Strategy to win €100,000 Curragh Pick 6

The Curragh racecourse on Sunday presents the second golden opportunity for Pick 6 players. We have one tricky handicap to open the card but otherwise we have smaller field conditions races. As with yesterday’s article on Leopardstown, I will attempt to decipher the card and present some suggested permutations at 3 different spend levels.

There is a very generous €100,000 guarantee on offer to match up to the top class racing and you can play the Pick 6 on www.thetote.com at the races or in any Paddy Power or Ladbrokes shop. You can also play for as little as 50cent permutations. Whether you are an experience player or a first timer make sure to play this weekend as the generous guarantee coupled with the small fields makes it a perfect storm for Tote punters.

Leg 1 is a tough handicap but once we hopefully get past this hurdle it will get easier. The UK runners always warrant consideration in Irish sprint handicaps, additionally those drawn high in the Curragh over 6f seem to have a favourable draw bias. Zalty is the first name on the sheet here having run so well over course and distance from a near impossible draw earlier in the summer. Majestic Queen goes well at the course and has a touch of class so also get the nod for the home team as does the potentially well handicapped Aidan O’Brien runner Masai. The rest of the horses are UK based and well drawn, Out Do, Watchable, Discussiontofollow, Tatlisu and Liberty Jack. Admittedly, 8 selections represents quite a lot of horses to have running for you but as the rest of the card is considerably easier it is necessary to take all reasonable steps to ensure we get past the first leg. This amount of cover has us up in the region of a 70% probability of finding the winner but it will all be needed in this very tricky race.

Leg 2 sees the return of the €6,000,000 Irish Oaks Heroine, Chiquita and she is the first name on the list here. As Chiquita is returning from a substantial layoff it is worth also including Tarafsha who runs here fresh from a break having previously finished runner up in the Epson Oaks. These two combined offer us a c.65% chance of having the winner and this will hopefully be enough to see us through to leg 3.

Leg 3 is a 5f sprint and is the type of race where the English challengers command maximum respect. Extortionist, Stepper Point and Sir Maximillian make the cut from the pick of the UK runners while Guerre gets the nod from the Aidan O’Brien duo of representatives. These horses provide a c. 60% chance of finding the winner and in this small field it is sufficient cover.

Leg 4 is the Moyglare Stakes, the jewel in the crown of the Irish juvenile fillies’ races. Again the UK has a strong team here and Cursory Glance and Osaila make the cut for them while Found and Lucida will represent the home selections. We have plenty of cover in this race with likely odds indicating that we will find the winner c.80% of the time.

Leg 5 is the Juvenile Colts showpiece, The National Stakes. With just the five runners and a short priced favourite it is appropriate to bank on Gleneagles here who represents a c.70% chance of being a winner for us.

Leg 6 is The final Irish Classic, The St Leger and Ascot Gold Cup hero Leading Light is a worthy short priced favourite. Former UK Leger winner Encke also makes the cut as does the Dermot Weld trained Pale Mimosa. These 3 selections indicate that we will find the winner here c.65% of the time.

Remember you can play for as little as 50cent per permutation and you can play online at www.thetote.com, at the racecourse or in any Paddy Power or Ladbrokes shop.

Get the cost by multiplying the total permutations by your stake. Minimum stake is 50c.