The Curragh is the home of Flat racing in Ireland and they host the Irish Derby on Sunday.We have two excellent cards to sink our teeth into beforehand however and they get underway with eight races on Friday, most of which are competitive handicaps.GET £30 IN FREE BETS WITH TALKSPORT BETWe start with a juvenile maiden, in which Coventry and Queen Mary winning-trainer Aidan O’Brien runs three and Ger Lyons has landed four of the six renewals. The final race on the card is a charity event that should make for interesting viewing.Our expert has picked out three strong fancies to follow and among them is a popular dual-purpose veteran for Henry de Bromhead who won well in this sphere last time out.Friday Curragh tips5.35 Curragh – Therewillbeglory6.10 Curragh – Gypsy Queen7.55 Curragh –Ballyadam5.35 Curragh – TherewillbegloryAndrew Slattery is one of Ireland’s shrewdest operators across both codes and handicap debutant THEREWILLBEGLORY looks well set for a big run here. This daughter of Cotai Glory came very close to getting off the mark on debut here over 7f back in July.She was only just denied but stuck to her task well, eventually finishing second by a head. Second again over a mile at Navan a couple of starts later, that form has worked out well, with a couple of subsequent winners coming out of the race.Connections decided to step her up in trip to an extended 1m2f at Dundalk on seasonal debut and she was a narrow second once again. Switching to handicaps looks like a sensible idea and she should be very competitive off a mark of 76 here.6.10 Curragh – Gypsy QueenThere’s €30,000 on offer for the Schweppes Trophy Handicap and Willie McCreery’s thoroughly unexposed filly GYPSY QUEEN gets the nod. Out of an unraced half-sister to a Group 1-winning sprinter, she should inherit enough stamina from her Classic-winning sire.Soft ground clearly doesn’t suit her as she struggled on debut at Limerick in April 2025 but took a big step forward to win a Fairyhouse maiden on good going the following month. It was a very impressive display and she kicked clear to score by almost five lengths.She was a little disappointing on handicap debut at Gowran off the back of her impressive victory, but the going was soft again and it’s notable that the handicapper has dropped her a whopping 5lb since. A return to winning ways could well be on the cards here.7.55 Curragh – BallyadamHenry de Bromhead’s BALLYADAM certainly isn’t getting any younger, but he continues to give a good account of himself and clearly enjoys the job. He has placed several times at the Cheltenham Festival over hurdles and remains very lightly raced on the Flat.This son of Fame And Glory finished second to an impressive Paddy Twomey-trained winner in a Ballinrobe maiden over 1m5f last month. Ballyadam was also a respectable third in two 1m4f maidens on the all-weather at Dundalk before that, which should be an inadequate trip.Connections made the switch to handicaps at Listowel last time out and it’s no surprise that he managed to get off the mark with plenty in hand. Scoring by three lengths, it’s hard to argue with a 9lb rise and there should be more to come from him over this sort of trip.GET £30 IN FREE BETS WITH TALKSPORT BETVisit talkSPORT BET for all the latest horse racing betting odds*all odds correct at time of writing and subject to change*18+ New Customers. Opt in, deposit and bet £10+ on any horse racing markets within 7 days of sign up. Get 3 x £10 Free Bets for set horse racing markets. Bonuses expire in 7 days. Scroll down for T&Cs. GambleAware.org Please gamble responsibly. Remember to gamble responsiblyA responsible gambler is someone who:Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chase their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamCare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.gambleaware.orgFor help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org