The renowned US jockey Mike Smith glories in the tag of ‘Big Money Mike’ and the moniker might apply to at least one lucky rider at the Curragh this weekend.
Europe’s richest two-year-old race, the Goffs Million, is at HQ on Saturday. Twenty-four hours later, the €500,000 Friends of the Curragh Irish Cesarewitch takes place.
It is the fifth year in a row of the two races in their current iterations making up a lucrative weekend that might pique even Smith’s famed interest in scooping up big pots. The American is a Curragh classic winner, albeit 35 years ago on Fourstars Allstar in the 2,000 Guineas.
The Cesarewitch has dropped €100,000 in value, although at €500,000, the big handicap is still worth the same as the Irish St Leger. Before that, half-a-million euro will go to the winner of the big juvenile contest confined to horses catalogued at last year’s Goffs Orby Sale.
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Be In Love, the Coolmore-owned sales topper, is one of the 20 runners and there’s prize money down to €10,000 for tenth.
Ballydoyle scooped the riches a year ago through Dorset and have the highest rated in the field with the 110-rated colt Carry The Flag, who was runner-up in the Prix Morny during the summer.
His usual pace-forcing style over seven furlongs might stretch his stamina and plenty will be prepared to put their faith in the Group One form exhibited by Paddy Twomey’s Trean when fourth in the National Stakes. Twomey won the Million with the newcomer One Look in 2023.
There are six cross-channel raiders and having disappointed on soft ground at Goodwood on her last start, there could be some value in the €80,000 Orby purchase Bayside View.
Twomey takes on the O’Brien family in Saturday’s Group Two Churchill Tyres Beresford Stakes and his hope, City Of Dubai, might be up to taking the fight to them now that the stable has hit form again. That his ownership sponsors the race too hardly harms City Of Dubai’s chances.
A maximum field of 30 runners will take their Cesarewitch chances, although a massive 14 of them are from Joseph O’Brien’s yard alone.
The concentration of staying talent in the O’Brien team has been repeatedly underlined this season with speculation he could have up to 10 runners in the biggest staying handicap of all, November’s Melbourne Cup.
The O’Briens, father and son, have split the last four runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch between them. Port Of Spain is Ballydoyle’s sole hope this time.
Valiancy is the single cross-channel hope and his chances shouldn’t be underestimated, given the lengths jockey James Doyle appears to be ready to go through to ride.
The double Curragh classic-winning rider is in action in New York on Saturday night. He partners Ralph Beckett’s Pride Of Arras in the 1½ mile Grade One Turf Classic at the newly reopened Belmont Park. Doyle also teams up with another English hope, Sunlit Uplands, in the Grade Two Flower Bowl, which is off at 10.54 Irish time.
Nevertheless, he’s jetting back to be at the Curragh for his Wathnan Racing retainer. Valiancy could find this trip much more suitable than the extreme stamina test he encountered at Goodwood on his last start. Even in a two-mile race, a single-figure draw will be no negative either.
Henry de Bromhead is solely represented by Tim Toe while Willie Mullins has three hopefuls including The Reverend. He also has a first reserve in Too Bossy For Us that would be no back number if getting in.
Conditions at the Curragh could get quite testing if forecasts of up to 15mm of rainfall on Sunday morning materialise.
It would be no impediment to Royal Bay Cen in the Group Three Qatar Renaissance Stakes. Johnny Murtagh’s French import sluiced up by nine lengths on her Irish debut in a Listed contest at Cork in the spring. She couldn’t repeat that on a better surface on her only subsequent start at Naas.
Murtagh might also fancy his chances in Sunday’s other Group Three, the Darley Stakes, with his impressive Gowran maiden winner Curracloe for the Qatar Racing team. Alpine Wedding was fourth from a wide draw in that Gowran contest and has won since. She may prove the danger.
