Irish Derby weekend

It's not until Sept 10th

Woof woof

surely Seville is better than he showed at Epsom?

Pisco Sour boosted the Dante form anyway.

Team Ballydoyle going for 6 in a row. Is Seville going? Would be more suited to the Curragh, sure to be a good ew price.

is seville def out don't see in local independants bettin?

You would have to think so.
Wide open in fairness.
Cracking Pretty Polly is the highlight of the weekend for me.
Go on Snow Fairy ya good thing!

aobballydoyle  Annemarie O Brien
We weren't 100% happy with Recital this morning so he will not run in the Derby on Sunday.

aobballydoyle  Annemarie O Brien
Roderic O'Connor will be left in the race and is a possible to run instead.

Midday gave Snow Fairy 10 lbs & a 3length whipping last year.Snow Fairy having 1st run of the season off level weights,Midday coming to her peak.Snow Fairy would want to start running now.The 3yo fillies although getting loads of weight are average.

the Queen having a winner would be more popular than Ballydoyle.

giant i have to agree with corruptus , i think midday is the bet of the meeting bar none...

Yeah. Good point lads.
Although I think she improved after that defeat last year and I think she`ll beat her at some stage this year. Maybe not Saturday though.

so long as tom dont move to soon with her i.e. epsom , cant see her losing ....

can't remember the last time I was excited by an Irish Derby, in fact, I'd nearly go so far as to say it is the most boring days racing covered by RTE in the whole calender.

I hope to jesus the Stoute horse shows up to add a bit of Star Dust. It wouldn't surprise me if Notable Graduate stuck on for a place with more than a few questionable stayers in the lineup.

Can't believe Owen's horse is waiting the extra week for the German Derby, ffs, they really need to be doing something to attract more British and French horses to target the race.

seville is the one with the most questions to answer for me...seemed that he was well fancied at epsom and had a top jock on board...yet he never raced with any enthusiasm at any stage ..maybe he just sulked ..i'm tempted to give him another chance ....if he runs that is ...otherwise its her majesty's horse for me...

9 left in at the moment....4 Ballydoyle v 5 others....AoP's jockey placing will be interesting....will be watching to see if C O Donahoo gets 1....dont think he has won a Derby for the firm yet....5/4 Queen Lizzi

her majesty jay , her majesty ....

My apologies SIR one gets away wit nuttin hear [:(][:(]

Will team tactics come into trying to beat the queens horse? Treasure Beach beat Carlton House fair & square in the derby.

p/power are only going 1/4 first 2, so basically are refusing to take an eway bet on the derby.
The greyhound derby is far more exciting then this race.

€40 EURO'S INTO THE CURRAGH ON SUNDAY,they could not sell the reserved enclosure tickets,so they decided to make it one enclosure,are they having a laugh.
The dubs plays kildare in Croke Park on sunday also.

yup MIDDAY for me too. easily the best filly/mere in training in the uk or ireland.

gl

Complete joke that Steinbeck.
I wouldn`t mind if it was a half decent facility.
In effect, it is now €15 dearer to go to the event than it was in boom times! Go figure.

neill d
Can't believe Owen's horse is waiting the extra week for the German Derby, ffs, they really need to be doing something to attract more British and French horses to target the race.

Coolmore tactics are causing this

Interesting stat? Maybe not. But list of trainers with Derby Day winners in last five years - Aidan O'Brien (not including Derby) - 5; D Wachman and D Weld 3 each; K Prendergast 2 (both in '06); N Meade 2, M Halford 2, Jessica 2, Mark Johnston 2 (both last year); J Bolger 2 and D Nicholls 2.

The people that complain most about entrance fees are the ones that never go racing,there is no reserved enclosure this year.The Curragh is the greatest racecourse in the world doesnt seem unreasonable to me to charge 40 euro in on their big day.

