# Irish Guineas Weekend 2026 Tracker [Festival Complete — See Review] _Archived build-up tracker for the Tattersalls Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh, 23–24 May 2026. RESULTS: Gstaad won Irish 2000G (AOB's 13th); Precise upset True Love in Irish 1000G; Almaqam 13/2 beat 4/6F Minnie Hauk in the Tattersalls Gold Cup by 9L. For the full weekend wrap see the Irish Guineas Festival 2026 review piece._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/irish-guineas-weekend-2026-build-up-tracker/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/irish-guineas-weekend-2026-build-up-tracker/) · last updated 2026-05-27* **Curragh, Saturday 23 May — Sunday 24 May 2026.** **Three Group 1s across two days** — the Tattersalls Irish Guineas Festival ran with two Coolmore Classic wins for Aidan O'Brien and one massive Ed Walker upset. > **🏁 FESTIVAL COMPLETE.** **Sat: Gstaad won Irish 2000G (4/11F, AOB's record 13th)**. **Sun: Precise upset True Love in the Irish 1000G** (2½L, 7½L Newmarket-form reversal). **Sun: Almaqam (13/2) stunned 4/6F Minnie Hauk** in the Tattersalls Gold Cup by 9L. For the full weekend wrap see our [Irish Guineas Festival 2026 review](/racing-news/irish-guineas-festival-2026-review/). For race-by-race reports see [Irish 2000G result](/racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-result/) / [Irish 1000G result](/racing-news/irish-1000-guineas-2026-result/) / [Tattersalls Gold Cup result](/racing-news/tattersalls-gold-cup-2026-result/). > **This tracker is now archived as a record of the build-up week.** Each section below preserves the daily pre-race ante-post picture; the festival itself is in the books. For the next phase of the season see the [Coronation Cup 2026 preview](/racing-news/coronation-cup-2026-preview/) (5 June), [Epsom Derby 2026 tips](/racing-news/epsom-derby-2026-tips/) (6 June) and the refreshed [Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post page](/racing-news/royal-ascot-2026-ante-post/). ### The three Group 1s at a glance | Day | Off-time | Race | Distance | Eligibility | Prize | |-----|---------:|------|----------|-------------|-------| | **Sat 23 May** | 15:40 BST | **Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas** | 1m | 3yo colts & geldings | EUR 500,000 | | **Sun 24 May** | 15:15 BST | **Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas** | 1m | 3yo fillies | EUR 350,000 | | **Sun 24 May** | 15:55 BST | **Tattersalls Gold Cup** | 1m2½f | 4yo+ | EUR 600,000 | ### Ante-post snapshot at the start of the week (Monday 18 May) - **Irish 2000 Guineas** — **Distant Storm (Appleby / Buick) 7/1-8/1** the headline Newmarket form-line carrier (2000G 3rd at Newmarket). **Aidan O'Brien four-handed** (Officer 5/1-6/1, Henri Matisse 6/1-7/1, Twain 8/1-10/1, Camille Pissarro 12/1-14/1). **Bow Echo + Gstaad bypass the Curragh** for the Royal Ascot St James's Palace. - **Irish 1000 Guineas** — **True Love (A O'Brien / Lordan) Evens-6/4F** as the Newmarket 1000G winner. **Evolutionist (K Burke / Foley) 4/1-5/1** the chief market rival (1000G 2nd at 1¾L). - **Tattersalls Gold Cup** — **Calandagan (Graffard) 11/8F** the world-class headliner (Dubai Sheema Classic winner 28 March). **Daryz (Graffard) 5/2** (2025 Arc winner). **Minnie Hauk (A O'Brien) 5/1** with 3lb fillies' allowance. ### How this tracker works This piece is **updated daily through the build-up week**. Each section's most-recent timestamp is at the head of that section; the page-wide `Updated` date in the metadata reflects the latest commit. **Click through to the dedicated previews for the trends-clean verdict on each race**: - [Irish 2000 Guineas 2026 preview](/racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-preview/) - [Irish 1000 Guineas 2026 preview](/racing-news/irish-1000-guineas-2026-preview/) - [Tattersalls Gold Cup 2026 preview](/racing-news/tattersalls-gold-cup-2026-preview/) - [Irish Guineas Festival 2026 TV guide](/racing-news/irish-guineas-festival-2026-tv-guide/) ## Monday 18 May — Tuesday 19 May ### Monday 18 May — week-start ante-post snapshot The Lockinge bombshell (Sat 16 May — Notable Speech 2/1F won; 6/4F Rosallion flopped) closed the older-miler division and reshaped the Curragh ante-post on Sunday-Monday as the markets digested. ### Tuesday 19 May — Gstaad pivots to the Curragh (big market shift) **The major Tuesday update:** **Aidan O'Brien has re-routed Gstaad from the Royal Ascot SJP to the Curragh.