2026 Sandown Thursday Tips

We almost landed a whopper with Carolina Jetstream on Sunday. She ran an absolute cracker and she should be capable of winning a stakes race on good ground at some stage. The Brigadier Gerard Stakes is the feature at Sandown on Thursday night and I have a couple of e/w fancies on the card.

5.42 – National Stakes (Listed)

Even in modest sized fields like this, it is usually a big advantage to be drawn low in sprints at Sandown. In the last 20 runnings of this 2yo sprint only four times has it been won by horses drawn 6 or higher. Two of the most fancied horses here are drawn in 7 and 8, so could there be an upset on the cards?

Napa recorded an RPR of 95 when winning at Sandown and the third, fifth and sixth from that race have all won since. The Naval Crown colt has been handed a lovely draw in stall 2 and it would be no surprise whatsoever if he bounces out and makes all, just like he did at HQ.

The outsider that appeals most is Dandyman Dan. Trained by David Evans, whose horses are flying, this son of Dandy Man won on debut at Bath despite doing a lot wrong and being sent off at 40-1. He was a step slowly away, he ran green and he bumped a rival but in the end, he overcame that adversity to win by just over a length.

The runner up went close in another maiden on the AW next time, the third won, and the fourth and the fifth were both second on their next outings so it wasn’t a bad race in hindsight.

Does he have the pedigree to win at this level? Well, his Dark Angel dam is a half-sister to Start Time, who was placed in a G3 as a 2yo, and his grand-dam Silca’s Sister was a 6f G1 2yo winner for Saeed Bin Suroor.

Hopefully Dandyman Dan has learned plenty from that debut run at Bath and if he is more professional here, he might be able to sneak some black type from the plum draw in stall 1. At odds of 25/1, a modest e/w interest is advised.

2026 Sandown Thursday Tip: Dandyman Dan e/w @ 25/1

6.42 – Heron Stakes (listed)

Ed Walker won this with his recent G1 hero Almaqam in 2024 and while he did have the benefit of a prep run before the race, I think it might be worth taking a chance on Golden Knight for him here on his seasonal reappearance.

This Camelot colt was beaten 2.25l into fourth on debut at Haydock last September (1m, gd-sft) and the winner and runner up from that race are now rated 96 and 108 respectively. Just under a month later he went on to win a Newmarket novice (1m, good), and the third, fourth and fifth from that race have all gone on to win various races since.

Golden Knight dominated that race from the front and I thought it was a pretty impressive performance. He’s impeccably bred, being out of G3 winner and he’s a half-brother to Delphi (Listed & G3 winner) and Credenza (placed in Listed, G3 and G2 company).

His pedigree suggests he’ll stay further than a mile in time but he was effective over this trip last time so it makes sense to stick to it for now. Hopefully Walker has him fit and ready and if he does, Golden Knight can outrun his odds of 22/1.

2026 Sandown Brigadier Gerard Meeting Tip: Golden Knight e/w @ 22/1

-DaveStevos

2026 Curragh Sunday Preview & Tips

The less said about Saturday the better. Spicy Marg finished third but due to a non-runner, third wasn’t good enough for a place. Aqua Bear shortened into 12s from 66s and Squealer was backed into 12s too but neither horse raised a gallop.

To be fair to Fregada, she ran a decent race and she was only 2l off a place in sixth and Mgheera wasn’t too far off a place either and the only positive was that Suspended Sentence was a non-runner so we ‘only’ had six losers.

On Sunday the Irish 1000 Guineas is the feature, confidence has taken a battering but hopefully we do better.

2.15 – Marble Hill Stakes (Group 3)

Some decent juveniles have won this over the years, including the likes of Caravaggio, Siskin, Blackbeard and Arizona Blaze. This year Great Barrier Reef is a prohibitive odds on fav for Ballydoyle, fresh from a treble here yesterday. By No Nay Never, he was very impressive when winning easily on debut over C&D. The ground was soft that day and the form hasn’t worked out but his pedigree suggests that he’ll be even better on faster ground and it would be no surprise were he to hack up.

