Enda McElhinney's racing tips for Tuesday include selections from Cork, Nottingham, and Beverley.
There are five meetings across Britain and Ireland on Tuesday, with Listed action from Cork the highlight alongside Nottingham’s Finals Day for their Grassroots Series.
They are joined by Beverley, Lingfield and Newcastle – the latter pair on the all-weather – on a day when Flat racing holds sway and we have three selections to keep tabs on across Tuesday’s action.
Selections
Proud And Regal (Cork, 16:15) @ 13/2
Olympicus (Nottingham, 16:25) @ 5/1
Korker (Beverley, 16:00) @ 11/4
Regal performance incoming at Cork
Cork is Ireland’s sole offering on Tuesday and the highlight from the Mallow circuit will be the Listed Irish Stallion Farms Ebf Navigation Stakes over a mile, where a field of 14 are set to contest for the €25k top prize.
They include Ger Lyons’ Power Under Me and Self Belief for Willie McCreery, the pairing giving away weight to the field but still much respected.
Lightly-raced French import Caracal is interesting as one of a quartet for Joseph O’Brien in the mix but his brother Donnacha might have one to thwart his challenge in PROUD AND REGAL 13/2.
The Galileo colt was a three-time winner last season as a juvenile, culminating in a Group 1 success at Saint-Cloud in October over this trip on heavy ground.
He didn’t run badly in a Leopardstown Derby Trial upped to 1m2f in his comeback in May and then clashed with Paddington in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh back over a mile. In his only outing since that, he appeared not to get home in the Irish Derby at the Curragh in July.
Given a break since, he returns to a mile now and drops markedly in grade too, while the forecast conditions of ‘soft-soft to heavy in places’ at Cork are going to suit. Gavin Ryan’s partner could once more produce his very best stuff in the autumn.
Olympicus can add to tally
A quality afternoon of action from Nottingham as Colwick Park stages the finals day for their Grassroots Series, including the Middle Distance Final Handicap over an extended mile-and-a-quarter – one of five of Class 2 contests on the card.
Mick Appleby’s OLYMPICUS 5/1 may be the answer in the hands of Callum Shepherd. The American Pharoah gelding was formerly trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien in 2022 and opened his account at Newmarket (1m2f, good to firm) last month on fourth start for this handler.
He was gutsy there to hold off re-opposing Hakuna Babe and is actually 1lb better off with that rival now. He is still very low-mileage and, now that he has got his head in front, could be capable of further progress.
Korker can collect at Beverley
It has been a fantastic season for Karl Burke and the Spigot Lodge trainer has particularly been in hot form over the month of September, with 17 winners in the bag already.
KORKER 11/4 can hopefully get back to winning ways for Burke at Beverley in the Eddie And Violet Smith Conditions Stakes over 5f.
The four-year-old is the highest-rated horse in this field but he does not carry top weight in this Conditions race. Although he has yet to score in 2023, he has finished second on three occasions, including when runner-up at Sandown (5f, good) on his penultimate outing in Class 2 company.
Things didn’t go his way since at York in a deep field, where he was done no favours by a slow start. The son of Dandy Man has won four times over this minimum trip and while Marine Wave is a danger after finishing third in the Arran Scottish Sprint EBF Fillies’ Stakes at Ayr on Saturday, Richard Fahey’s filly will need a career-best to bag this prize.
