Racing tips: Goldana can give the weight away and give a beating to the youngsters at the Curragh

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Runner-ups seem to be haunting me over the last few weeks or so, and yesterday was no different with two finishing in that position. Lezoo was a NR and Sir Rumi who I put up as my most confident selection of the day fell out of the gates and nearly unseated the jockey…somehow. The jockey didn't impress me at all, he didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing, couldn't straighten the horse and I refuse to believe that horse finished that far back based on how well-handicapped he is/was.

Curragh 3:00 – Honey Girl 5/1 (1pt PaddyPower)

The Curragh is expecting plenty of rain from the night before all the way through to the start of racing so the ground is going to be very testing, which isn't going to suit horses so finding a horse who relishes soft ground is the way for today.

Honey Girl will feel back at home on testing ground and I expect a return to form from Joseph O'Brien's 4yo filly who was progressing nicely at the start of the season before running on ground which was too quick in high calibre races where you can't afford to be running on ground which isn't ideal. Being an older horse it isn't ideal giving away to the younger more unexposed horses, but the 3yos in this race don't exactly look bombproof with Tarawa being the main threat to my selection, in my opinion.

We've seen it at the Curragh over the years where it pays dividends to be sat close to the pace, and with Honey Girl drawn in two and being a prominent racer, I think she'll get the perfect sit throughout this race, as long as she doesn't get trapped in on the rail. Trying to make up the ground on ground which will feel like treacle will be a tough ask, so being close to the pace will be a benefit, so hopefully Dylan can get her out of the stalls quickly and get a handy position.

The form of her wins isn't immense by any means, but she was giving away some serious weight in the maiden victory at the start of the season and then she demolished a Group 3 field. I thought she ran with credit in the Group 2 at this track over a mile on good ground and I think you've got to look past the Royal Ascot run. She'll feel more comfortable with soft ground, and I think she is the play at the odds.

Curragh 4:00 – Goldana 13/2 (1pt EW Bet365)

Weight-for-age allowances are useful to have on 3yos when racing against the older horses and it is often enough to put punters off from backing the older horses who are carrying big weights, but that doesn't put me off from backing Goldana in this race.

She is carrying a penalty as well as conceding weight to the 3yos, but I don't think the 3yos are particularly strong. She is a horse who has been crying out for soft ground since winning on soft ground at the Curragh over 7f, but she hasn't got it and has run well in some good races on good ground, not being disgraced in the slightest. She was trained in Germany before moving to Joseph's yard and she was best on ground with juice in it, which is what she'll get today. She is proven over the trip as she won a 1m 1f race in Germany, and she looked like she needed further when landing the Group 3 in mid-April as she did the best of her work late in that race and was pulling away at the finish.

The hype will be around Cadeau Belle who is 2/2 for the Murtagh stable, but the form doesn't convince me. She struggled to beat some 70 rated horses on debut, she then won a Listed race beating Cigamia, who isn't a great filly, and she's not exactly bred to stay this trip on a track which does take some getting for the distances. They didn't go quick last time at Navan on good ground, the time didn't look great and though it looked like she was staying on well, it looked to be a sprint finish, so I have doubts, even with the weight going against my horse. Out of the younger horses I thought Village Voice was the danger, she stays the trip and will handle the ground, but I do like siding with the older horses in races like this and I thought 13/2 for Goldana was a solid option, with proven Group level form.

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