THE final stakes race of the 2024 flat turf season, tomorrow’s Curragh On Course Bookmakers Finale Stakes, has attracted a bumper field of 19.

The William Haggas-trained Hamish is the sole British raider to line up in the listed race over a mile and a half, the eight-year-old last seen finishing half a length second to Goliath in the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at Longchamp on October 20th.

“Hamish seems very well, which is why we’re backing up quickly,” William Haggas told The Irish Field. “We’re just hoping the ground is soft enough and doesn’t dry out too much.”

Hamish’s only prior run in Ireland saw him chase home Kyprios in the Irish St Leger, beaten three parts of a length, the pair finishing seven lengths clear of Search For A Song in third. Richard Kingscote was aboard that day, as he was for the gelding’s Group 3 win last November, and renews the partnership tomorrow.

Hamish leads on ratings at 117, followed by Noel Meade’s admirable seven-year-old Layfayette at 107. The triple group winner made a belated seasonal return in September and progressed to finish third in the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes, before claiming runners-up honours in the Listed Trigo Stakes.

“I suppose Hamish looks the one to beat,” Meade said ahead of the weekend. “I hope he runs his race, which he usually does, and if he does, he should be competitive.” While Layfayette’s six stakes wins have come on good, good-to-yielding and yielding, Meade added: “The easier the ground the better for our lad.”

It’s the trip that concerns Sheila Lavery as her progressive three-year-old Kortez Bay bids to build on a career-best effort last time out over ten furlongs. The Joanne and John Lavery-owned colt didn’t get a clear run when fourth in the Listed Trigo Stakes, beaten half a length by today’s rival Layfayette and half a length in front of Cristal Clere.

“He came out of Leopardstown very well, but this is a big step up to a mile and a half,” Lavery reported. “We’ve nothing to lose on the last day of the year, he’ll go on his holidays after this.

“He’s improving all the time. He was very free early on and is just learning to race. He was quite unlucky the last day, too.”