Story Could Benefit From Step Up In Trip At The Curragh

Romanised was a well deserved winner at the Curragh on Saturday in the 2000 Guineas. He was still widely available at 40/1 a couple of hours before the race and to be honest I am still scratching my head as to how he was such a massive price. His run behind Masar left him with very little to find with the market leaders and he beat US Navy Flag easily in the Coventry. He stayed on powerfully in the final furlong to beat that rival again and he will stay even further. A tilt at the Irish Derby could be next on the cards for Ken Condon’s star.


There is another excellent card at the Curragh on Sunday and the fillies will take centre stage in the 1000 Guineas. I don’t fancy anything at a big price in the race but if I was forced to have a bet I would take a chance on Chiara Luna at odds of 8/1. She shaped well on her seasonal reappearance and she is a War Front filly so theoretically she should relish the good to firm ground.
 

Another Story looks well worth a crack at 10f.

The one I am taking a chance on at a big price is another filly that runs in the preceding 10f handicap at 3.35. Sheila Lavery is a trainer I have massive respect for and she has her string in fine fettle at the moment. Another Story goes for her in this contest off a mark of 89 and she looks potentially well treated on her fine effort here in the Cambridgeshire over a mile last season.

She was settled in rear early and a couple of furlongs out Ronan Whelan stoked her up and asked her to close on the leaders. He found himself behind a wall of horses though and around 1.5F out he had to switch her right across to the near side. When she eventually found daylight she stayed on strongly late in the day and she was only 5L behind the winner at the finish.

This daughter of Rip Van Winkle ran a very respectable race in a 7f Group 3 at Naas the only time she has encountered good to firm ground, finishing in fairly close proximity to subsequent Group 2 winner Elizabeth Browning. She won her first three starts on the all weather at Dundalk, but even though she remains a maiden on turf I think she has displayed enough ability to pick up a race.

The step up in trip is another plus on the evidence of her run in the Cambridgeshire, and her pedigree suggests it will suit too. Her sire was a Group 1 winner at 10f and her half brother Twin Star won a 10f maiden on good to firm at Navan. There is no shortage of stamina on the dam side of her pedigree and I think at odds of 25/1 she is worth chancing each way upped to 10f for the first time on her return to action after a 3 month break.

STEVOS’ SELECTION: 3.35 CURRAGH-ANOTHER STORY E/W @ 25/1