His odds reflect his chance though and at a double figure price, I’ll side with Robson De Aguiar’s son of Persian Force, Immortal Guard. Very well backed on debut over C&D (good) three weeks ago, he overcame a slightly tardy start to get off the mark at the first attempt and score by half a length.

The third went close in another maiden next time out, the fifth hosed up at Cork this earlier week and after the race, his trainer suggested he would improve plenty for whatever he did first time out. De Aguiar’s other runner, Edward Thatch looks a useful sort too but at odds of 14/1, I’ll take a chance on Immortal Guard e/w.

2026 Curragh Sunday Tip: Immortal Guard e/w @ 14/1

2.45 – Spring Fillies’ Handicap (100 = 9st 12lb)

Usually I avoid handicap debutants but in this 3yo race it might be worth making an exception. Down based trainer Natalia Lupini’s horses are often underrated and she has her string in excellent form right now. Zia Zabel went mightily close to springing a surprise in a G3 here yesterday and in the same silks, Goomah could go well here.

By Sioux Nation, this filly showed glimmers of promise in a couple of 7f Dundalk maidens at the backend of last season. The money came for her on her seasonal return in a 7f Leopardstown maiden (good) and she was beaten just 0.75l in third, just tiring in the closing stages.

That probably wasn’t the strongest of maidens but it was a decent effort and you’d imagine she’ll improve plenty for the run. By Sioux Nation, the step up to a mile raises questions but she’s a half to a 1m5f winner, her dam won over a mile and she is a half to a 1m5f G3 winner so there is a good chance she’ll stay 1m on breeding.

Wayne Lordan (25/182 with 44 top 4s for the yard) keeps the faith and on the form of her second run at Dundalk, an opening mark of 77 could well be workable. At odds of 22/1, Goomah is the each way selection.

2026 Curragh Sunday Tip: Goomah e/w @ 22/1 (4 places)

3.20 – Lanwades Stud Stakes (Group 2)

I put Carolina Jetstream up for a Listed race at Naas last week but she was withdrawn on account of good ground. Given that my angle for tipping her was her excellent run in a maiden here on good ground, her only previous turf run on that kind of surface, it was a bit of a headscratcher.

Another filly that long time followers will be familiar with is Hey Boo. Last year, she was my fancy for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket but she never landed a blow, finishing just over 5l behind the winner Desert Flower in eighth. On her next start, she was bitterly disappointing at Sandown but the soft ground likely didn’t suit the daughter of Wootton Bassett’s sire, Iffraaj.

Jack Channon’s filly got back on track on her final run of 2025 when finishing a close second in a Listed heat back at Newmarket (1m, gd-fm), beaten 0.75l behind Francophone, who re-opposes here. She goes well fresh and she could turn the tables, but I just can’t get away from Carolina Jetstream.

Apart from the good ground angle, she just missed out on black type at Dundalk last November when a 1.75l fourth and a neck in front of her was Jancis, a 3/1 shot here. De Aguiar and Amo also run California Dreamer here, and she is preferred by retained rider David Egan but Donagh O’Connor is 2/2 on Carolina Jetstream so maybe, he was given the ride again for that reason.

I’ll be having a small bet on Hey Boo too at 22s but I have to stick to my guns and tip Carolina Jetstream e/w for small stakes again. Odds of 80/1 are just too tempting to resist.

2026 Curragh Sunday Tip: Carolina Jetstream e/w @ 80/1 (4 places)

4.30 – Irish 1000 Guineas (Group 1)

Nothing really appealed at a price in the previous race so we’ll move onto the main event. Due to time constraints, I’ll have to be brief. The one I’ve backed is Magny Cours.  A daughter of Awtaad, she produced the best run of her 2yo career on her last start of 2025 and she improved again on her seasonal return at Leopardstown.

In that comeback race she was dropped out early, produced wide and stayed on really nicely to take a 1.25l second behind True Love, who is odds on here. Magny Cours should not be 50s and with the step up to 1m almost certain to suit on breeding, she is the each way selection.

2026 Curragh Sunday Tip: Magny Cours e/w @ 50/1

-DaveStevos

2026 Irish 2000 Guineas Preview & Tips

We got back into the winner’s enclosure on Saturday with Song Of The Clyde. What a relief! This weekend, we have two cracking days of racing at the Curragh. On Saturday, the 3yo colts take centre stage for the Irish 2000 Guineas and then on Sunday, it’s all about the girls in the 1000 Guineas.

