Gladness Stakes 3.55 Curragh

The Gladness Stakes takes place in the Curragh today over 7f on soft ground at 3.55. Last year, the race threw up a shock winner in the form of 25/1 4-year-old Custom Cut, who stayed on well to win for the yard of George Kent.

Now a year older and a resident of the yard of David O'Meara, Custom Cut returns to the Curragh today to defend his crown. He comes into the race off the back of a very strong run on his seasonal debut, which saw him come a close 3rd in the Doncaster mile. He will carry a penalty today as a result of running such a big race, but, whatever cobwebs were to be shaken off will have been, and he should be a sharper horse than some of his opponents.

The return to 7f today should also work to his advantage - he took the mile in his stride but his record of 5 wins over this distance is a strong one. My only concern would be the soft ground at the Curragh today - it's yet to be seen how he handles it with only one place from 4 starts on soft ground. However, he has had some great runs on soft to heavy and seems fairly versatile on that front.

Although he faces some decent opposition (Sruthan won a Group 3 in Tipperary last year, beating two of today's runners, while Cristoforo Colombo, although never quite living up to his reputation, has experience running at a high level), Custom Cut seems a worthy favourite and the most likely winner today, and the 3/1 on offer from BetVictor looks a very fair price.

Elsewhere in the field, Pop Art should also be fresh. I've been following this horse for a while now and while she never quite lived up to my expectations, she stayed on very well to finish 2nd at Leopardstown ahead of Kingsbarn on her last start. I thought that she showed real  improvement from her seasonal reappearance on this run, and it will be interesting to see how she deals with the drop back down to 7f.

She has had some support this morning both with the bookmakers and on the exchanges and 8/1 is a price I will take for an each-way bet. Although conditions today may not be ideal, I would sooner back a horse with a recent run in this race than one coming back from a break, such as Sruthan, Cristoforo Colombo or Bold Thady Quill.

2pt win - Custom Cut 3/1
1pt e/w - Pop Art 8/1

Edit: Custom Cut is now 4/1 with Ladbrokes

Best of luck and remember only to bet what you can afford to lose.