WALOFS

€40 is way too much to be charging these days, lots of people are short on money, lots don't have jobs and even those with jobs are wary about their spending as whats ahead of them is hardly that clear. It's there big day but value wise i'd much rather spend €20 - €30 into Leopardstown on Champion Stakes day when you see better racing.

I don't go horse racing as much as i used to, go to Leopardstown for the NH meetings at Christmas and the Hennessy, usually go to the Champion Stakes and Punchestown a few times a year but i go Greyhound Racing basically every single week and a lot of ther time more than once a week.

How much is it into Shelbourne on Derby final night?

Don't know to be honest, think it's €20 - €25, deffo no more than that

Remember being in Listowel a few years back and a host of bookies and punters got helicopters to Shelbourne for the Derby final night,those days are long gone.

I suppose I should qualify that comment.
I would imagine you`re winding me up, because if really think the Curragh is the greatest racecourse in the world then you`re wrong, and need to get out more.
You appear to get off on constantly antagonising posters

It is my opinion that the Curragh is a great racecourse and a proper test of a racehorse,why that should antagonise you is a mystery to me.Why you would think i am winding you up is another mystery but as you consider my question on Carlton House was somehow an insult to you i will leave your unoriginal jibes and acerbic comments and put them down to you protecting your patch.

You said it was THE best racecourse in the world.
So now it`s just a great one. Is that right?
I don`t have a patch. You have well and truly taken over this forum in the last 6 months and bled it to death.

In my opinion it is the best in the world,disagree if you like but dont think that is said to antagonise you.Am sorry if you feel i have taken over the forum but that would suggest that you do consider it your own personal fiefdom maybe you should form a committee and decide the posters you will permit to post, you sound to me like a man that has spent most of his life on committees

The ordinary punter never paid the bigger price to go into the reserved enclosure,why should they charged double now.

You know me so well!
Have you ever considered how many threads you post on that turn into tit for tat arguments? I`m quite sure the answer is well above average.

Lets put your point out there for arguments sake.
Who else agrees with wmfb that THE CURRRAGH is THE GREATEST RACECOURSE in the WHOLE WORLD?
And if you do agree would you be so kind as to explain why.
Thanks.

was only there once on derby weekend in the celtic tiger era, but found it a s hithole, overcharged everywhere from pints to food etc.

First impressions do last though and aint returned since.

The track is a fair test of a race horse alright.

The facilities, the viewing etc are very bad.

The prices are on the website are as follows;

Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Day 26th June
3 Day Derby Festival Flexi Ticket €50
Admission Reserved Enclosure €40
Seniors and Under 25s  €25
Day Member €80
Admission with Minstrel Seat (lower level of grandstand) €65
10 to 16 years €5
Under 10 Free

Is a grandstand ticket and a reserved ticket one and the same this year?

RESERVED ENCLOSURE is done away with this year, all one enclosure.THEY DONE THIS 2 YEARS AGO and the people voted with there feet and stayed away.

I went a few years ago with a few young professionals , those that would be ideal candidates to get into the racing scene. It was a day out so we hit the champagne bar, first impression was that it was pricey €25 i think for the sat and the second "suprise" was that they had to pay for the programme €4.

Went into the tent and they were gobsmacked at the prices, anyway out for the day so i coughed up for the first bottle of the cheapest they had and they handed out plastic glasses,and an ice bucket begrudingly, we grabbed a seat and settled in for the day.

next issue was when they "ran out" of the cheapest champers (this is sat remember) and we had to upgrade, on the way out we passed the storage van of the bar and there was plently of the cheap stuff in there.

I wrote to complain about this sharp practise and got "we dont run the bars " but we will look into it.needless to say i heard nothing else.

they enjoyed their day but felt that they were rppped off at every turn, of the 6 that went that day none returned.

Its a showcase weekend and there should be a premium on ballinrobe on tues , but neary 3 times as much €15 v €40, and there is no excuse for ripping off the punter, for those who are there for the first time the prices of food and drink is crazy.

