Curragh betting tips & free bets: 3 tips for day one

The Curragh hosts a top-class eight-race card, featuring four Group races and some ultra competitive handicaps. The highlight, the Irish Oaks at 15:40, sees Minnie Hauk bid to follow up her win in the Epsom equivalent. Here are our best betting tips for the day of racing, as well as details of UK betting sites with free bets on offer.

Curragh Day 1 Free Bets & Betting Offers

Here are some of the free bets you could get your hands on via the sign-up offers for Curragh. All you have to do is click the links provided below to get to their new customer offer. It’s a great time to sign up with two days of top racing at Curragh.

UK Betting Sites	Curragh Day 1 Free Bets
Tote	Bet £10 get £30 in free bets & 20 free spins
Betano	Get £30 in bonuses when you bet £10
Unibet	Bet £10 get £40 in bonuses
William Hill	Get £40 in free bets when you deposit £10

Curragh Day 1 betting offers & free bets – Key T&Cs

• Tote: New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. One welcome offer per customer. Bet a minimum of £10 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £10 Win + £10 Place) within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £20 Tote Credit, £10 sports Free Bet and 20 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to the bet slip. 7-day expiry. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.
  
• Betano: 18+ New Customers Only. Opt in and bet £10 on sports (odds 1/1+) within 3 days of signing up. Get 3x£10 Free Bets for set markets (odds 1/1+) which expire in 5 days. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
  
• Unibet: 18+. GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Min £10 debit card deposit. Place a £10+ bet on sportsbook at min odds 1/1 (2.0) each leg. Receive 2 x £10 free bets within 24 hours of bet settlement, and further 2 x £10 casino bonus the next day. T&C’s apply.
  
• William Hill: 18+. Play Safe. Online only. For new UK register customers using promo code G40. Deposit & place £10 cash single bet (min odds 1/2) on sportsbook (excl. Virtuals). Get £40 in Free Bets (4x£10), valid for sportsbook (excl. Virtuals), 7 days expiry, must use in full (£10 each). Not valid with deposits via PayPal, Neosurf, Paysafe, Apple Pay, NETELLER, Skrill, ecoPayz, Kalibra/Postpay or WH PLUS Card. One per customer. Full T&Cs apply.. www.begambleaware.org #ad

Saturday’s Curragh Betting Tips

The action kicks off at 13:30 and runs through to the finale at 17:25 and here are our predictions and analysis for three of the races on Saturday’s card.

• 13.30 Curragh – Seoul Force @ 3/1 with Tote
• 15:40 Curragh – Minnie Hauk @ SP with Betano
• 16:50 Curragh – Extravagant @ 9/4 with bet365

13.30 Curragh – Seoul Force

The opening 7f juvenile maiden is a race that usually takes plenty of winning and Saturday’s renewal looks like another strong edition, with a field of 15 going to post and most of the top Irish stables represented. 

Experience can count for a lot in such races and that should give the edge to Seoul Force, who showed a good level of ability when third on his debut at Gowran Park last month.

Jessica Harrington’s colt, a son of Wootton Bassett, fetched €200,000 as a yearling and was well supported ahead of his introduction. While he was unable to justify that market confidence, he still shaped nicely, running to a Racing Post Rating of 86, a figure which would be good enough to win plenty of races at this level.

He’s entitled to have come on both mentally and physically from that first racecourse experience and won’t have any excuses from stall eight.

Aidan O’Brien has dominated this maiden in recent seasons and he’s trebly represented this time around, New Zealand, who hinted at ability on his debut over course-and-distance last month, the pick of Ryan Moore. 

• Curragh Day One Tip 1: 13.30 Curragh – Seoul Force @ 3/1 with Tote

15.40 Curragh – Minnie Hauk

Aidan O’Brien’s Minnie Hauk showed a fine attitude when edging out her stablemate, Whirl, in the Epsom Oaks last month and she’s impossible to oppose in the Irish equivalent, albeit she’s likely to go off at very skinny odds.

It’s rare that a race of this calibre lacks depth, but that’s certainly the case with this renewal with the selection and Joseph O’Brien’s Wemightakedlongway, who was beaten over five lengths by Minnie Hauk at Epsom, head and shoulders above their rivals on the book.  

Interestingly, Wemightakedlongway beat the selection in a Cork maiden last autumn, but that was over a mile and it’s hard to see her turning the form from Epsom around, even on this more conventional track. 

There has been some each-way support behind Johnny Murtagh’s twice-race Subsonic and she’s clearly one of the interesting outsiders, having run green when beaten just half-a-length by Minnie Hauk in a soft-ground Leopardstown maiden last October. However, she ran poorly on her seasonal return at Naas in April and has something to prove in a first-time tongue-tie.

• Curragh Day One Tip 2: 15:40 Curragh – Minnie Hauk @ SP with Betano

16.50 Curragh – Extravagant

An opening mark of 83 potentially underestimates the twice-raced Extravagant and Aidan O’Brien’s colt looks one to be with on his nursery debut.

The €300,000 son of Wootton Bassett caught the eye on his introduction over course and distance in April, finishing well after initially showing greenness and becoming outpaced when brought under pressure. It was a pleasing start and the form received a significant boost with the winner, Green Sense, going on to finish runner-up in a Group 3 on his next outing. 

A half-brother to Group 1 scorer Cloth Of Stars, Extravagant failed to build on that over an additional furlong at Fairyhouse last month, looking in need of further experience and flattening out in the final furlong. 

However, he’s bred to be much better than his current rating and a return to 6f is a big plus. 

• Curragh Day One Tip 3: 16:50 Curragh – Extravagant @ 9/4 with bet365