We’ve had a bit of success in these races before, including when we backed Romanised to win at 40/1 (one of my favourite ever tips, hard to believe it was eight years ago) and last year, the 1000 Guineas was the race that convinced me to put Cercene up for Ascot at triple-figure odds. Hopefully this year’s renewals are equally as fruitful.

2026 Irish 2000 Guineas

Gstaad, a winner of three of his seven races, is a very short price to go one better than he did at Newmarket. He should come on for that run and he is miles clear on official ratings but 4/9? That looks a bit too short to me, especially when you consider his all-conquering yard’s recent record in this race isn’t exactly what you might expect (two wins in ten years).

O’Brien has three other runners and no doubt they’ll do their very best to ensure the race is run to suit Gstaad but, in saying that, his Coolmore owned sire Starspangledbanner has already sired multiple Group 1 winners and he’s 19 years old now so commercially, it would probably be better for their operation if Neolithic won.

He’s by Sioux Nation, another Coolmore sire, and he has yet to sire a Group 1 winner in Ireland, the UK or France. His fee has risen steadily since he was introduced at 12,500 in 2019 and after another 7.5k hike this year, his fee now stands at 37,500. Seen as a speed influence by most, if he were to sire a 1m G1 winner his fee would probably double next year. At 40s, he might be worth a little e/w dabble.

Star To Shine?

However, at even bigger odds I am going to go with another son of Starspangledbanner, the Johnny Murtagh trained Take Charge Star. According to my research, this will be Murtagh’s first runner in the Irish 2000 Guineas since his only previous runner in 2013, Fort Knox, who finished out the back.

Given the success he has had since joining the training ranks, I was hugely surprised by that fact. My thinking is that he’s been waiting until he had a proper horse to have another go and while on bare form with a rating of just 97 Take Charge Star has no apparent chance, if he had got a clearer run in the Listed Tetrarch Stakes over C&D (good) last time out I think he may have beaten Neolithic (40s here).

On his seasonal return at Naas, he ran in a three runner 1m conditions race on soft ground and finished 4l behind Hardy Warrior, who is 33s here. He also failed to reach the first four in the Goffs Million on soft ground last season. However, I’m not sure testing ground is his bag and while there was lots of rain around in Ireland early this week, the forecast is much better for the next few days so it should be beautiful ground for both the 2000 and 1000 Guineas this weekend.

Pedigree Pointers

Is Take Charge Star bred to be a Guineas horse? Well, he’s by the same sire as the 4/9 favourite, so that box is ticked. There’s encouragement to be taken from the dam side of his pedigree too. He’s out of a Group 2 winning Selkirk mare, and Selkirk is damsire to the likes of Daryz, Benbatl, Inspiral and Kinross, among others. His half-sister Albigna won the French 1000 Guineas and his granddam’s half-sister Domedriver won the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He certainly has the pedigree, anyway. 

It was Take Charge Star’s first run over 1m on good ground last time and given how he was ridden, buried on the inner, it was probably a fact-finding mission. Given that he has been left in the race, Ben Coen must have been pretty happy with the run and he did travel very strongly until he ran out of room 2f out, got checked and lost all momentum. I think there could be a bigger run than the odds suggest in this colt so at 66/1, a small e/w interest is advised. Hopefully he can sneak into the first three.

2026 Irish 2000 Guineas Tip: Take Charge Star e/w @ 66/1

-DaveStephens

2026 Naas Sunday Preview

After a confidence boosting winner with Song Of The Clyde on Saturday and a good run from our NAP Spyce (who just missed a place in fourth) I have decided to do another write up for tomorrow’s meeting at Naas. Find out who I am backing in my 2026 Naas Sunday preview below.

2.26 – ALTO Equine Handicap (100 = 10st)

Earlier this season I put the quirky Senna’s Girl up for the Irish Lincolnshire. It’s fair to say she ran a stinker but she clearly needed that run and it has been much more like it in two runs since then.

