Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap

The Irish Cambridgeshire is a one-mile handicap which takes place at the Curragh in late August or early September.

The Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap is held on Saturday 26th August 2023.

Like the English equivalent at Newmarket, it is always hotly contested with large fields and some big priced winners.

Recent winners include 25-1 shot Elusive Time in 2017 and 28-1 chance Bopedro in 2021.

Find out more about the Irish Cambridgeshire:

Race Overview

The Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap is a top handicap race run at Ireland’s Curragh Racecourse. The race is eight furlongs long and is only open to horses over the age of three. Every year in August, this race takes place.

Check out our guides to all the other Irish Premier Handicap horse races.

Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap Odds 2023

Here are the latest odds for the Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap in August 2023:

These odds have not yet been released.

Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap Tips 2023

Here are some tips for Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap in August 2023:

• 2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
• 1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC

Some of the horses participating in the Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap will also be racing in other races during the year. Make sure you watch the horses and see how they do or place your bets on ante-post betting.

Famous Irish Cambridgeshire Winners

2013 winner Moran Gra, trained by Joanna Morgan and ridden by Ronan Whelan, set the fastest winning time in the last twenty years. He won in 1 minute, 35.64 seconds, almost a second faster than Quinmaster in 2006.

Hint Of A Tint (2015) was a five-year-old mare trained by David Wachman and ridden by Fran Berry. She won at the Galway Festival and defied a 9lbs weights increase when beating the well-backed favourite Portage by a length and three-quarters.

Aidan O’Brien’s Kenya was a 20-1 winner in 2018 on his first start for 90 days. His previous race had been the French Derby where he started at 50-1 and finished last. He had also trailed the tails when last of seven in the Dee Stakes at Chester. O’Brien showed his mastery to capture this prize with the son of Galileo who had been a Group 3 winner as a juvenile.

Jassaar won for Dermot Weld and Andrew Slattery in 2019, carrying the famous Shadwell Estate colours. He beat Current Option and the favourite Numerian by three-quarters of a length and a head.

Laughifuwant put up a fine weight-carrying performance to defy 9st 10lbs in 2020. Although only eighth at Galway on his previous start, that came after a 281-day absence and he was only three lengths behind the winner, Current Option. He was then beaten a short-head by his old rival in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Tipperary.

Key Irish Cambridgeshire Trials

The most informative trials for the Irish Cambridgeshire have been at Galway in recent seasons. Laughifuwant (2020) had finished eighth in the Ahonoora Handicap on his previous start. Jassaar (2019) was well beaten in the BMW Mile Handicap at the same fixture.

Winning such a competitive and valuable handicap usually incurs a severe penalty. Only two of the last 18 winners managed to win on their next outing which would have resulted in almost a 6 points level stake loss.

Irish Cambridgeshire Betting Trends

Since 2015, the Irish Cambridgeshire has attracted a minimum of twenty runners on all but one occasion. That was in 2018 when Aidan O’Brien’s Kenya defeated 17 rivals under Seamie Heffernan. The competitive nature of the race is reflected in the odds of the winning horse. No favourite has obliged since Silverware in 2000. Since 2010 only Mister Sea Wolf (9-1 in 2016) returned at odds shorter than double figures.

Jessica Harrington’s Bopedro (2021) was the longest priced winner during that period at 28-1. Elusive Time, trained by Curragh-based Takashi Kodama and ridden by Ross Coakley was a 25-1 winner in 2017. Other outsiders to score include Punch Your Weight (2012) at 16-1 and Laughifuwant (2020) at 14-1.

The official ratings of recent winners range from Sretaw (2014) on 89 to Bopedro (2021) on 107. It is similarly difficult to reach any conclusions on weight. Punch Your Weight (2012) won with just 8st 6lbs while Laughifuwant (2020) defied 9st 10lbs. Punch Your Weight and Kenya were the only three-year-olds to win this race in the past twelve seasons. Five-year-olds have fared best with four winners during that period; Sretaw (2014), Hint Of A Tint (2015), Laughifuwant (2020) and Bopedro (2021). Elusive Time (2017) won as a nine-year-old.

Irish Cambridgeshire – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Only Aidan O’Brien and Michael Halford have managed to win the race twice in the past twenty seasons. O’Brien’s winners were Poetl (2009) and Kenya (2018). Halford was successful with Quinmaster (2006) and Hujaylea (2010). He has also saddled eight placed runners so his entries are often worth noting. One trainer who have struggled in the Irish Cambridgeshire is Jim Bolger who has sent out 28 runners without recording a victory. No British-trained runner has won the Irish Cambridgeshire since Cherrypicker in 1929.

In the last twenty seasons, three jockeys have won the race twice; Wayne Lordan, Colin Keane and Conor Hoban. Lordan won aboard Castle Bar Sling (2011) and Sretaw (2014). Hoban won on Hujaylea (2010) and Bopedro (2021) while Keane’s victories came aboard Mister Sea Wolf (2016) and Laughifuwant (2020).

Best Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap Betting Sites

The Irish Cambridgeshire is one of the most competitive mile handicaps of the season. The results speak for themselves over the past twenty years and it is a very tricky puzzle to solve. Bookmakers usually offer enhanced each-way betting terms down to fifth or sixth place.

Here are the most popular free bets for Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap betting:

Summary of Irish Cambridgeshire Handicap

We hope you have enjoyed our guide to the Irish Cambridgeshire.

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