Your Lucky 15 Tips for Navan's Saturday Card Navan hosts a hugely competitive seven-race card on Saturday afternoon, the action getting underway at 14.15 with an informative juvenile fillies’ maiden over 6f, the focus is very much on speed for the first half of the meeting. However, the 1m2f handicap at 17.00 has attracted the biggest field, 23 going to post, including the ultra-consistent Thegooseiscooked. Saturday’s Lucky15 Tips 13:45 - Tharaka 14:15 - Slaudeen 16:30 - Grecian Power 17:00 - Thegooseiscooked Take our State of Racing Survey for a chance to win a €50 Amazon gift card 13:45 Navan - Tharaka This opening fillies’ maiden has attracted a good size field, as is the theme throughout the afternoon, but it should represent a decent opportunity for the Kevin Condon-trained Tharaka, who has improved markedly each time she’s set foot onto the racecourse. The daughter of Saxon Warrior was slowly away and always behind on her debut at Leopardstown, but her two subsequent efforts have been much more encouraging, just run out of second at odds of 50/1 in a first-time tongue-tie at Gowran before finishing fourth in a better race at Roscommon. She ran to a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 77 last time and that’s good form in the context of this contest. However, she has cheekpieces added on this occasion and that could bring about yet more improvement. 14:15 Navan - Slaudeen Jessica Harrington has her string in good order at present and she’s wasted no time in gelding Slaudeen, who looks to have plenty going for him in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Rated Race. A 50,000gns half-brother to winners Royal Air Force (7f 2yo; RPR 92) and Moorgate (6f AW; 56), he’s well on the way to proving better than both of those siblings, having run to an improved RPR of 82 when fourth of nine on soft ground over 7f at Galway last month. He was much too keen on that occasion and the decision to geld him so early looks a wise move and should settle him down accordingly. Headed a little over a furlong out, he’ll appreciate this return to sprinting and is preferred to Aidan O’Brien’s First Approach, who will benefit from this ease in grade. 16.30 Navan - Grecian Power Unraced at two and three, Grecian Power shaped with a ton of promise on her belated debut at the Curragh in July, Edward Lynam’s filly keeping on well from well off the pace to snatch third of the 21 runners. The daughter of Magna Grecia is entitled to know a good bit more this time and, with fitness on her side, could take some stopping with this extra furlong expected to suit. A high draw in stall 14 is a slight concern, but she could simply be better than her rivals, with both Guarded and Joyful Princess now fully exposed and setting only a fair standard. 17:00 Navan - Thegooseiscooked The Gerard Keane-trained Thegooseiscooked is admirably consistent and looks one of the likelier winners of this 23-runner handicap over a mile-and-a-quarter, the eight-year-old aided by a good draw in stall two. Relatively lightly raced for a horse of his age, he’s enjoyed a fine season, opening his account at Gowran off a mark of 50 and finishing placed in competitive handicaps at Cork, Leopardstown (twice) and Tipperary. He’s now up to 57, but he’s rock solid at this level and Seamie Heffernan, who deputises for Colin Keane, knows the gelding well, having ridden him on three occasions previously.
