Irish 1000 Guineas Tips: Tuesday to hand more Curragh Classic glory for O'Brien

A hugely competitive field of 14 fillies will go to post for the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh on Sunday afternoon, and it's set to be an enthralling renewal, where the winner will etch their name alongside some of the greats of the game. Our man Steve Chambers previews the Classic contest here and picks out his best bet...

Aidan O'Brien has a magnificent record in this event - claiming a staggering ten wins in the event - and he will unleash a four-pronged attack on the 2022 running and they are likely to be spearheaded by TUESDAY, who was last seen finishing a fine third in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket a few weeks ago. Well fancied before the off at Flat HQ, the daughter of Galileo was unable to live with the front-running Cachet and Prosperous Village, who finished second, but she could well use that outing as a stepping stone to Guineas glory here.  A comfortable winner of a maiden event at Naas in March, she certainly improved for that run at Newmarket, and if the O'Brien team can continue to improve her then she could well turn into the classiest of this lot bidding for glory.

History will be the second shot fired by the O'Brien gun and she was last seen beating Joseph O'Brien's Agartha in a Group 3 event at Leopardstown a fortnight ago, and the pair will lock horns once again here. An upwardly mobile daughter of Galileo, History will need to improve again, but she should have the measure of Agartha, who was a Group 2 winner over seven furlongs at the Curragh las year, but History may just struggle to deal with Tuesday.

Concert Hall is another of the O'Brien team lining up here, but she could be one that excels over a longer trip and the Oaks at Epsom in a few weeks could be her place to shine, while Lullaby completes the Ballydoyle quartet and on all form she looks to face a stiff test to play any sort of role here.

Dermot Weld's Homeless Songs could well be the biggest thorn in the side of Tuesday, as the Rosewell House inmate showed a sparkling turn of foot to bound to victory in the Group 3 1000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Leopardstown a few weeks ago. She had Agartha a length behind in second that day, but the manner in which she quickened suggested she could be the next star from the Weld team.  She will need to step up on that success in what is a tougher event here, but she has to be a huge player, but may just struggle in the closing stages to get the better of Tuesday, who has some decent Group 1 form in the book.

A Group 3 winner at Goodwood last season, Mise En Scene then went on to finish a fine fourth in the Fillies' Mile before disappointing at the Breeders' Cup. Making her hotly-anticipated return to the track here she adds huge intrigue to the event, as she has shown to be a class act on her day, but on her first start this could be a bridge too far.

There will be a decent British charge in this year's Irish 1000 Guineas and William Haggas will send over Purplepay, who will make his first start for the yard having had a productive juvenile campaign in France. Ending last season finishing third in the Prix Criterium International at Saint-Cloud, she has the most experience in the field and with the Haggas team riding the crest of the wave following Baaeed's romp in the Lockinge Stakes then she has to be watched.

Of the others, Hermana Estrella has only been seen once on the track, but she was an impressive winner on debut and has to be watched closely, while the Ger Lyons-trained Panama Red adds more depth to a race that can see Aidan O'Brien win his fourth Irish 1000 Guineas on the bounce.