Churchill a worthy favourite in Irish 2000 Guineas

Already has the measure of his rivals

That will do plenty to encourage punters as he aims to do the Guineas double, and the fact he already shows a pair of wins at this track doesn’t put us off either, taking the Futurity Stakes in August and the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes in September.

This track is, of course, the scene of his sole defeat to date, but that was on debut, over shorter and on soft ground, so has been forgotten about. The selection already has the measure of most of these, and if running to the best of his ability, nothing in the pack will get close to beating him. Ryan Moore takes the ride, which is another massive plus for backers, and although he’s short, he fully deserves to be.

Nice price on Captain Power

Next best on the list goes earlier in the day, the 2.25pm handicap, settled over six furlongs. Of a whopping 22-runner field, we pin our hopes on Captain Power. Another favourite, but there’s much more of a price going for us here, with Coral offering an attractive 8/1.

He made his first outing of the year last month when finishing mid-division at Navan, but we expect that run to have sharpened his senses again. There was plenty to like about that effort, away from the bare result, and if getting the benefits of it, that we expect to see, he’ll have a major say in this one. There’s a few ifs and buts here, but the price makes him easy to take a chance on, and that’s what we do.

Curragh selections

1.50 – Clemmie

2.25 – Captain Power

3.00 – Brother Bear

3.35 – Acapulco

4.10 – Churchill

4.45 – Opal Tiara

5.15 – Song Of Namibia

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