On her next start after the Lincoln she ran a cracker at Leopardstown in a first time tongue tie over 7f (yld-sft). Running off 78 and drawn in the car park, she stayed on really nicely in the closing stages to grab fourth, finishing 3.75l behind the winner.

Diego Dias decided to return to maiden company at Limerick on her next start (1m, yielding) and she again ran a really nice race. Wearing cheekpieces and a tongue tie this time, she ran on strongly after a slightly slow start for a 2.75l third.

The handicapper generously dropped her another 1lb for that run and with Rory Mulligan’s claim, she is effectively 7lb lower than when running so well at Leopardstown. The way she finishes off her races, the stiff finish at Naas could suit her and she has run well on good ground before, though there was a fair bit of rain on Saturday so it shouldn’t be too quick tomorrow.

The headgear she wore last time is retained and while she’s drawn wide, she’ll be dropped out early anyway so that isn’t really a negative. At odds of 12/1, Senna’s Girl is the each way NAP of the day.

2026 Naas Sunday Tip: Senna’s Girl e/w @ 12/1 NAP (4 places)

3.56 – Owenstown Stud Stakes (Listed)

I am going to take a punt on one at huge odds here. On the figures, Carolina Jetstream has no apparent chance here. She is rated 95 so she has over a stone to find with some of her higher rated rivals but she does get a few pounds of an allowance from the boys and she is unexposed on good ground.

This daughter of Pinatubo has shown all her best form on the AW. All four of her career wins have come at Dundalk, the latest a handicap off 92 in February. She has also dipped her toe in Listed company at that venue and she was a whisker away from nicking some black type in fourth, finishing 1.25l behind the winner Aviatrice and a neck behind the runner up Jancis, who won the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on her next outing.

Carolina Jetstream is 0-4 on turf and three of her four runs on grass have been piss poor. However, for those three runs she was running on soft and heavy ground. The only time in her career she ran on good ground was in a Curragh maiden as a 2yo back in October 2024 and she ran an excellent race to finish a 2.25l third behind Giselle, a subsequent Listed winner who finished fifth in the 2025 Oaks.

It is crazy to think this will be her first run on good ground since then and I am hoping she might improve plenty for it. At odds of 50/1, it is worth chancing that she does.

2026 Naas Sunday Tip: Carolina Jetstream e/w @ 50/1

-DaveStevos

2026 Chester Cup Preview & Tip

Our poor run continued last weekend, though I must admit I was rather pleased with Spicy Marg's run in the 1000 Guineas. She was only around 1.5l off a place and it’ll be interesting to see where she pitches up next. The 2026 Chester Cup is next on the agenda, get my preview and tip below.

2026 Chester Cup

If the ground is good, I think A Piece Of Heaven could be hard to beat here. He was a horse I flagged up as one to follow for Barry Fitzgerald two seasons ago but he has yet to get his head in front since joining Joseph O’Brien. However, he has run some cracking races in defeat when he’s had quick ground, including a narrow defeat in the Irish Cesarewitch, he’s got a great draw and there’s a good chance this track will suit.

However, he’s much too short for this blog at odds of 7/1 and instead, I’ll take a chance on another Irish raider, Zanndabad. Trained by Tony Martin, this dual-purpose sort has been racing over hurdles most recently. After a few months off he returned with a modest run in a Grade 1 at Aintree, but that was probably a run designed to blow away the cobwebs ahead of another tilt at this race.

In 2024 Zanndabad ran a huge race in this off a mark of 92, denied a clear run and beaten just 1l behind Zoffee. His patient run style means he is often a hostage to fortune and he’s met trouble a couple of times when shaping well in these big field staying handicaps.

For example, last August he was beaten just 1.75l when fourth in a valuable 1m4f handicap at York after encountering traffic problems. It was a similar story when he was a never nearer sixth in the 2024 Irish Cesarewitch. Given his run style, he’s going to need luck to win this so he isn’t one to be having a wedge on but if the gaps come at the right time, Zanndabad is more than capable of running a big race at 16/1 and he is the e/w selection.

2024 Chester Cup Tip: Zanndabad e/w @ 16/1 (4 places 1/4 odds)

-DaveStevos