Cathryn Fry’s exclusive Curragh preview ahead of Irish Guineas Sunday. Read her thoughts for kwiff below.
Irish 100 Guineas: Cath’s Exclusive Curragh Preview
Lake Victoria heads the betting for the Irish 1,000 Guineas, and it’s easy to see why. The Frankel filly was flawless as a two-year-old, going unbeaten through five starts, including a trio of Group 1 triumphs. She made an immediate impression on debut at the Curragh last June, defeating the highly regarded Red Letter over seven furlongs. A month later, she traveled to Newmarket and stamped her authority in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes with a commanding performance.
Curragh Clues: Lake Victoria Worthy Fav
Her upward trajectory continued with a first Group 1 win in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh. Though only facing four rivals, her display left no doubts about her class. She followed that with a dazzling six-furlong win at Newmarket and capped off her juvenile season with a brilliant mile victory at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar.
She returned to action three weeks ago in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, finishing a below-par sixth, clearly needing the run. With that effort under her belt, she looks primed to return to her best and justify favouritism this time out. However, the price of 5/4 isn’t really a betting proposition for myself so I’m looking at a filly at a bigger price…
You’ve got a friend in Memphis…..
After winning her Maiden at Cork at the beginning of the month, City Of Memphis’ trainer Paddy Twomey had this to say: “We bought her off Katie Walsh at the breeze-ups last year and just waited with her. We haven’t looked much, but she has plenty of ability and, everything she does, she does with ease.”
“We were confident coming here that she would run a good race and I’m delighted she has won. When you go to the breeze-up sale, you pay your money and take your chance. We’ve been lucky with Alan (O’Flynn, owner). He asked me to buy him fillies in the past few years and we got Purple Lily the first year and now this one, so he has two nice fillies. We’ll take her home now, and aim to go up the grades, hoping to get black-type.
Curragh Clues: Each Way Value
City Of Memphis was supplemented for the 1,000 Guineas and connections feel the step up to a mile will pose no problem. Certainly looking at her pedigree there is an abundance of stamina on the dam side, plus, her win over six furlongs at Cork, saw her going away in style. There have been doubts raised about her being by Sioux Nation, who is mostly known for producing sprinters but when pressed on that issue, Paddy Twomey stated: People think all Sioux Nations are sprinters but if you study them, they stay further than you think.”
The trainer and jockey combination of Paddy Twomey and Billy Lee have been in sparkling form since the start of the turf season. In the last fourteen days alone, Paddy has a 53% strike rate with Billy Lee on 18%. At the general price of 14/1, it’s City Of Memphis for me.
By Cathryn Fry
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