Group 1 winner War Command will lead Aidan O’Brien’s quest for a tenth Irish 2,000 Guineas win at the Curragh on Saturday. The three year-old leads the team of four Ballydoyle colts in the Tattersall-sponsored Classic.
War Command, who came ninth in the 2,000 Guineas earlier this month, will be hoping to place better than his run at Newmarket. The colt will again go up against Guineas rivals Kingman and Shifting Power, who came in second and fourth place, respectively, at Newmarket.
O’Brien, who will be attempting to win the contest for the fourth consecutive year, revealed on Sunday: “We are looking at running War Command, Great White Eagle, Fountain Of Youth, and Michaelmas, while Palace and Marvellous are likely to run in the 1,000 Guineas on Sunday.
That is our likely line-up for both Guineas and they are all in good form and working well.”
PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
War Command was added to the Curragh Classic at Monday’s supplementary stage for €30,000, and all four of O’Brien’s colts remained on the 16-runner ticket after Tuesday’s forfeits.
Following the forfeit stage and the confirmation that Shifting Power was added to the fold, punters have a nice variety of options to bet on ahead of Saturday’s race.
Kingman leads the market at 
Paddy Power 4-6, followed by Mustajeeb at 11-2. War Command is currently third favourite at 13-2, ahead of Shifting Power (7-1) and Great White Eagle (14-1). Michaelmas is at 16-1, while Fountain of Youth is near the bottom at 25-1.
As reported yesterday, the ground at the Curragh was changed to yielding to soft from good on Monday morning after a heavy bout of rainfall. The track’s general manager Paul Hensey (@HenseyPaul) tweeted: “We had 15.1mm rainfall yesterday the going is now yielding to soft. Unsettled forecast for the week ahead.”
The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1,609 metres, and is scheduled to take place each year in May.
It is Ireland’s equivalent of the 2,000 Guineas, and in recent years it has taken place three weeks after that race. The field usually includes horses which previously contested the English version, and seven have achieved victory in both events. The first was Right Tack in 1969, and the most recent was Henrythenavigator in 2008.
With three events available to bet on in the two-day fixture at Paddy Power, make this your online bookmaker for all things Irish racing this weekend.
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