Class came to the fore at The Curragh on Sunday, with the two G1 contests won by horses possessing genuine star quality. Champion juvenile filly Tahiyra left her mark on the Classic roll of honour when justifying very short odds in the headline Irish 1,000 Guineas, and Luxembourg made it G1 wins at two, three and four when leading all the way in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Elsewhere, Just Beautiful lived up to her name with a dominant front-running success in the G2 Lanwades Stud.
Irish 1,000 Guineas
G1, 500,000 euro, 1m turf, 3yo fillies
Classic comeback for classy Tahiyra
At odds of 2-5 it is supposed to be easy and the brilliant Tahiyra made it look that way when running out a comfortable winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the marquee event at The Curragh on Sunday, seeing off old rival Meditate and boxcar longshot Comhra with the minimum of fuss.
Last year’s European champion two-year-old filly gave up her unbeaten record when narrowly beaten in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket last time, but she gained redemption in the expected fashion for jockey Chris Hayes and veteran trainer Dermot Weld, who was winning his sixth Irish 1,000 and his second straight.
Irish 1,000 Guineas Race Video
@horseracingtote Tahiyra takes the Irish 1000 Guineas #Horseracing #Horseracingtips #Horsesoftiktok #Horses #Horse #FYP #Sports
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It was a straightforward affair. The outsider Dower House set the pace with second-choice Meditate at her shoulder and Tahiyra directly behind on the rail. Meditate went forward a quarter of a mile out, allowing Tahiyra room to manoeuvre and she ran the leader down at the furlong pole, edging further clear all the way to the line to win by a length and a half. The 150-1 shot Comhra flashed home late for third, a head behind, with the winner’s barnmate Tarawa fourth.
“The plan was to ride her for speed,” said Weld, a globe-trotting genius who won the 1990 Belmont with Go And Go. “She has always been very special and we have a lot to look forward to.”
Tahiyra, a daughter of star stallion Siyouni, who also sired Saturday’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington, is now three-for-four with two G1s and is expected to head to Royal Ascot for the G1 Coronation on June 23. Meditate, who has finished behind Tahiyra in all three of their encounters, and Comhra are likely to join her there.
Irish 1,000 Guineas Payouts
| Horse | Win (euro) | Place (euro) |
| 1. Tahiyra | 1.20 | 1.02 |
| 2. Meditate | 1.20 | |
| 3. Comhra | 15.80 |
Winning time: 1m 39.89s
Tattersalls Gold Cup
G1, 450,000 euro, 1m 5/16 turf, 4yo+
Luxembourg back on Gold standard
A tactical race was the concern beforehand for Luxembourg, but he stamped his authority on a strong renewal of the Tattersalls Gold Cup when making every yard of the running to put away Bay Bridge and outsider Piz Badile.
The four-year-old had never set the pace before, but jockey Ryan Moore worked a tactical masterclass on the 11-4 third-choice, never asking him to push all his chips into the middle of the table until the two-furlong pole. As Luxembourg clicked into overdrive second-choice Bay Bridge went in hot pursuit and the two drew away from the field, but Luxembourg was always keeping his rival at arm’s length and was value for more than the official margin of half a length.
Tattersalls Gold Cup Race Video
@horseracingtote The Gold Cup was taken by Luxembourg #Horseracing #Horseracingtips #Horsesoftiktok #Sports #FYP#Horse #Horses
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Piz Badile, who had followed the winner until becoming outpaced when the heat came on, plugged on for third, six lengths further back, while the French-trained favourite Vadeni – who had been supplemented at a cost of 45,000 euro – was again disappointing, never getting involved and finishing fifth of the six runners.
“This is a very serious horse,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien, for whom this was a record-extending tenth success in the race, and his fourth in the last six years. “He has improved from three to four and has matured into the perfect athlete.”
Luxembourg, favourite for the Derby at Epsom last year before injury intervened, has always had star quality and is now a G1 winner at two, three and four, including last year’s Irish Champion at Leopardstown. He is six-for-nine lifetime and his future is in Europe’s top middle-distance contests, with the ten-furlong G1 Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot on June 21 next on the agenda.
Tattersalls Gold Cup Payouts
| Horse | Win (euro) | Place (euro) |
| 1. Luxembourg | 3.30 | 1.50 |
| 2. Bay Bridge | 1.10 | |
| 3. Piz Badile | – |
Winning time: 2m 13.62s
Lanwades Stud Stakes
G2, 120,000 euro, 1m turf, 4yo+ females
It’s another Beautiful day
The front end was also the place to be in the Lanwades Stud, as Just Beautiful bounced back to her best on the decent ground she adores with a strong pace-setting performance to beat Jumbly and Insinuendo.
Soft turf proved her downfall last time out, but the 4-1 third-choice was a different proposition here and laid down the law from the gate under jockey Billy Lee. She had the opposition in trouble two furlongs from home, and although Jumbly came out of the pack to challenge she could never lay a glove on Just Beautiful, who kept up the pressure to win by two and a quarter lengths.
Lanwades Stud Stakes Race Video
@horseracingtote The Lanwades Stud was taken by Just Beautiful #Horseracing #Horseracingtips #Horsesoftiktok #Horses #Horse #FYP #Sports
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The second-choice Insinuendo was a no-kick third, three-quarters of a length further back, while the favourite Honey Girl had nothing more to give a furlong out and faded back to fifth.
“It’s great to get her back on track, that’s the horse we knew she could be,” said trainer Paddy Twomey, who had teamed up with Lee to win this 12 months ago with Pearls Galore. “Fast ground is important to her, and she can go between six and a half furlongs and a mile.”
It was Just Beautiful’s first victory since September 2021 and her sixth in all from 11 starts, with her roll of honour including the G3 Sceptre at Doncaster. Twomey will keep an eye on the weather for the mare, but there must be a strong chance she will make it to Royal Ascot for the G2 Duke of Cambridge over a mile on June 21.
Lanwades Stud Stakes Payouts
| Horse | Win (euro) | Place (euro) |
| 1. Just Beautiful | 4.90 | 1.10 |
| 2. Jumbly | 1.20 | |
| 3. Insinuendo | 1.60 |
Winning time: 1m 39.61s
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