NAAS can be one of our most biased flat tracks, which is not necessarily a bad thing for betting and analysis – watching the early races and where the winners are coming from can produce angles later on a card, while looking back at replays afterwards may throw up useful eye-catchers that were disadvantaged by track position.

There have been some extreme examples of this during 2024, such as Shandy finishing well-beaten in a listed race in July when drawn one and racing far side, before getting stall 11 of 11 in a similar race next time at the same track, coming near side and winning at 50/1.

Reviewing meetings like this can be straightforward as track bias becomes the dominant factor, which suits lazy punters like me, but during last weekend’s two-day meeting, the track was riding as fair as it had been all year, which means a more nuanced approach is needed.

There were six valuable races across the two days with My Mate Alfie putting up the best performance in terms of class, winning Saturday’s listed race under a 5lb penalty with a bit to spare.

He was backing up quickly, just 13 days on from a Group 3 win at the Curragh, this his 10th start of a season that started back in March, and his trainer’s explanation of his busy campaign was interesting.

How to sprint

Ger Lyons commented afterwards that he wanted to ‘teach him how to sprint’, adding that ‘Irish sprinters need practice where the English get them every week’ and he has a point with even their classy types typically kept busy, something like Believing having nine starts this year, so perhaps repetition is key.

Saturday’s other feature was the Birdcatcher and, while not the race it was, produced a good winner in Last Encore on ground slower that ideal, connections commenting after this and his previous win that he prefers a decent surface.

The biggest prize on Sunday was the Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final in which maidens dominated from those that had already won, the first four home all without a win beforehand, which might say something about the quality of this year’s race.

The first and second, Fiona Maccoul and Bodhi Bear, controlled the race from the first two positions throughout, the former well-suited by stepping up in trip, that latter (who was well-backed) keener than ideal but the third Copacabana Sands was an unlucky loser.

In a race where most of those involved had finishing speed percentages around 100%, Copacabana Sands came in a 102% and that would have been higher again if she had gotten anything like a clear run, held up in rear and still on the bridle until 75 yards from home. She had a huge task on her in terms of position and trouble. Both listed races on Sunday, the Garnet and Bluebell Stakes, went to fillies with classic form in Azada and Caught U Looking.

Well-suited

Their respective trainers, Dermot Weld and Noel Meade, are at different ends of the scale with how regularly they have run their fillies this season, and Caught U Looking in particular was well-suited by getting back on some slower ground.

This win brought her record on yielding or slower to: 1161 and there could be more to come from her next season, if weather plays along, though she is headed to the sales in December.

There was surprisingly little crossover between the fields for the Irish Cesarewitch and the Colm White Bookmaker Beggar’s End Handicap, but the foremost representative from the Curragh race, the seventh Comfort Zone, won well, having been subject of a sustained gamble from 12/1 in the morning into 5/1 SP, the fourth Falcon Eight also coming from down the field in the Irish Cesarewitch, while Alphonse Le Grande gave it another form boost at Newmarket.

AWAY from the winners of the big races at Naas, there were a trio of eye-catchers that may be worth tracking, albeit as long-term prospects given there is only a fortnight of the turf season left.

Mocking finished fifth of 11 behind Galveston in the mile two-year-old maiden, but shaped like he could have been right behind the runner-up, travelling smoothly in rear and getting no run until the furlong pole before keeping on late.

This was his qualifying run, and it will likely be handicaps next, perhaps next year, and Johnny Murtagh does much better with his three-year-olds than juveniles; since 2020, his win and place strike-rates are 13.6% and 36.1% versus 7% and 24.3% for the respective age groups.

Temperance finished sixth in the Birdcatcher, but went like one just learning how to sprint having been racing over further, while Kate McGivern has done well with just such types in her brief career. She hit a few ridges and became unbalanced while also being short of room before finishing well.

Presence has been improving around a mile lately, but the suspicion is that it is time rather than a drop in trip that has brought her on. She looked ripe for a step up in distance when fourth in the Garnet. In a race dominated by those that went forward, she was further back than ideal and was briefly outpaced, turning for home before getting shuffled back and finding herself tight for room. To finish fourth in those circumstances was a good effort, and 10 furlongs should see her to better effect.

THE flat finale at Naas on Sunday may have seemed like just another race, but the first and second, Cloud Seeker and Lord Church were looking to join Keke on four handicap wins for the 2024 flat turf season, Andy Slattery’s three-year-old again showing a likeable attitude to hold off the Halford runner.

Such prolificacy is no mean feat; there have been 529 flat handicaps run in Ireland as of last Sunday, and only 14 horses have won three or more such races.

Keke and Cloud Seeker top the list with four wins, the latter with one win as part of the Racing League, while those with three were: Crystal Black, Dance Night Andday, Empress Alma, Global Energy, Granite Bay, Hero Of The Hour, Jered Maddox, Killeaney Bear, Lord Church, Polemon, Rappell and Squire Danagher.

Thirteen different trainers – Andy Slattery has two on the list – achieved the feat, a pointer to the egalitarian nature of handicaps, while the biggest improver in the group was Rappell (up 29lb from his lowest point) with Keke not far behind (up 28lb). Squire Danagher (up 11lb) did most with least, winning at Dundalk back in March and again in September and October, his mark dropping a little based on turf runs.

The class act was Crystal Black, winning two Irish handicaps, despite already being rated 94 at the start of the year before adding another at Royal Ascot and the Ballyroan Stakes, while Dance Night Andday is another classy sort that has pushed herself into listed class, while also winning a premier handicap over ICF.

Logic suggests that this group of horses might be maxed out, but they all have a strong intangible asset in their favour: they are winners.

Cloud Seeker is one that could well continue improving, still only rated 85 after Sunday, while Rappell has done well to win three sprint handicaps as a three-year-old and shaped well last time in the Rockingham when the trip was too sharp.