** Gstaad — the Newmarket 2000G runner-up to Bow Echo on 2 May — is now the **2/5F for the Irish 2000 Guineas**, with O'Brien bidding for a **record-extending 13th Irish 2000G win** (first Desert King 1997; most recent Paddington 2023). **Knock-on market shifts:** - **Distant Storm (Appleby) drifts from 7/1-8/1 to 5/1-7/1 EACH-WAY** as the rematch shape clarifies — he's now the structural value pick rather than a standalone outright - **Pacific Avenue (Appleby)** confirmed as Godolphin's second-string - **Hawk Mountain (O'Brien)** is the Coolmore second-string at 10/1-12/1; O'Brien indicated he could go French Derby instead - **13 entries remain** at the Tuesday stage; **48-hour declarations Thursday 21 May** **Stale-name correction.** Earlier-stage editorial framings of the Irish 2000G mentioned a "Coolmore quartet" of **Officer, Henri Matisse, Twain, Camille Pissarro**. **None of those names apply to the 2026 race:** - **Henri Matisse** won the 2025 French 2000 Guineas and has **retired to Coolmore stud for 2026** - **Officer, Twain, Camille Pissarro** were 3yos in 2025 — all now 4yo and ineligible for the 3yo-only Irish 2000G Coolmore's 2026 Irish 2000G hand is **Gstaad (lead) + Hawk Mountain (back-up)**. **Going forecast at the Curragh** — published daily at curragh.ie. Forecast **Good** with **Good to Soft in places** possible after mid-week showers. Gstaad has raced on Good ground in all 7 career starts; ground-flexibility is not his core strength. **Two Sunday markets ahead of Friday's 48-hour declarations:** - **True Love Evens-6/4F** holds firm for the Irish 1000 Guineas. **Evolutionist 4/1-5/1** the each-way pick. - **Calandagan 11/8F** holds firm for the Tattersalls Gold Cup; Graffard's Dubai Sheema → Curragh route is confirmed. ### Field Of Gold update The **2025 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Field Of Gold (Gosden / Keane)** is **NOT eligible** for the 2026 race — he's now 4yo and the Curragh Classic is restricted to 3yo colts and geldings. **He missed the Lockinge** with a lower respiratory tract infection; the Royal Ascot Queen Anne is now an open question. **See our [Field Of Gold 2026: Where Next?](/racing-news/field-of-gold-2026-next-race/)** for the full route analysis. ### Royal Ascot ante-post movements influenced by Curragh weekend The Curragh weekend doesn't just shape the Irish Guineas markets — it feeds the Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post for: - **Coronation Stakes (19 June)** — True Love confirmed Curragh + Royal Ascot at 6/5-5/4 - **Prince of Wales's (17 June)** — Ombudsman defending at 2/1-3/1; Calandagan's Tattersalls Gold Cup performance affects his King George ante-post - **King George VI & QE (Sat 25 July)** — Calandagan / Lambourn / Jan Brueghel-type middle-distance form lines all feed through the Curragh weekend See our [Royal Ascot 2026 ante-post page](/racing-news/royal-ascot-2026-ante-post/) for the cross-meeting view. ## Wednesday 20 May — Thursday 21 May ### Wednesday 20 May — markets settle; Appleby keeps the Curragh open **The Tuesday/Wednesday picture, three days out from the Irish 2000 Guineas:** - **Gstaad (Aidan O'Brien, 2/5F)** holds firm at the head of the Irish 2000G market. Per Racing Post, *"Gstaad is a heavy odds-on favourite to maintain modern trends"* — **three of the last four Irish Guineas winners had been Newmarket runners-up**. Gstaad was beaten 2¾L by Bow Echo at Newmarket but was **8L clear of the rest of the field**, which is the read the market is pricing. - **Distant Storm + Abashiri (both Charlie Appleby)** — per the **Irish Field 18 May, Appleby is keeping the Curragh open for both runners**. Distant Storm carries the Newmarket 3rd-place form line; Abashiri is the second Godolphin string for the Irish 2000G. The Friday 48-hour declarations confirm whether both run or one routes to Royal Ascot SJP instead. - **Hawk Mountain (A O'Brien)** — Coolmore's deeper option; the French Derby route remains the alternative if connections decide against the Curragh trip. - **Coronation Stakes echo**: True Love and Precise are now set for a **mouth-watering Curragh rematch** in Sunday's Irish 1000 Guineas. Per Aidan O'Brien post-1000G: *"That won't be an easy one for Ryan"* (Moore choosing between the two for the Curragh ride). The Precise comeback is the storyline of the fillies' Classic. - **Minnie Hauk (Tattersalls Gold Cup)** — confirmed on course after her smooth Mooresbridge Stakes 4 May reappearance. Per Aidan O'Brien: *"That was lovely"* — Minnie Hauk is **the world's highest-rated racemare on any surface**. The Tattersalls Gold Cup is described by Racing Post as **"probably the deepest Tattersalls Gold Cup for a good few years"**. **No major ante-post movement overnight** — the Tuesday market shape (Gstaad 2/5F + True Love Evens-6/4F + Calandagan 11/8F across the three Group 1s) holds into Wednesday morning. **Thursday's 48-hour Irish 2000G declarations** will be the next material catalyst. ### Thursday 21 May — Irish 2000 Guineas 48-hour declarations close **48-hour declarations for the Irish 2000 Guineas** close around **noon local on Thursday**. Pre-declarations Thursday morning shape: - **13 runners at the entries-after-forfeits stage** — final declared field expected to be 9-11. - **Gstaad 2/5F** holds (Coolmore's named lead). The Coolmore 2026 Newmarket scratch-and-supplement saga — Aidan O'Brien's team **mistakenly scratched Gstaad and Albert Einstein** from the Betfred 2000 Guineas in late March via a screen-button error, and Coolmore had to **supplement Gstaad back at £30,000** to get him into Newmarket (he then ran 2nd to Bow Echo). That £30,000 ante-post commitment is part of the reason Coolmore have re-routed him to the Curragh now rather than wait for Royal Ascot. - **Hawk Mountain (A O'Brien) entered but heading to the French Derby** per Irish Field 4 May — the **Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on Sunday 31 May** is his preferred 10f target. Today's declarations confirm whether he leaves the Irish 2000G at the 48-hour stage. - **Bow Echo (G Boughey)** confirmed skipping per Racing Post — straight to the Royal Ascot St James's Palace Stakes (Tuesday 16 June). No supplement expected. - **Distant Storm + Abashiri (Charlie Appleby)** — Appleby keeping the Curragh open for both per Irish Field 18 May. Today's declarations confirm whether Appleby goes two-handed or splits between Curragh and Royal Ascot SJP. **Today's morning-of news so far** (Thursday 21 May, 9am): - No overnight scratchings reported beyond the established Bow Echo skip. - Coolmore final-decision stable tour expected mid-morning ahead of the noon declarations. - Going forecast: **Good (Good to Soft in places)** per Curragh's mid-week reading. **What to watch this afternoon:** 1. **Does Hawk Mountain leave the Irish 2000G** for the French Derby (likely)? 2. **Does Appleby go two-handed** with Distant Storm + Abashiri or split between Curragh and Royal Ascot? 3. **Final draw positions** — Gstaad's draw is the single biggest tactical signal of the race; Coolmore typically prefer a mid-draw for a kick-from-off-the-pace ride from Ryan Moore. This tracker will update with the final declared field, draw, and jockey bookings within 60 minutes of the 48-hour stage closing (~noon). ### Thursday 21 May — Irish 1000 Guineas + Tattersalls Gold Cup overnight pricing **The Irish 1000 Guineas and Tattersalls Gold Cup don't lock to 48 hours until Friday 22 May**, but Thursday's overnight pricing is when the markets begin to compress: - **True Love (Irish 1000G)** — overnight pricing typically tightens from 6/4 to Evens as race-day approaches - **Tattersalls Gold Cup** — Calandagan's price moves with going forecasts; soft ground would push him to 7/4 or 2/1, firm to 11/10F ### Going report — Curragh Daily going-stick readings at curragh.ie. Current forecast at Monday-start of week is **Good** (Good to Soft possible). We'll update with the Thursday afternoon official going report once published. ### Friday 22 May — 48-hour declarations for Sunday's two G1s **Both Sunday races (Irish 1000 Guineas + Tattersalls Gold Cup) close 48-hour declarations on Friday 22 May.** Expect: - Tattersalls Gold Cup typically lands at **8-10 declared runners**; the **38 entries** at long-list stage will tighten substantially. - Irish 1000 Guineas typically lands at **10-12 declared fillies**. - Friday Curragh going-stick reading is the standard race-week reference. We'll update this tracker with both 48-hour declaration grids by Friday evening. ## Race-day-eve — Friday 22 May & Saturday 23 May ### Friday 22 May — Irish 2000 Guineas race-day-eve By Friday evening, the **Irish 2000 Guineas ante-post market should be at its final pre-race shape**: | Position in market | Horse | Expected race-day SP range | |--------------------:|-------|:--------------------------:| | Favourite | Distant Storm (Appleby / Buick) | 7/2-5/1 | | 2nd fav | Officer (A O'Brien / Moore) | 4/1-5/1 | | 3rd fav | Henri Matisse (A O'Brien) | 6/1-7/1 | | 4th fav | Twain (A O'Brien) | 8/1-10/1 | | Longshots | Hotazhell / Rashabar / Scorthy Champ | 14/1+ | **Race-day verdict** locks at the [Irish 2000 Guineas 2026 preview](/racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-preview/) — our win-only pick is **Distant Storm 7/1-8/1** as the trends-cleanest single profile in the field (only Newmarket 2000G top-3 finisher heading to Ireland). ### Saturday 23 May — Race-day at the Curragh **Off-time 15:40 BST (Irish 2000 Guineas).