Horse racing tips: James Boyle's best bets for Monday

Horse racing tips today:

• 14:05 Curragh – Stag Night – 1pt @ 7/2 with BetVictor
• 16:10 Curragh – San Aer – 1pt e/w @ 10/1 with William Hill

For today's horse racing tips, our analyst James Boyle looks at the flat racing meeting at the Curragh with two selections online.

As always, you’ll find up-to-date odds at the bookmakers, but our tipster’s predictions are researched early in the day and those prices could soon be moved in by the betting public. 

Odds stated are correct at the time of publishing, but check out today's racecards for all the latest movements. 

14:05 Curragh – Stag Night – 1pt @ 7/2

It’s hard to know where a lot of these are with their fitness and the ground will ensure it’s a thorough test for all. Stag Night is the one I like the most, even though he’s not the most original of selections given his market prominence, and I think he has the tools to come out on top.

Going well when fresh wasn’t a problem a couple of seasons ago when he won a 6f handicap off this mark here and he didn’t perform too badly first time up last season when racing up the middle of the track, that coming on the back of a 411 day absence.

Following some leniency from the assessors, he bolted up at Naas in October on testing ground and then was just a half-length behind Mickey The Steel over C&D afterwards, trying a bare 5f for the first time. He didn’t have an excess of assistance in the saddle but still shaped very well.

Billy Lee rides this time, the ground won’t be a problem and despite now being a six year old, he’s still unexposed and open to a bit of improvement. Whether he’s fit to go first time is the unknown but if he returns in the form he left with in November, he’ll be there or thereabouts late on.

16:10 Curragh – San Aer – 1pt e/w @ 10/1

San Aer is a capable handicapper when the ground is heavy and he’s going to love these conditions. He wouldn’t have the raw class of some of his opponents but such testing ground is a great leveller and he was only beaten a length behind Lattam in this race twelve months ago.

He moved really well through that but perhaps lacked a little for fitness in the closing stages when flattening out into fourth. This time around, he has spent the winter months running over hurdles and may be in better condition to see things out quickly enough to go even closer.

The handicapper had a say after his Galway win in October and he’s 2lbs higher in the weights than last year, but they’re claiming 5lbs off with James Ryan and that will help. With luck in the run and all of the other things we need to go right, I’d be hopeful that San Aer will hit the places at least.

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