# Irish Guineas Festival 2026 Review: Coolmore's Classic Double + Almaqam Upset _Saturday 23 - Sunday 24 May 2026, The Curragh. Three Group 1s in two days. Aidan O'Brien's record 13th Irish 2000G + 12th Irish 1000G — Coolmore's weekend Classic double. Plus Almaqam (13/2) upsets 4/6F Minnie Hauk in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Full festival wrap + Royal Ascot form-line transfers._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/irish-guineas-festival-2026-review/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/irish-guineas-festival-2026-review/) · last updated 2026-05-27* **Two Coolmore Classics, one massive upset.** The 2026 Irish Guineas Festival weekend at the Curragh delivered three Group 1s, two Aidan O'Brien Classic wins, and the biggest favourite-flop of the spring. The two-day wrap, race-by-race: | Day | Race | Winner | SP | Trainer / Jockey | |-----|------|--------|---:|------------------| | **Sat 23 May** | **Irish 2000 Guineas** | **Gstaad** | **4/11F** | A O'Brien / Ryan Moore | | **Sun 24 May** | **Irish 1000 Guineas** | **Precise** | **7/4F** | A O'Brien / Wayne Lordan | | **Sun 24 May** | **Tattersalls Gold Cup** | **Almaqam** | **13/2** | Ed Walker / Kieran Shoemark | **Three editorial stories:** 1. **Aidan O'Brien's Classic double** — record-extending 13th Irish 2000G (Gstaad) + 12th Irish 1000G (Precise) in 24 hours. No British/Irish trainer has come close to this Curragh record. 2. **The Ryan Moore jockey-choice saga** — Moore picked Precise at Newmarket (she flopped); switched to True Love at the Curragh (Lordan won on Precise). Two consecutive Coolmore Classics where the senior stable jockey was on the wrong filly. 3. **Almaqam's 13/2 Tattersalls Gold Cup upset** — Ed Walker's first Tattersalls Gold Cup, Kieran Shoemark's biggest career G1, and a 9L beating for 4/6F Minnie Hauk. The world's highest-rated racemare flopped out of the placings. The Curragh weekend reshapes **four Royal Ascot ante-post markets** (Coronation Stakes, Prince of Wales's, St James's Palace, King George VI) plus the **Eclipse Stakes (Sandown, 4 July)**. Almaqam is now a Royal Ascot Prince of Wales's contender at 4/1-5/1; Precise is the Coronation Stakes question. This piece walks through the three G1s, the form-line transfers, and what to watch through to the Coronation Cup (Friday 5 June) and the Epsom Derby weekend (5-6 June). For full race reports see: [Irish 2000G 2026 Result](/racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-result/), [Irish 1000G 2026 Result](/racing-news/irish-1000-guineas-2026-result/), [Tattersalls Gold Cup 2026 Result](/racing-news/tattersalls-gold-cup-2026-result/). ## The three Group 1s — race by race ### Saturday 23 May — Irish 2000 Guineas (G1, 1m, 3yo c/g) **Gstaad (A O'Brien / R Moore, 4/11F) won by 3L** from Distant Storm and Pacific Avenue (both Charlie Appleby / Godolphin). Per Sky Sports, the win was a *"romp"*. Three takeaways: - **Aidan O'Brien's 13th Irish 2000G**, stretching the modern-era record across 29 years (Desert King 1997 → Gstaad 2026) - **The Newmarket form line confirmed**: Bow Echo (Newmarket 1st) ranks one tier above Gstaad; Gstaad ranks well clear of the rest - **Royal Ascot SJP rematch with Bow Echo** is the next chapter, Tuesday 16 June Full race report: [Irish 2000 Guineas 2026 Result](/racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-result/). ### Sunday 24 May — Irish 1000 Guineas (G1, 1m, 3yo fillies) **Precise (A O'Brien / W Lordan, 7/4F) won by 2½L** from stablemate **True Love (Ryan Moore)**. The pair traded fillies vs Newmarket — Moore was on Precise at Newmarket (7th) and switched to True Love at the Curragh (2nd). Lordan rode True Love at Newmarket (1st at 25/1) and switched to Precise at the Curragh (1st at 7/4F). Three takeaways: - **Precise reversed the Newmarket form by 7½L in 21 days** — a comeback proving the fever-scare narrative pre-Newmarket was real - **The Ryan Moore jockey-choice story** — twice this spring Coolmore's senior jockey has picked the losing filly - **The Royal Ascot Coronation Stakes (Friday 19 June)** is now a Coolmore rematch question; both fillies likely to