I was busy on Saturday, so I asked Cairnzy to fill in for me.
Cairnzy focused his sole selection in the 1000 Guineas with Aidan O'Brien's most likely winner based on jockey bookings. However, as we saw yesterday, it doesn't always work out like that.
Aidan won the race, but it was Wayne Lordan's mount who got the win. Ryan Moore's horse, Precise, was prominent on the far rail but didn't get involved and faded away inside the final furlong.
Esperti 7/1 (0.5pt EW, 3pl) – Fakenham 4.38
Planned Paradise was put on the thread last time out, and he was clearly not at the races. It wouldn't surprise me if he bounced back to form to put egg on my face, but Jack Tudor fancies the other Christian Williams horse, so I think we'll be fine.
Esperti is in the form of his life, and I think there's every chance that he will be fine with today's tougher opposition. In hindsight, he should have been arriving at Fakenham with three wins in a row, but he was given a fairly soft ride at Chesptow, which came before his two wins.
His handicap mark has started to go up quite quickly on the back of his two fairly comfortable wins, but knowing he is a strong stayer and handles the track and ground, he looks a safe option.
Copper Knight 6/1 (0.75pt EW, 3pl) – Beverley 4.15
It's crazy to think that Copper Knight is still racing at the age of 12. He still has love for the game based on his seasonal reappearance in a Class 2 at Ripon, where he finished in second place.
There's an obvious case to be made for other, younger horses against Copper Knight, but he is a very consistent sprinter who might appreciate a weaker race than last time out.
Copper Knight has only raced at this venue twice, which is a shock, but I can't see any reason to believe it won't suit his running style. He is drawn in Stall 2, so we could do with him breaking from the stalls nicely, or else we could be in trouble.
This doesn't look like a particularly strong race, and no other horse looks like they are miles ahead of the handicapper, so a chance is taken on the old boy.
Causeway EVS (2pt) – Curragh 2.25
How many times do we see a big improvement from Aidan O'Brien's three-year-olds from their first run back? I think we see it quite regularly. He saddles two horses in this race, but Ryan Moore has opted for Causeway. On paper, you'd say that Neolithic has the better chance of winning, so seeing Ryan pick Causeway is eye-catching.
Causeway showed a decent level of improvement on his return at Naas in March, where he won by a head in an okay handicap. His form as a two-year-old wasn't great, so to see that level of improvement (RPR of 104) showcases that he has a fair amount of ability.
Aidan's horses generally come on plenty for their first run of the season, so I'm expecting another leap forward at the Curragh.
GambleAware