Sunday gives us two cards to work with and the bulk of the action sits at Navan, where we have a runner in six of the races. Goodwood adds a pair to round things off. It is a day with a bit of everything, a couple of short ones we are happy to lean on and a handful of bigger prices where the angle is worth chancing.
Navan is where the column lives today. The afternoon opens with Stag Night in the 1:42, a sprinter who has this minimum trip nailed and arrives off a win over five furlongs last time. The 5lb rise looks fair enough, his best times are fresh and stall three drops him in just right. From there the card builds nicely toward the race we have leaned on hardest.
That is the 3:27, where Isaac Newton carries our biggest stake of the day. The middle of the card belongs to Ocean’s Breath in the 2:52, a horse going the right way after a comfortable win at Fairyhouse on Friday. He is good enough to defy the penalty here and the drop back in trip looks no issue on this form, with the ground coming up right for him. At a shade over evens he is the one we are most confident about.
The two big prices at Navan are where the fun is. Caffu Zafeen in the 2:17 is better than a run of midfield finishes makes him look, and from the foot of the weights he can outrun his odds. The year off is a worry, no getting around that, but Sheridan goes well here and the mark gives him room. Later, El Regalo in the 4:37 drops to a much easier level off a falling handicap mark. A low draw and improving times help his case, and the first-time cheekpieces could be the spark that wakes him up.
Over at Goodwood, Diamondonthehill in the 5:20 is the one we make the one to beat. He is running better than his finishing positions suggest, with a second at Musselburgh a fortnight back keeping things ticking. The draw is kind and Shoemark knows this track as well as anyone.
Yesterday was a near miss sort of afternoon. No winner from five, but Kind Touch, Continuance and Dapper Gee Gee all found the frame, so the each-way money kept ticking over. Days like that tend to turn, and with three at short enough prices to lean on today, we would settle for one of them obliging.