declare Per Racing Post's race report: *"The market and Ryan Moore get it wrong as 'serious filly' Precise proves too good"*. Full race report: [Irish 1000 Guineas 2026 Result](/racing-news/irish-1000-guineas-2026-result/). ### Sunday 24 May — Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1, 1m2½f, 4yo+) **Almaqam (Ed Walker / Kieran Shoemark, 13/2) won by 2L** from Bay City Roller and Saddadd. **4/6F Minnie Hauk flopped to 5th, beaten 9L**. The world's highest-rated racemare comprehensively out-stayed by Ed Walker's first-G1-of-the-year breakthrough. Three takeaways: - **Ed Walker's first Tattersalls Gold Cup** + **Kieran Shoemark's career-best G1 ride** - **Minnie Hauk's Royal Ascot Prince of Wales's prospects diminished** — a 4/6F beaten 9L doesn't usually come back at the same trip - **Almaqam is now a Royal Ascot Prince of Wales's contender** at 4/1-5/1 each-way, alongside defending Ombudsman Per TDN's race report, Shoemark said: *"The world is his oyster."* Full race report: [Tattersalls Gold Cup 2026 Result](/racing-news/tattersalls-gold-cup-2026-result/). ### The pattern across the weekend Three of the four favourites at the Curragh weekend won (Gstaad 4/11F, Precise 7/4F) or near-won (True Love 11/10 → 2nd by 2½L) — but **one heavyweight 4/6F flopped to 5th**. That's the **2026 spring favourite-flop pattern continuing**: - Time For Sandals 4/1F (Minster, 13 May) — 8th - Amiloc 8/13F (Yorkshire Cup, 15 May) — 6th - Rosallion 6/4F (Lockinge, 16 May) — out of top 5 - **Minnie Hauk 4/6F (Tattersalls Gold Cup, 24 May) — 5th** Four short-priced favourites flopping in three weeks. The 2026 G1 market is **not safe for backers of even-money or shorter prices**. Each-way is the structural play across the next 6 weeks (Epsom Derby weekend, Royal Ascot, July King George). ## Royal Ascot 2026 — what the Curragh weekend changed ### St James's Palace Stakes (Tuesday 16 June, 1m, 3yo colts) **Bow Echo (G Boughey / Loughnane) at 7/4-2/1F defending** + **Gstaad (A O'Brien / Moore) at 9/4-5/2** is the new top-two. The Newmarket margin (2¾L) versus the Curragh margin (3L) suggests Bow Echo retains the form-line edge, but Gstaad's Curragh-confirmed quality removes the value gap. **The structural pick**: **Distant Storm (Appleby / Buick) at 4/1-5/1 each-way**, after he ran 2nd at the Curragh and confirmed the Newmarket 3rd-place form line. ### Coronation Stakes (Friday 19 June, 1m, 3yo fillies) **Precise (A O'Brien / Lordan, Irish 1000G winner) likely 6/4-2/1** alongside **True Love (Moore, Newmarket winner)**. Both Coolmore-trained; both will likely run. Whichever Moore picks gets the senior-stable-jockey signal. **The structural pick**: **Evolutionist (K Burke) at 5/1-6/1 each-way** as the chief non-Coolmore challenger; she was 2nd at Newmarket by 1¾L to True Love and has the form line to threaten the Coolmore pair at Royal Ascot. ### Prince of Wales's Stakes (Wednesday 17 June, 1m2f, 4yo+) **Ombudsman (J & T Gosden) at 5/2-3/1 defending** + **Almaqam (Ed Walker / Shoemark) at 4/1-5/1** — the new market entrant. The Tattersalls Gold Cup form-line transfer is direct. **Minnie Hauk's Royal Ascot status** is now uncertain. A 4/6F flop at 1m2½f doesn't read well for a 1m2f attempt at level weights against G1 colts. Coolmore likely re-route to the Pretty Polly (Curragh, 27 June) or step her up to 1m4f. **See The Fire (Balding / Murphy) at 12/1+ each-way** — the back-to-back Middleton winner — is the structural value pick now that Minnie Hauk has dropped out of the conversation. ### Gold Cup (Thursday 18 June, 2m4f, 4yo+) **No direct Curragh form-line transfer** — Almaqam, Gstaad, Precise are middle-distance / mile horses. The Gold Cup market shape remains: - **Scandinavia (A O'Brien) 2/1F** — Saval Beg-route - **Trawlerman (Gosden) 10/3 defending** - **Sweet William (Gosden) 13/2** - **Rahiebb (Varian) 7/1** — Yorkshire Cup winner, the each-way value pick ### King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Saturday 25 July, Ascot) **Almaqam is now a King George ante-post name** at 6/1-8/1. The Tattersalls Gold Cup → King George conversion is approximately 1-in-3 historically. Walker / Shoemark are