BETWEEN June and early September, there are four blank Sundays of Irish racing with the admirable purpose of giving stable staff a break during the summer months.

The timing of these blank days appears disjointed, however; two of them come in the space of three weeks in late June/early July while there are none in August.

The Sunday off that makes most sense is July 27th on the eve of Galway and coinciding with the All-Ireland football final, but programming that makes least sense is that there is racing this Sunday at the Curragh when the hurling final is on.

There is logic to not having two consecutive Sundays off – though relative proximity of the blank days seems less an issue earlier in the summer – along with the desire to have the Irish Oaks run across two days like other classic weekends.

But the classic itself will be on Saturday and going against one of the sacrosanct occasions in Irish sport on the Sunday need not happen. Racing needs to be proud of its own sport and not duck and dive around sports but avoiding clashes with behemoths like All-Ireland finals seems common sense.

Bigger thing

The fixture makers may perceive the football final as a bigger thing, and more nationally it probably is, but hurling, like racing, is stronger in the southern half of the country.

When could Sunday’s fixture be held instead? The Saturday before Galway is a possible solution and there is some precedent for the Curragh racing that weekend, the Phoenix Stakes card having been held then in both 2008 and 2009, but most alternatives seem better than a clash such as this when a blank Sunday is an option. As an aside, the Curragh could be forgiven for being heartily sick of the GAA in 2025.

There was much discussion about the attendance over Irish Derby weekend though little mention was made the All-Ireland football quarter finals being on that Saturday and Sunday, those two days having quickly become one of the biggest weekends of football in year.

Bound to impact

Four matches involving eight well-supported counties across two days is bound to impact both bodies through the gates and eyeballs on the screen for the Curragh, and the course executive there will hope that the changes to the football championship next year will produce fewer clashes with their clashes with their big days.

SEAMIE Heffernan has ridden some fine races from the front this season, notably in the Wokingham, and he was at it again in the last week, nearly pulling off a major upset on 50/1 shot Drawn To Dream when second in the Stanerra at Fairyhouse.

Heffernan did not initially make the running but spotted that the pace was slow in the initial stages and moved his mare to the lead after three furlongs having first been in the rear of mid-division.

That move came at little cost as he got the halfway 2.05 seconds slower than the handicappers in the previous race over the same distance, but Dylan Browne McMonagle was wise to his tactics on the favourite and eventual winner Goodie Two Shoes, himself going forward around halfway to cover the move.

Drawn To Dream was seen to good effect here under a fine ride but might also be better back on slower ground and she looks as good as ever for the move to Ross O’Sullivan.

If Goodie Two Shoes has been one of the stars among the older fillies in staying races this season, then Vera’s Secret has been her equivalent over shorter trips, landing a second group race of the year in the Brownstown at Leopardstown.

Soft lead

Again, it was Heffernan from the front but unlike her win over the same course in May, she got no soft lead here as Chantez pressed her from early on. However, the Feane mare was able to see her off and still have something left to deny the closers.

She has a Matron Stakes entry and is clearly good at Leopardstown, now three from three at the track, but her early pace means that seven furlongs might be more her thing and finding a race over that trip makes more sense.

Runner-up behind Vera’s Secret was Dance Night Andday who enjoyed the strong pace. She is one of a few Ross O’Sullivan horses to hit form in the last fortnight or so, Chally Chute winning the Lenabane at Roscommon at a big price too.

O’Sullivan has had three winners since the start of July and starting to fire right now ahead of Galway where he had four winners last year.

THE premier handicap scene so far this season has been typically competitive with the 21 such races producing 16 unique winning trainers.

Of the trainers to win more than one, John Kinsella has had two while both Joe Murphy and David Marnane have three, the pair achieving the unusual feat of winning two premiers with the same horse, Shiota and Slieve Binnian respectively.

Slieve Binnian followed up his win in the Dubai Duty Free Derby Festival Handicap with another in the Nasrullah last week having looked an unlikely candidate for such a double at the start of this season.

Prior to this year, he was four wins from six starts on the all-weather and just one from 17 on the turf but Marnane has spotted hidden talents in him since moving yards over the winter.

Dropping him in trip, Marnane uncovered a miler well-suited to being ridden just off a strong pace, and Slieve Binnian dispelled any idea that his Curragh win was a fluke by upholding form with re-opposing rivals that finished behind him at Leopardstown.

Different test

His next task will likely be the Galway Mile, an entirely different test, but his run style seems suitable to the track, and he handles some cut in the ground so he might well be able to continue his upward curve.

Slieve Binnian was initially in training with Michael Halford and then with Halford and Tracey Collins, and it is interesting to consider what has happened to ex-Halford horses this season, Collins still training albeit with just six runners in 2025.

Their joint operation was a sizable one, the pair 14th overall in terms of flat winners trained in Ireland last year with 208 total runners and 49 individual horses running for them in 2024.

In 2025, 20 horses that were trained there have moved on to other yards and there has been a wide spread of new trainers, with 15 different yards taking them in.

Standouts

Slieve Binnian and Chally Chute have been the standouts for Marnane and O’Sullivan, though Banner Beauty is another that has done well for Edward Buckley, winning her maiden at Leopardstown in May before facing a stiff task at listed level next time. With a mark of 82, she should be competitive back at a more realistic level.