Irish 2000 Guineas Betting Preview

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Last Updated on Thursday, 20th May 2010, 

Written by jameshipwell

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Laying Steinbeck seems the value play
by www.BetRepublic.com

Event: The Irish 2000 Guineas
Where: The Curragh
When: Saturday, 22 May 2010

While not as illustrious as the English version, the Irish 2,000 Guineas has a rich history with the likes of Henrythenavigator, Rock of Gibraltar and of course, Sadler's Wells appearing on the list of previous winners.

This year, the ante-post favourite Steinbeck, from the all-powerful Aidan O'Brien stable, is on the drift following comments from the trainer. He said the colt is not certain to make the final line-up and at the time of writing was 4.3 to back and 4.8 to lay on Betfair. He is a general 3-1 chance across the boards of the online bookmaking firms.

William Hill Prices
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Canford Cliffs 5/2
Steinbeck 11/4
Fencing Master 11/2
Xtension 11/2
Keredari 9/1
Noll Wallop 9/1
Dynasty 25/1
Free Judgement 25/1
Oasis Dancer 33/1
Viscount Nelson 33/1

To be honest I can't see what all the fuss was about and am happy to lay Steinbeck on Betfair when there is enough volume. The rumour mill was spinning fast around Tipperary well before he made his debut at Naas, but I've lost count of the number of horses that are supposed to be Ballydoyle's next big thing and take it all with a pinch of salt.

Fair enough, he won his debut race and ran quite well in the Dewhurst back in October - but you can't be certain that he's wintered well and most of the yard's horses have needed their first run this season.

Much more likely as a winner is the highly regarded Canford Cliffs from the Richard Hannon stable. His third in the English 2000 Guineas looks like good form now that the second horse, stable mate Dick Turpin, has gone to France in their 2000 Guineas and placed second. However, at 5-2 the price is way too short for our liking.

BetRepublic Recommended Bet:

2pts "Lay" Steinbeck at up to 5.5 on Betfair