tim Easterby’s fast ground loving sprinter to get back in the winner’s enclosure.