C.L. Weld Park Stakes Tips & Betting Preview

The 7f Group 3 event for 2yo fillies on Sunday’s Curragh card contains some possible contenders for next season’s Classics. Read on for our race preview and betting tips.

IN SUMMARY: The riding arrangements heighten interest in the once-raced pair Dawn Of A New Era and Nutcracker Suite, who are both from top stables and are expected to improve significantly upon their debut form. However, a high standard is set by EZIYRA, who was a clear second in a 1m Group 3 here last month and has proven she is very effective on softish ground. The Godolphin runner, Grecian Light, is another major player if she copes with the conditions and Perle De La Mer also gets a mention, having created a very good impression on her debut.

1 Dawn Of A New Era – Cost 480,000euros as a yearling and is a sister to her stable’s champion 2yo/2,000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach; last of seven when in at the deep end for debut in Group 1 company this month but entitled to benefit from that outing and Kevin Manning evidently prefers her to Legitimus.

2 Elizabeth Browning – Sister to a Group 1 winner and has shown some fairly useful form, most recently when third of 17 in 6f course maiden on Thursday; beginning to look exposed after seven starts, though, and significant improvement required to open account at this level; visor now added.

3 Eziyra – Found one just too strong when warm favourite for 1m Group 3 here last month but was nicely clear of the third and still ran very well; form of her maiden win at the Galway festival (7f, yielding to soft) has been very well advertised by the runner-up and she’s a leading contender here; hood now added.

4 Famous Milly – Ran on well to gain narrow-margin win in valuable Listowel nursery (1m, heavy) a fortnight ago; could easily have more to offer but was running off a mark of just 75 that day and needs to take another big step forward to get competitive here.

5 Grecian Light – Flopped in a Group 3 at Goodwood last month but quickly got promising career back on track when close second in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster (1m, good) 17 days ago; in the thick of things here if suited by the slower ground.

6 Legitimus – Created good impression when winning her maiden at Gowran (7f, good) last month but hasn’t really built on that performance on her two subsequent outings, the latter when fourth of seven in 1m Group 3 here, and Kevin Manning has jumped ship.

7 Nutcracker Suite – Made low-key debut when fourth of seven in Dundalk maiden (7f, AW) last month but her Group 1 entries and the booking of Ryan Moore suggest she is expected to leave that performance a long way behind.

8 Perle De La Mer – Out of a half-sister to top-class sprinter Lake Coniston and impressed when easily winning a Galway maiden (7f, soft) by over 6l on recent debut; takes on much stronger opposition here but can’t be ignored after such a taking performance.

9 Tinder – Displayed significant improvement when finishing strongly to cause 33/1 surprise in Navan maiden (6f, good) last month, her fifth start; well worth another crack at 7f but that form is still some way below the required standard here.

10 Wild Irish Rose – Holds two Group 1 entries but has shown only fair form when comfortably held in maidens on her first two starts (1m/7f); no surprise if she makes her mark in Pattern company at some stage but needs to improve quickly if it’s going to be today.

myracing Forecast Prices: 7/4 Eziyra, Grecian Light, 7/1 Perle De La Mer, 10/1 Dawn Of A New Era, Nutcracker Suite, 14/1 Legitimus, 20/1 Elizabeth Browning, Famous Milly, Tinder, Wild Irish Rose