unlikely to skip the chance. **The King George ante-post ladder post-Curragh:** 1. Calandagan (Graffard, world #1-rated 2025) — assuming a 2026 return at full fitness 2. Almaqam — new entry 3. Coronation Cup winner (TBC, 5 June) 4. Trawlerman — Gold Cup defender turned KG candidate ### Eclipse (Saturday 4 July, Sandown) **Almaqam at 4/1-5/1 for the Eclipse** is the post-Curragh ante-post value pick. **Ombudsman defending 2025 win at 11/4-3/1**. **Calandagan** if Graffard targets the Eclipse before the King George. ### The all-of-the-above commercial summary **Six Royal Ascot G1 / Eclipse / King George markets reshaped in 48 hours.** For ante-post bettors with the right form-line read, the next 7-10 days is the peak commercial window. The Royal Ascot ante-post page rolls all these into one view. For the **full Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post picture** see our [refreshed Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post page](/racing-news/royal-ascot-2026-ante-post/). ## What's next — Pre-Derby week into Royal Ascot ### Friday 30 May — 5-day declarations for the Epsom Classics **Final 5-day declarations for the Epsom Derby + Oaks close Friday 30 May.** The Derby is jointly headed by: - **Benvenuto Cellini (A O'Brien) 5/1F** — Chester Vase winner - **Item (A Balding / C Keane) 5/1-6/1** — Dante winner - **Christmas Day (A O'Brien) 8/1-10/1** — Dante 3rd - **James J Braddock (J O'Brien) 10/1-12/1** — Leopardstown Derby Trial winner The Oaks is jointly headed by: - **Amelia Earhart (A O'Brien) 5/1-9/2F** — Cheshire Oaks winner - **Legacy Link (J & T Gosden) 5/1** — Musidora winner ### Friday 5 June — Coronation Cup (Epsom) **Jan Brueghel (A O'Brien)** is the named Coolmore Coronation Cup runner. The race is a Royal Ascot Prince of Wales's pipeline — the Coronation Cup winner is the natural PoW contender alongside Ombudsman + Almaqam. ### Saturday 6 June — Epsom Derby **The Derby is the year's most evenly-poised market in years.** Item's Dante form + Benvenuto Cellini's Chester Vase form sit equally in the market; Christmas Day adds Coolmore depth. ### Sunday 31 May — Prix du Jockey Club (Chantilly) **Hawk Mountain (A O'Brien)** confirmed Prix du Jockey Club-bound from the Irish 2000G entry. The Chantilly G1 is the alternative Coolmore 3yo target before Royal Ascot. ### 16-20 June — Royal Ascot **The peak commercial window.** The Curragh weekend transfers — Precise / True Love for the Coronation; Gstaad / Bow Echo for the SJP; Almaqam / Ombudsman for the PoW; Scandinavia / Trawlerman / Rahiebb for the Gold Cup — combine into the deepest single five-day G1 programme of the British year. ### What we're tracking next The next pieces in the pipeline: 1. **Coronation Cup 2026 preview refresh** (race 5 June) — needs post-Curragh form-line update 2. **Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post page** — refreshed today; refresh again post-Derby weekend 3. **Epsom Derby Festival Day-1 + Day-2 race-day previews** — Coronation Cup + Oaks (Friday); Derby (Saturday) For the **Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post page** see [the dedicated ante-post coverage](/racing-news/royal-ascot-2026-ante-post/) — refreshed today with the full post-Curragh weekend market shape. ### Where to bet on Royal Ascot 2026 The full transfer list — Gstaad, Bow Echo, Precise, True Love, Almaqam, Scandinavia — makes the Royal Ascot ante-post market the sharpest it has been in five years. For the cross-bookmaker offer grid (Bet365 SI365, William Hill R30, Coral £5/£30, Paddy Power £5/£40, Betfred £10/£50 BETFRED50, Star Sports BET40GET20) see our [Royal Ascot 2026 offers page](/bookmakers/royal-ascot-offers/). For ante-post NRNB terms (Non-Runner-No-Bet from the 5-day declaration stage) see our [best ante-post bookmakers guide](/bookmakers/best-antepost-bookmakers-uk/). > **Responsible note:** The 2026 spring favourite-flop pattern is one of the strongest of recent years — Time For Sandals, Amiloc, Rosallion, Minnie Hauk all beaten at short odds. Each-way bets at G1 level are the smarter structural choice. Use small stakes, [BeGambleAware.org](https://www.begambleaware.org).