THE horses that ran at the Curragh last Saturday are likely cutting it fine to get back to the track in time for Irish Champions Festival, but other autumn opportunities are plentiful, especially for juveniles, and there were several notable two-year-old performances on the card.

Chief among them was Darkness Falls, winner of the opening maiden. He took a big step forward from debut, controlling the race from the front and while his lead was uncontested, he powered away from the rest in the final furlong. While he has entries at the ICF, the Royal Lodge or the Beresford, both of which take place on September 26th, might fit in better for him.

Cluster shaped clear second best in finishing third, the market suggesting this run was needed, and it played out that way. Having dwelt at the stalls, he raced in the rear of mid-division and travelled nicely, briefly caught in a pocket before finishing strongly, his final furlong split faster than the winner, while Kingdom Of Camelot looked a typical Aidan O’Brien debutant that would improve for the run in fourth.

Ascot form suspect

The big-name Ballydoyle juvenile to run on the card was Coventry winner Great Barrier Reef in the Round Tower Stakes, and while his Ascot form looked suspect with two lengths covering the first eight home, he was better than it as he came from a poor draw.

This was his first run since, 74 days on, and horses with this sort of profile tend not to be that punter-friendly. Since 2008, Aidan O’Brien has 163 horses return from a mid-season break (defined as between 60 and 200 days of the track) in Ireland and Britain while competing in group races, with 31 winning. The strike-rate is a decent 19%, but they tend to be over-bet with a level-stakes loss of 53.79 points.

Against that backdrop, this was a good restart to his season under a penalty, beaten a neck in second, albeit he had the run of the race, setting slow fractions in front. This should set him up for the Middle Park, but we shouldn’t sleep on the winner, Push The Boat Out, the least exposed in the field, just 20 days on from his first run. He was not helped by Colin Keane shifting position to the near side on Livenka three furlongs from home, taking him off a true line just as the pace was quickening, and he responded very well to outbattle the runner-up, shaping as if he would be better suited by a stronger pace.

Billy Lee’s ride on Velozee in third attracted some comment, the jockey keeping her on the bridle as long as possible, but that does seem to be what she needs, and this was not the first time she has found less than seemed likely.

Birdcatcher tip

Chis Hayes was another to draw ire for his ride on Luca Brillante in the earlier seven-furlong nursery when she was beaten half a length in second, but it looked a case of right idea, imperfect execution to my eye. Luca Brillante is a keen sort with one run, at least at this trip, and perhaps a shorter distance would suit better, the Birdcatcher a race worth considering.

The final juvenile race on the card was the Newtownanner Stud Stakes and a superficial glance at the result might suggest it was an ordinary race, the winner rated 87 and the first three all emerging from an auction maiden at Roscommon in June.

That might be the wrong way to view the race, however. It was run at a strong gallop relative to the Darkness Falls race, especially early, and Sea Of Rain seemed to improve for the stiffer test of stamina on slower ground, doing well to be on the pace throughout and beat three fillies that had raced in the last three positions. The runner-up Ballyskeagh also emerged with plenty of credit and has an upwardly mobile prolife, taking a step forward on each run to date. She looked to race in the right position in rear but was badly held up in her run from the three-furlong point and did well to finish as close as she did, while the fourth Exceptionally looks a 12-furlong filly in waiting.

THE feature at the Curragh on Saturday was the Irish Cambridgeshire and it was surprisingly short on drama, Loughrea running out an easy winner having travelled powerfully throughout.

He marked himself as a horse of potential when beating younger rivals in a maiden over Derby weekend and progressed quickly since.

The Curragh is a good track to be good at, and Andy Slattery mentioned the Concorde Stakes for him afterwards, that race run at Headquarters in 2026, and he looks well up to stepping up in grade again.Of the rest, perhaps the sixth Rahmi has another race in him, though he will need to start better than he did here. Having missed the break, he got caught further back than ideal on the far wing but ran on well late and will likely drop a little more in the weights for this.

Rare Gosden runner

Miss Scott in the Snow Fairy Stakes was a rare runner in Ireland for the Gosdens, just their seventh since 2020, and she ran out a good winner, looking to find the trip on the sharp side despite a strong pace set by the runner-up Faiyum but responding well to pressure and winning with a bit in hand.

Faiyum produced her best run of the season despite over-racing for much of this contest, and this should set her up for another go at the Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud she won by seven lengths last year. Third Sindria is another that would have decent claims in that race, shaping well off a break and already two from two at Gowran.

IT was a big day for the small man at Cork on Sunday, with Danny McLoughlin and Michael Byrne taking out the two stakes races with Magny Cours and Likedmymike respectively. McLoughlin may not be small in the numerical sense, his 39 individual runners during the 2026 turf season putting him just inside the top 20 by that metric, but he is young in the game, and this win was further evidence of ability with a group filly, having already won the Brownstown Stakes with Duckadilly this season.

Magny Cours was dominant here, always travelling powerfully before settling this quickly to win with plenty in hand from the reliable Dancing Saxon, Spinning Around meeting a little traffic before finishing third while Cromac Quay travelled well for much of the race, looking as if the run might have been needed. The winner was having just her third run of the year having not been seen since the Irish 1000 Guineas and this should set her up nicely for the autumn as she is well-proven with some cut, her record on slower than good now reading 1D3825221.

Breeze-up consigner Michael Byrne has been around a lot longer than McLoughlin, and Likedmymike is one that failed to get into those sales, but it has all turned out for good. She has done well in an admittedly weak Irish sprint scene this year, improving 15lbs in the ratings.

She had often promised much with how she travelled, but she now seems to be finishing off her races as well.