** Live on **ITV Racing (UK)**, **Racing TV**, **RTÉ Sport (Ireland)**. We'll update with **race-day going-stick reading**, **at-the-off ante-post shifts**, and **post-race result** within minutes of the race finishing. **The result piece** at /racing-news/irish-2000-guineas-2026-result/ will publish within 90 minutes of the off. ### Sunday 24 May — Irish 1000 Guineas + Tattersalls Gold Cup **Two Group 1s on the same card** — the year's most concentrated Curragh weekend. **Irish 1000 Guineas (15:15 BST):** - Final field 10-12 fillies; True Love (A O'Brien / Lordan) heads the market at Evens-6/4F - Evolutionist (K Burke / Foley) at 4/1-5/1 the each-way structural pick **Tattersalls Gold Cup (15:55 BST):** - Final field 8-10 runners; Calandagan 11/8F headlines - Daryz 5/2 + Minnie Hauk 5/1 + Los Angeles (Coolmore defender) chase Race-day-eve verdicts for both Sunday races land at our [Irish 1000 Guineas 2026 preview](/racing-news/irish-1000-guineas-2026-preview/) and [Tattersalls Gold Cup 2026 preview](/racing-news/tattersalls-gold-cup-2026-preview/) on Saturday evening / Sunday morning. ### Festival result wrap We'll publish a **festival-wide review** on Monday 25 May covering all three Group 1 results, market reactions, and the form-line transfer into Royal Ascot. ## Where to bet for Irish Guineas Weekend 2026 ### Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) — major UK firms All six named UK firms run **Best Odds Guaranteed** on the Curragh card: - **Bet365** — BOG on all UK + Irish G1s - **Coral** — BOG on all UK + Irish racing - **William Hill** — BOG on all UK + Irish racing - **Paddy Power** — BOG on all UK + Irish racing - **Sky Bet** — BOG on all UK + Irish racing (some restrictions) - **Betfred** — **the cleanest BOG retainer** per our [BOG comparison](/bookmakers/best-bog-bookmakers/) **Star Sports withdrew BOG in December 2024**; value at the firm comes through curated **Star Boosts** and the on-course presence at Glorious Goodwood / Royal Ascot. ### Non-Runner-No-Bet (NRNB) — 48-hour declaration stage **NRNB kicks in at the 48-hour declaration stage** for the Curragh Group 1s — typically: - **Thursday 21 May** for the Irish 2000 Guineas (Saturday's race) - **Friday 22 May** for the Irish 1000 Guineas and Tattersalls Gold Cup (Sunday's races) Before NRNB activates, ante-post bets are **win-only with no safety net** — important for Calandagan (international horse, Dubai-prep), Daryz (Arc winner first European return at 5yo), and Minnie Hauk (Mooresbridge prep horse). ### Each-way places for the three Group 1s | Race | Expected field size | Each-way places (industry standard) | |------|-------------------:|:----------------------------------:| | Irish 2000 Guineas | 8-12 | 1/4 odds at 3 places | | Irish 1000 Guineas | 10-12 | 1/4 odds at 3 places (some firms 4 places for 13+) | | Tattersalls Gold Cup | 8-10 | 1/4 odds at 3 places | **Bet365, Coral and Paddy Power** typically extend to **1/4 odds at 4 places** for 13+ runner fields. Watch for **extra places offers** posted on race-day morning at major firms. ### Specialist racing operator — Star Sports **Star Sports** runs racecourse pitches at every major UK Group 1 fixture and is the specialist independent operator for serious racing punters. **Welcome offer**: **BET40GET20** (Bet £40 Get £20). The 0800 052 1321 phone trader desk is documented as laying six-figure bets on major racing. For more on Star Sports see our [Star Sports review](/bookmakers/star-sports-review/), the [Star Sports sign-up offer page](/bookmakers/star-sports-sign-up-offer/) and the [Ben Keith profile](/bookmakers/ben-keith-profile/). ### For the cross-bookmaker view See our [bookmakers index](/bookmakers/) for the full operator-by-operator breakdown across the Irish Guineas + Royal Ascot 2026 windows. ## Responsible note This tracker is a live build-up piece — facts and prices change daily. **No betting system reliably beats efficient bookmaker prices**; see our [in-house AI horse racing model write-up](/betting/strategies/ai-prediction-models/). Each-way bets are the structurally smarter choice in deep G1 fields. Bet only money you can afford to lose, set limits, [BeGambleAware.org](https://www.begambleaware.org).