Tuesday's best bets include selections from Galway, Laytown and Kelso.
There’s lots of racing action across Britain and Ireland on Tuesday, with six meetings including one of the unique offerings on the calendar.
Catterick sets the ball rolling alongside Flat cards from Leicester and Galway, while National Hunt action is from Worcester and Kelso and the evening fare also includes the famous Laytown meeting on the beach.
The feature at Galway is the Listed Ardilaun Hotel Irish EBF Oyster Stakes for Fillies and Mares and it’s a contest that Donnacha O’Brien may plunder with Amusement.
Selections
Amusement @ SP (Galway, 18:25)
Arniemac @ SP (Laytown, 19:15)
Czech Her Out @ SP (Kelso, 16:25)
O’Brien and Ryan can provide winning Amusement at Galway
After a National Hunt card on Monday, the attention switches to the Flat on Tuesday evening for the Galway action. The Ardilaun Hotel Irish EBF Oyster Stakes – a Listed race for Fillies’ And Mares’ – is the feature and the mile-and-a-half event has drawn a dozen runners and boasts a top prize of €31,500.
Willie Mullins saddles Echoes In Rain (Colin Keane) and Lot Of Joy (Ben Coen) but the Closutton supremo is taken on here with AMUSEMENT for Donnacha O’Brien and Gavin Ryan instead.
The Galileo filly won over this trip at Leopardstown (soft to heavy) in May in a handicap off a mark of 79 and, despite being winless in five races since, she has shown steady improvement along the way, keeping exclusively to Listed/Group-race company throughout the summer months.
She was fourth last time in the Chalice Stakes at Newmarket (1m4f, soft), doing her best work late on and despite meeting some trouble in running.
Her stamina has been proven at 1m6f so the stiff nature of a mile-and-a-half around Galway should be ideal. She dons first-time cheekpieces here and as a 3YO, gets 8lb from the older horses. She has fine claims on form.
Arnie can dominate on Laytown sand
The meeting at Laytown dates back over 150 years and remains a proud once-a-year tradition, occupying a unique position in the Irish and British racing calendar as it is the only race event run on a beach under the rules of racing.
Tuesday’s six-race offering culminates in the Gilna’s Cottage Inn event over seven furlongs and it’s a feature race that ARNIEMAC may improve to land for trainer Joseph O’Brien.
The lightly-raced Fascinating Rock gelding looked good when notching his first win at Killarney in May, taking the step up from sprinting to a mile in his stride.
A first-time tongue-tie is deployed now and one of his main rivals is stablemate Vega Magnifico – currently rated 15lb superior to him. Arniemac has plenty of scope to improve and also has Cheltenham Festival-winning rider John Gleeson in the saddle claiming a handy 5lb, and they could be up to this task.
Wadge can Czech in for Kelso success
Few riders are better value than Patrick Wadge this year, the young claimer enjoying a breakout time of it, with a 19 per-cent strike-rate (30-157) and 27 more placed runners ensuring he’s in the frame with one in three.
His 2023 strike-rate improves to 25 per-cent when riding for Lucinda Russell and they can enjoy more success with CZECH HER OUT in the RBC Brewin Dolphin Handicap Hurdle at Kelso this afternoon.
The mare scored here over three miles last month for this rider, with today’s rival Dinoland back in second, some 5½-lengths down. John McConnell’s gelding is better off on these terms but has run poorly since at Sligo.
Czech Her Out, meanwhile, was having a first run for the Russell team that day and, off the back of that career-best, can defy a 5lb rise in the weights.
