The George Boughey-trained Totally Charming© Photo Healy Racing
Totally Charming bids to provide Classic-winning trainer George Boughey with his first ever victory on Irish soil in the €100,000 Paddy Power Irish Lincolnshire at the Curragh this afternoon.
The Newmarket handler saddled 136 winners in Britain last season, only his fourth with a licence, with Cachet’s 1000 Guineas success at Newmarket being the clear highlight.
But despite his rapid rise through the training ranks, Boughey has sent only three horses across the Irish Sea and none have managed to return home a winner.
That could all change this weekend, however, with Totally Charming a clear favourite for the feature on the first day of the Irish Flat turf season.
Boughey said: “It’s a hard place to go Ireland! We’ve left them to it for a while, but it’s nice to go there with a horse that’s got a favourite’s chance.”
Totally Charming won four times in 2022, with his final victory of the campaign coming on heavy ground at Doncaster in October suggesting the forecast testing conditions on Saturday will hold no fears.
Boughey admits a wide starting berth in stall 22 is not ideal, but booking of champion jockey Colin Keane a clear positive.
“He’s travelled over well and we’re pleased with how he’s been training really,” the Hamilton Road handler added.
“He’s a horse who has shown his form on very soft ground at Doncaster at the end of the year and that was kind of the reason we decided to go to Ireland, rather than stay on the conventional route at home and go for the Lincoln at Doncaster next weekend.
“We entered him for the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton a couple of weeks ago, but he’s a pretty good horse fresh. He’s a horse who probably just needed another bit of work, it’s a long season ahead and we don’t want to go to the well too many times.”
Totally Charming is joined on the trip from Newmarket by the William Haggas-trained Lattam
The son of Lope De Vega won his first two starts at Thirsk and Haydock last summer before disappointing at Yarmouth and York, but Haggas feels he has plenty in his favour.
“Lattam is very well. I think he will enjoy the ground and the straight mile will suit so we are looking forward to running him,” he said.
“His form did tail off a bit last season, but he seems to be in good form this spring and I hope there is some improvement in the tank. That is what you are hoping with horses like him at this time of year and while he still has a bit of improvement to come in his coat, he is pretty fit and well.
“We’ve had the odd winner in Ireland without having many runners over there, but I felt the ground could be important to Lattam and I can’t guarantee we’d get his ground for our own Lincoln (at Doncaster on Saturday week), so we pointed him to the Curragh.
“Chris Hayes rides him and he knows the time of day. We have used Chris a bit over here and he rode a nice winner for us at Naas last year and a Listed winner for us at Dundalk previously.
“The owners are all set to go and are looking forward to a great day.”
The home team is headed by Donnacha O’Brien’s previous course winner Emporio who will be ridden by 7lb claimer Paddy Harnett.
O’Brien said: “He handles soft ground and is quite a high-class horse, probably a stakes horse, but a mile on soft ground is no problem and there are no problems with the conditions.
“I suppose to win a Lincoln, you probably have to be a stakes horse — I think he’s Listed class and we’ll find out more after he runs.”
Other notable contenders include Cosmic Vega who represents the new training team of Mick Halford and Tracey Collins, and Michael O’Callaghan’s well-travelled top-weight I Am Superman
Ado McGuinness, who won the 2020 Irish Lincolnshire, has declared no less than 10 runners, with No More Porter and Celtic Crown among them.
