Horse Racing tips: Brendan Duke’s 4 class punts at Cork on Sunday

Dukey has got four to fire in your betslip.

Brendan Duke_2 Main Image 991

Ordinary enough fare in Ireland this weekend. But, it’s not all bad, it frees me to attend a live Countdown event in Dunmore East.

Hopefully, the combination of travel and puzzles will broaden my mind and of course, there is also the small matter of a World Championship to be resolved in the Crucible.

I had a look at Tramore and low grade summer jumping really isn’t my bag though. I will focus my energies on Cork.

There is a good drop of rain forecast for Saturday and I would guess we’re looking at soft ground. The other thing to note is that the sprint races will be run on the round course.

Cork-Racecourse

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14:10 Anjalawi

Tar Heel runs in the opening maiden and we opposed him in the Curragh recently. He again looked ungenuine, but sadly my tip didn’t win the race. System working, send more money and all that.

Again he will take up a portion of the market here and with the layers cottoning on to his wicked ways, it probably won’t be a large chunk though.

ANJALAWI looks the obvious one here and this filly put up a pleasing debut in the Curragh last month.

She looked pretty professional in the race, a slightly tardy start was the only thing that belied her inexperience. You would still expect some improvement on her second start and I rate the winner of that race quite highly.

The second favourite filled the runner up spot, that should be decent form in the context of this race.

Soft ground, and a wide draw are slight notes of concern here. There was some ease in the ground in the Curragh also. Given the promise of her debut, and how she’s favoured by race conditions, she rates a pretty confident pick.

14:45 Monaasib

MONAASIB, the winner of that aforementioned Curragh maiden, pitches up in a conditions race in Cork and this contest looks a match.

Artician is entitled to be favourite on the back of filing the frame in two group races. The form of his most recent run was boosted in the Phoenix Stakes last Sunday.

In spite of that, Monaasib is the selection, as he’s a likeable, talented, and progressive sort. He finished last on debut but showed promise and he stepped forward plenty when finishing second on his subsequent start.

It’s possible to argue he didn’t improve when getting off the mark last time out. He was favoured by race conditions that day. But, the style with which he took advantage was seriously impressive mind you.

He travelled with real zest, and put the race to bed in a matter of strides. This will be the deepest ground he has encountered, but his grandsire is a noted soft ground influence.

I fancy Monaasib will relish conditions, he won’t be a big price but is worth backing.

 

15:20 Fugacious

FUGACIOUS looks worthy of support in this handicap and this horse is still a maiden after 13 starts. Not ideal but everything stacks up here.

He ran a massive race when finishing a close third on his penultimate start in Dundalk, with that race working out really well. The 4lb rise Fugacious got was lenient and hopefully, the market will think he disappointed last time out at this track.

He was unlucky that day as there was a track bias towards the stands rail. His jockey had the wit to come across from a low draw, but the horse ended up seeing an awful lot of daylight on the edge of the pack.

He travelled notably well, but ultimately track position did for him. Fifth was a good effort in the circumstances and he has fared much better on the draw front this time.

There is plenty of pace on here and he can use his high cruising speed to track the speed from his pitch on the rails – soft ground holds no terrors to. With plenty of in-form rivals in opposition, I’m more than hopeful we will get rewarding odds. He looks the best bet on the card.

16:30 Do The Twist

The final selection is DO THE TWIST in the 10-furlong handicap and this filly didn’t show an awful lot in maidens. Her handicap debut on soft ground in Galway was much more promising, even if she was a bit slowly away that day.

It was only her fourth career start to be fair and she stuck on well to finish fourth. Ya Ya Baby, the winner that day, reopposes here. She’s in rare form and can’t be dismissed.

Do The Twist is 5lbs better off for a two length beating though. She is bred to be a sprinter, but shaped in Galway like she would improve for a step up in trip. I believe she can make the handicapper pay for leaving her mark unchanged.

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Brendan Duke’s tips summary:

14:10 Anjalawi
14:45 Monaasib
15:20 Fugacious
16:30 Do The Twist

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