Its an opportunity to showoff everything thats good about racing and all they can think about is revenue maximisation.

Problem with that is that people vote with their feet. Derby weekend 0 punter 6

The Curragh is a fine racetrack but is quite boring for a spectator. Facilities are poor and are badly in need of refurbishment or even demolition. I wouldnt rate it in the top 5 racecourses in Ireland in its current state for a good day out

Carlton House will stay WMFB on this thread.

Well imho the Curragh is not even the best racecourse in Ireland.....one has to consider all relevant matters including facilities for the attending patrons...... the track for the horses.....parking......exiting the track after racing.....and while it scores well on all fronts to suggest its the best in the world is stretching things....doesn't compare to Ascot or Belmont....in fact I would compare it to Suffolk Downs

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
I would rather be in the Curragh garden
Than any place else on earth

Everybody has different reasons for liking racecourses and for me its the racecourse itself and the horses that race there,others are interested in facilities and luck and a myriad of other things.The Curragh is to me the best track by a long way it also attracts the best horses and for the flat is in a class of its own.
My second favourite track is Thurles so that will show you that facilities are not a priority for me.

I agree with your sentiments wildman. I too have a huge amount of affection for The Curragh.

So that`s your reasoning?
Your favourite track equals the best track, in the world!
It`s basically, "because I said so"!
I suppose it gives us a better insight into the esteem with which you hold your own opinion.

And sof is the only one who agrees with you so far.
Which I find staggering for someone who regularly goes racing abroad!

Abroad with a broad.......

I'm just saying Giant that for many reasons - tradition, wonderful memories etc - The Curragh is a place that I love to go racing and that will always be the case.

I'm not saying that it's the best racetrack in the world my friend, just that it's a special place for me personally.

I will say it again its only my opinion.You seem to put this up as some kind of referendum and in a cowardly way you worded it such that i nominated the Curragh and you nominated not the Curragh in other words you have every other racecourse in the world.I gave you a free go for six hours to let you cool down yet the forum is now filled with your juvenile sniping posts culminating with your double post on this thread.

So everything I say is juvenile or unoriginal but you can say what you want in reply.
You`re a very strange chap. You may be knowledgeable and intelligent but you`re not very pleasant to put it mildly.

I have great affection for the Curragh too sof. But that`s because it`s the only Irish track I regularly back winners at!

Oh and btw, you never answered my question about the amount of people you have argued/harassed these past few months.
You probably lost count.

wildmanfromborneo  22 Jun 11 23:45
   
...... the forum is now filled with your juvenile sniping posts ......

wildman what are you on about?? I just took a sweep of the forum and I can't find any juvenile sniping posts from Giant.

Take a look through his comments across various threads and Giant is one of the most intelligent contributors on here.

What is it exactly that has so enraged you,what is offensive about my posts.I will engage in debate with anyone and argue my point robustly if you feel i do so too robustly then dont engage but on this thread you pounced on my comment on the Curragh and tried to turn it into some kind of electoral test and then started scoring it and when Soldieroffortune agreed with me you in childlike fashion got all precious and insulted.

I can now add precious to all the other insults you`ve chucked at me in the last 2 days.
Lets see, disloyal, Whiny, unoriginal, childish and juvenile to name but a few. 
I am now saying out loud what I`ve thought for months.
I`m bored of reading your acolyte/listener nonsense. I post/read for friendly banter and informed analysis. A lot of it`s a waste of time but every now and again it can come in useful and generally enjoyable.
But not for you. 
I give you wmfb, the forum psychologist!
I think you`re an attention seeker. My own analysis is that you were the centre of attention in your former life but this is now reality for you. 
I doubt I`m alone in that view.
I`ve had plenty of spats with people here but I won`t lose any sleep over it.
Goodnight and thanks for that sof.

