St Nicholas Abbey is in the Mooresbridge© Photo Healy Racing
The High Chaparral EBF Mooresbridge Stakes tops the bill on an exciting card at the Curragh on Bank Holiday Monday and the Group Three contest has quality written all over it with St Nicholas Abbey, Sharestan, Famous Name, Chrysanthemum and Unaccompanied among the 12 horses still left in the race.
St Nicholas Abbey, runner up to Cirrus Des Aigles at Meydan last month on his seasonal debut, is one of four horses left in the race by trainer Aidan O’Brien, who also has Memphis Tennessee, Robin Hood and Windsor Palace.
O’Brien is also well represented in the Canford Cliffs EBF Athasi Stakes and can choose between Empowering, After, Ahimsa, Ishvana Soon and Up. Alanza, Fire Lily and Princess Sinead are three other interesting home-trained challengers for the Group Three prize, while Mick Channon has left both Lady Gorgeous and Tinzapees in the seven furlong contest.
Lady Gorgeous also features among the 16 horse remaining in the Listed Dylan Thomas EBF Tetrarch Stakes as is her stable companion Tidentime, while the Mark Johnson-trained Bannock is the other overseas challenger. Once again Aidan O’Brien is well represented with no fewer than seven (After, Ahimsa, Ishvana, Soon, Triumphant, Vault and Wonderful) entries, while the promising Takar is likely to take his chance for Curragh-based trainer John Oxx.
Racing opens at 2.20pm with the Alfred Nobel EBF Maiden for which there are 12 entries. Five of those have already tasted racecourse action, including Canary Row which ran the highly regarded Dawn Approach to one and three quarter lengths in the opening juvenile contest of the season at this venue last month. The Newbridge Credit Union Handicap and the Keadeen Hotel Wedding Specialists Handicap are both wide open contests, while National Hunt fans are catered for with concluding The Irish Field INH Flat Race.
The Curragh have reduced the adult admission price to €10, under 25s and seniors are only €5 while Under 16s accompanied by an adult are free. A family package is only €15.
In addition to 8 exciting races on the track, an impressive variety of free entertainment is planned to take place throughout the day with a major family theme including a magnificent display by the Defence Forces, live music, the Horse Racing Ireland Front Runner Racing Club and the chance to ride the Horse Racing simulator
