Tir Prince Breeders Crown Preview
Tir Prince Breeders Crown 2019 Preview for Saturday 27th July
The Breeders Crown has a real International flavour this year with representatives from Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, all in with a chance.
Here’s a write-up for an Irishman’s point of view courtesy of Thomas Bennett
For pacing breeding enthusiasts Tir Prince Raceway in Towyn really is the place to be this Saturday evening when best bred juveniles in the British Isles do battle to secure some of the £60,000 on offer at the North Wales venue. 2 year olds, 3 year olds and 4 year old pacers all feature on the night and with some races worth £6000 to the winner competition is understandably set to be fierce.
The programme opens with heats of the 3 year old fillies and Newtown Jody is ante-post favourite to win the final outright and deservedly so. Hampered at Tir Prince and Appleby this season her luck changed at Portmarnock when she pulverised a field of top class fillies to win decisively in 2:01.9. She looks rock solid both in terms of current form and consistency and should go sub 2 minutes on the night if she doesn’t suffer any more of that ill-luck in running that seems to plague her. Others to consider are last time out course winners Stateside Vogue and Annivi whilst Loose Change will be a danger to them all if recovering from that lak-lustre performance at Tregaron.
Winston Churchill’s famous quote “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” springs to mind when assessing this years batch of Breeders Crown qualified 3 year olds and on Saturday they will lock horns yet again in an effort to determine just who is the best 3 year old bred in the British Isles. American Rebel, from West Cork in Ireland won the Little Welsh Dragon at Tregaron but has yet to prove his effectiveness on grass. Ladyford Dollar surprised everybody by posting a shock victory in the Irish Sire Stakes but the time of 2:00 meant that this was no fluke. Oakwood Maestro and Mahogany Ash are last time out winners at Tregaron and Binchester respectively but the one that will make them all run if on a going day is Anglesey Fallguy. Owned by legendary punter Bobby Barry and trained by Patrick Kane the colt possesses extreme speed (already a winner in 1:58) but is capable of bad breaks mid race and these have halted his meteoric rise to stardom. Make no mistake about it, with a clear round there will only be one winner of this contest Anglesea Fallguy but he comes with a massive health warning for big betting punters.
The 4 year old mares are a solid batch with no standout performer that’s head and shoulders above the others. Of these Ayr Empress springs to mind as one of the likelier types to land the spoils having won an heat and final at Corbie Wood coupled with another victory more recently at Tregaron. Rhyds Reflection won the Anto Russell Memorial Final on the opening day of the season at Tir Prince and course form counts for a lot, especially as this filly beat the boys and battle-hardened handicappers on that occasion. Rhyds Sapphire is another very consistent filly whilst the locally owned and trained Lyons Attack would prove to be a popular winner amongst holidaymakers staying in one of the Lyons Caravan parks surrounding the track.
The 4 year old colts event without Matticulous in the line-up is a bit like Hamlet without the Prince but the contest still boasts a handful of sub 1:58 performers who ensure that this is another mouth-watering mile. Tregaron Final winner Merrington MovinUp will go to post a warm order favourite and is a proven free for all class pacer. Stakes On The Pan claimed the €5000 first prize in the M50 Final at Portmarnock back in June whilst Rollercoaster and Teddy Camden are others to consider in this. A lot depends on the draw but Merrington MovinUp is the most likely winner.
Onto the 2 year old colts Breeders Crown Final and its been widely recognised that this years batch are arguably the best ever. Heat winner Stormy Hall smashed the track record on his last appearance at the venue. Special Tea won both his heat and the grand final of the Junior Welsh Dragon at Tregaron whilst Ima Happy Fella and Matteuceous will both have their supporters on the night. Tir Prince track manager Eric Witherspoon bred the Irish trained raider Lord Sugar, so you can be sure he’ll be gatecrashing the winners enclosure should this colt emerge victorious in this £10,000 clash.
Another £10,000 pot is on offer for the Breeders Crown 2 year old fillies final and connections of Rhyds Romance must feel that they already have one hand on the large cheque that will be presented on the night. A multiple winner at Tir Prince so far this season its likely she will be odds-on with Bookmakers on the night. A race-ending blip at Tregaron will be in the back of bookies minds however and she will need to be on her very best behaviour if shes to triumph here over a classy bunch of rivals. Allbetsareoff the top Irish filly has been the subject of sustained ante-post support in the betting with the William Flanagan trained Foreclosure bred gone from 8/1 into 5/2 second favourite with Barry “Pinno” Pinnington. Twice a winner at Portmarnock in 2:05, she needs to improve on her times but hailing from the all-conquering Meadowbranch yard, she is well capable of doing just that. You simply cannot mention Allbetsareoff without mentioning the other Irish filly Chuchview Niche too and Bernard Nicholsons charge has claimed the scalp of her arch rival already this season. At 10/1 (from 12/1) she represents good each way value in a wide open contest. Discount the unbeaten She Be Stunning at your peril, and although she has had a low-key build up to this the Gilvears from Scotland will have left no stone unturned in prepping her for this classic.
Tir Prince as a venue is unique in that hundreds of holidaymakers armed with their tenners rub shoulders in the betting ring amongst the well known “faces” who will shovel thousands of pounds onto their fancy without a second thought. The betting market is extremely fluid at Tir Prince and ebbs and flows depending on the support of each gambled on horse. With 3 or 4 heavily fancied runners in every race this Saturday night, some almighty clashes are expected in the ring which inevitably provide some interesting anecdotes in the afterparty being held in the bar post racing. Good luck to all participants and punters in the 2019 Breeders Crown Finals – see you all there!
Thomas Bennett
