With the conclusion of Glorious Goodwood and The King George Weekend firmly in the rear-view mirror of the horse racing calendar, attention is now turned to The Phoenix Stakes. The competition, explicitly designed for the two-year-old division, is the first Group 1 race taking place at the Curragh. As we reach the midpoint of the racing year, fans and punters alike will be gearing up to scour the latest horse racing odds, in hopes of choosing a champion for both Sundays race and others taking place across the country.
Last years competition was won by Lucky Vega, trained by Jessica Harrington. The thoroughbred also finished second in the Railway Stakes but is not running this year therefore a new winner shall be crowned. Read on, as we run through some of the favourites for Keeneland Phoenix Stakes as well as some other horses making moves in the two-year-old division.
Go Bears Go
To make things as simple and as concise as possible, we start with the initial favourite. Go Bears Go, trained by David Loughnane, leads the horse racing betting tips to secure victory at the Curragh. After coming tantalisingly close in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, defeated by a head, Go Bears Go will be out for revenge. However, the horse faces some competition despite heading 13 possible contenders ahead of Sundays race.
Atomic Force
Out of any two-year-old in the division, Kevin Ryans Atomic Force has put in the best display out of anyone in Europe, securing a hattrick of accolades in the Prix Robert Papin. This the first official time he was racing under new owner Siu Pak Kwan, with racing super-agent Alastair Donald heaping on the praise of the purchase and the horses performance: “We’re delighted and he was super professional, as he was last time, which was one of the things that attracted us to buying the horse for Mr Siu,” said Donald. “It was a pretty faultless performance and he couldn’t have done it more easily really – he’s an exciting horse moving forward.”
Amanda HugNKiss
The jovially named Amanda HugNKiss made her debut at Sandown and certainly caught the eye of a few in attendance, especially since she held her own and showed plenty of raw speed against the more experienced Porsche Cavalie. After making up lots of ground to finish convincingly second, there is a lot more to come for Stuart Williams horse, who looks poised for a bright future.
The Entertainer
Attention is turned back to the Pheonix Stakes now, and we go with our outside shot to win the race, The Entertainer. The Aidan OBrien-trained two-year-old made his flat racing debut earlier this year at Navan before finishing ninth at the Railway. He may not come in well fancied at 9/5 but it would be reckless to completely overlook a horse with such an experienced trainer who has previously been so successful.
Dr Zempf
Dr Zempf just hasnt quite had the rub of the green this season. Following a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Group Two heats in the Railway Stakes, beaten by two and three-quarter lengths. However, following a slow start he pulled himself together late on, and this ability to finish strongly may aid his optimistic hopes at the Curragh and will certainly stand him in good stead for upcoming races provided he can maintain more consistent starts.
