Breeders' Cup Betting: Curragh Winners Seek the Luck of the Irish

Part 2 of “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge weekend in Ireland takes place Sunday at the Curragh with two Grade 1s -- the 7-furlong Moyglare Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the 5-furlong Flying Five Stakes for sprinters.

The Moyglare winner receives an automatic bid to the one-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on Oct. 31 at Del Mar. Last year Lake Victoria gave trainer Aidan O’Brien his 10^th Moyglare win before completing a 5-for-5 season at 3-5 odds on Breeders’ Cup Friday. The brilliant daughter of all-time great Frankel was the first to complete that double.

England-based Bradsell took the Flying Five last September in the dash down the Curragh’s straight, right-to-left course. It earned him a free trip to Del Mar for the 5-furlong Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1), where he showed little around a turn on a tight, left-handed oval and finished last of 11.

The only Flying Five-Sprint repeater has been the British-bred filly Glass Slippers, who enjoyed a Cinderella moment at nearly empty Keeneland in the COVID year of 2020. She paid $22.40 after beating the boys for jockey Tom Eaves and trainer Kevin Ryan.

Some Curragh History

American racegoers venerate Saratoga’s tradition that dates to 1863, but compared to the Curragh, the Spa is a newbie. At festivals 500 years before the birth of Christ, Celtic chieftains raced war horses across the County Kildare turf.

The Curragh is a broad, windswept plain about 25 miles southwest of Dublin, Ireland’s capital. It’s the headquarters of Irish racing and home of the Derby in late June.   

For those who like to bet on horse racing, here is some intel on the Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Flying Five. Program numbers and odds are in parentheses.

MOYGLARE STUD STAKES (2-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs)

Post time: 9:40 a.m. ET Sunday

As he often does in major stakes, Aidan O’Brien has this one surrounded. The all-time great will send out three in the field of seven, including the favorite, Composing (2, 7-5), as well as Precise (4, 11-1) and Beautify (1, 6-1). Composing is a horse for course (2-for-3 at the Curragh), 3-for-4 lifetime and 2-for-2 at the distance. Beat her to win.

As of Friday, there was a 95-percent chance of rain, according to weather.com. That shouldn’t bother Composing, who has a victory on yielding ground.  

England-based trainer Karl Burke is outstanding with 2-year-olds, and his 4-for-4 Venetian Sun (7, 3-2) looks like the main threat to Composing. She took the Albany Stakes (G3) at Royal Ascot and last month handed O’Brien’s Gstaad his first defeat in the prestigious Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville. Unlike Composing, Venetian Sun has never gone 7 furlongs, so the extra eighth of a mile is an unknown zone.

Like her stablemate Composing, Precise is 2-for-2 at 7 furlongs, and she’s coming off a Group 3 win at Goodwood. If the top two have an off day, she could capitalize.              

The picks: 1. Composing 2. Venetian Sun 3. Precise                  

FLYING FIVE STAKES (5 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up)

Post time: 10:15 a.m. ET Sunday

Enjoy this 16-horse dash down the Curragh’s straight, right-to-left sprint course. Maybe the field will split into two or three groups, or perhaps it will be a tight pack surging down the middle. No matter how it shakes out, it’s sure to be a spectacle.    

Arizona Blaze (6, 10-1) is a course-and-distance winner who looks like a live longshot. Two starts back, he dominated a Group 2 going 5 furlongs at the Curragh. He faded to 11^th last time at York, but don’t be surprised if he rebounds at a nice price. He likes the course (3-for-6, one second, two thirds) and won this spring on soft ground in France. Play him across the board.

Bucanero Fuerte (2, 4-1) loves the Curragh (4-for-6), is 2-for-3 at 5 furlongs and in sharp form. He’s 2-for-2 this year and comes off a Curragh victory in a Group 3 last month. That was at 6 furlongs, and the turnback should improve his late kick.

The 11-4 favorite is the 7-year-old Australian mare Asfoora (9), who scored at 11-1 last month in a Group 1 at York. Oddly, she adds blinkers after an impressive victory, and she’s 0-for-2 on soft going the past two years in England. Repeat winner or vulnerable underlay in tough field?

 She’s Quality (12, 10-1) burns win bettors (4-for-20) but a good play in an exacta backwheel. She was second in graded stakes in four of her last five, including a neck loss in a Group 1 on soft ground.

Two Stars (5, 10-1) makes his graded-stakes debut and might be good enough to contend. After a 2-for-2 start this season he’s been off since April, but he’s won twice off extended layoffs, including one of his two victories at the Curragh.

The picks: 1. Arizona Blaze 2. Bucanero Fuerte 3. She’s Quality

Ed McNamara