Soldieroffortune...I do not want to involve you but you deserve a reply,look at the third and fourth replies on my Will Carlton House Stay thread and look at the first reply on my Is there any forum historians out there thread.Now i dont expect you to go against your friend but i do expect fair play something Giant Strides would know nothing about.
Giant Strides..When i first came on this forum you were bestriding it like a collossus and it irked you that other people unknown to you would post.There were a group of people hounding Workrider saying the vilest things so i sprang to his defence,you in typical cowardly fashion did nothing,these are the people you accuse me of harassing,these were multiple account holders and are already back.
You may whoop with delight by counting the votes against the Curragh as votes for you but you are deluding yourself but if you want a worth while challenge i will accept and i will allow you make the rules.

You`re really into competitions and personal crusades.
What you fail to mention to sof is that this started because you didn`t like me asking you why you cared so much about Bws? You took umbrage and it culminated in your sniping (to coin a phrase of yours) posts about me being disloyal to my team for reporting what I`ve seen develop over the previous few months. I`m still not sure why you felt the need to comment on the topic other than to annoy me.
I was "bestriding" the place!!! From the man who starts endless threads about his personal view of a subject.
The first time I ever noticed you was the hack you had at me on the winter comp. "I hope he finishes bottom" or words to that effect, purely because I didnt agree with a couple of the ever changing rules. You have plenty of differing opinions if you haven`t noticed my dear man!
As for wr. Are the forum He`s more than capable of handling himself on here. By all accounts he built up plenty of enemies through his spats with GAA posters. I`m sure he`ll admit that himself. He doesn`t need this "coward" to give him a dig out! He has more friends than foes.
I whoop with delight when I win something tangible. Not when you are wrong.
I can`t see this spat ending because you are clearly not the type of person who accepts you could be wrong.
I have no desire to continue this any further. Total waste of time.
You`re like a forum vigilante!

Your last post is most informative in that finally the truth has come out.I had noticed your acerbic comments on some of my threads,i ignored them.I did not know i insulted you in my first post on here.The winter competition is i presume Moneypennys thread and it was that thread that had me in awe because of the high standard of tipping.I mentioned it many times on here much to your sad annoyance,you called it...bigging it up..i put it down to your jealousy of more successful tipsters.I now discover that all this nonsense is the culmination of an alleged slight of six months back that you have bottled up.
This place will survive perfectly well without either of us but for you to carry a grudge for six months and let it fester is not good for you.
A final proposal we could have a challenge with the loser leaving or we could just ignore each others posts,the choice is yours.

I thought my initial impressions about you was wrong. So therefore I didn`t hold a grudge. I just eventually got bored of your sycophantic bs and it turns out that I was right. You certainly know how to make allies! 
I`ll readily admit I`m not a good gambler. I am also a very unlucky person (which my friends insist) and that accentuates the problem.
Some people know their onions on here,  but the truth is most are just guessers like YOU AND I. Hoping for a change of luck and to crack the code.
I have more than enough physical competitions at present to keep me occupied. You`re obsessed with proving yourself better than others for some reason.
Good luck in your crusades!

Is it compulsory to read all posts? If you find mine boring just ignore them its not that hard.
I checked back Moneypennys thread and its on the third and fourth page,makes interesting reading.I defy anyone to read that and not come to the conclusion that you are a man with issues.
I am prepared to drop the whole thing and will ignore your posts maybe you might do the same.

Where is moneypenny's thread anyway

I can't find it

Its on page 7 or 8 under winter competition and the relevant posts are on page 3 and 4 of that thread.
It is actually thanks to you that i learned how to do that.

It`s hard to ignore your posts because you start so many threads, and arguments.
I have lots of issues and there all far more important than you.
Btw how did I do in the end? And why didn`t you enter it instead of "istening"!?
I thought I was making a perfectly valid point whether I was right or wrong. You saw fit to comment on it but now you don`t want me to.
Whatever.

