Field Of Gold, favourite for Saturday’s Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, poses a fascinating “back-or-oppose” puzzle for punters after his fast-finishing second behind Ruling Court in the English equivalent this month.
Kieran Shoemark, the colt’s rider in the Newmarket Classic, lost his job as John and Thady Gosden’s stable jockey after what was seen by many as an unlucky defeat on the Rowley Mile. Colin Keane, Ireland’s champion in six of the last eight seasons, will be holding the reins when Field Of Gold sets off at around even-money in an attempt to emulate his sire, Kingman, who won the Irish 2,000 in 2014 after finishing second at Newmarket a few weeks earlier.