The reason i didnt enter was it predates my arrival on here.I only suggested you ignore my posts as a way to break this impasse not to dictate,what exactly do you want me to do,am prepared to listen to whatever you propose.

You joined in November, the competition started in January so forgive me if I have trouble believing you.
I`m over it and I`m outta this bs.
As for a solution. I`ll stay out out of your way as much as possible to keep the peace.
This is the very crap that has pissed me off for months. I`m surprised nobody has told us both to cop on quite frankly.

Ill tell you what lads its traditional to start the summer competition on Irish Derby weekend so ill stick up a thread now. Let the best man win

Good stuff mp.

giant and wildman....lets shake hands on this and move on.....the forum would be a lesser place if either of ye left ..both of you contribute so much good sense and at times really interesting topics ..you are so similar in passion about what ye feel ....2 wonderful guy's ...giant please note spelling ......lets get back to tipping winners ...p.s.its derby week so lets get cracking ....

Well said WR.......i think i sed sumthing similar on the 'Will Carlton Hse stay' thread .....well done with the 1st at Limerick Junction.....back on form 4da big weekend......its winners like that we want........so listen lads sher they all have chances......

Couldnt agree more with you Giant. Cop on the 2 of you and stop talking shyte.

Exactly TF!
I see there`s a dead 8 in both the PP and Derby. Odds on a withdrawal or 2?

There might not be any NR's in the Derby as all entrance fees are payd in and as the fees are substantial probly all run to try to get return of monies.... PP maybe..............COLM O DONOGHUE on Treasure Beach his turn...[;)]

What a shame Snow Fairy is a NR -PP is a walkover now

Dubbl the PP one with the other w/o Dublin.....senior F/ball...[;)]

Dunlop a bit premature pullin Snow Fairy out? Ground dont look too bad

Unreal. For the second week in a row, Karl Hedley in the Irish Field gets the draw wrong. Re the Scurry: "A low draw has been the key to this race in recent seasons with horses coming from stalls one, three and five in the last three renewals. The Confessor looks ideally berthed in stall three today" etc... Two weeks in a row? What a joke. How can everyday punters be expected to "get it" when experts are writing this gash?

Harrington training for the Niarchos family!

We've seen in the past two season's now that Jessica Harrison is heading as a full time flat trainer. The class of flat horse she's getting is improving all the time and the winners on the board show how well she's done.

Jessica Harrington even.

I`d be surprised if she gave up nh altogether BTD.
Interestingly, the owner(s) won the listed race on this card with Mingun a few years back. Might be worth keeping an eye on in the market later.

Money is coming for Jim Bolger's newcomer, Lady Wingshot... Interesting maiden this...

Jessie is building up a nice client list of big hitters on the flat........Flat horses are easier to train and the dollars are better.........can see her 70/30 in favour of the flat fairly soon...........Most Irish NH trainers will be looking to train flat horses simply to balance the books. imo.

I thought that one ran a promisingly. Should win a race.
Anybody know why Parish Hall didn`t run in the Railway?

What was the crowd yesterday?

The crowd yesterday was 21768. Down 2500 on 2010. Not bad as Kidare were playing.
I think it was a good idea not to have the grandstand as it was easy to move between all the areas without having to show a badge all the time. Mind you getting a view of the horses in paddock was difficult. I usually like to see the horses on the racecourse side in the paddock but that little corridor was jam packed when I went up to see the Queen's horse. Mind you I only went to the paddock twice over the two days and was put off the winner both times!! On Saturday in the last maiden Freedom was imo not striding out whereas Cape Of Good Grace really stood out. I had the whisper for Freedom too but switched horses.
Also in the Derby I wasn't taken by Treasure Beach but Carlton House was a picture and so backed him with confidence at 11/8 with Rory Durkin. then even though there was the doubt about the trip.
Not a good day at all for me esp as a backer of the jolly more often than not with none coming in yesterday. Fair play to Prospero who put me wide with Gimli's Rock my only collection of the day.