Sunday at Naas

On Sunday, there is just one horse I fancy, in the opening contest (14:30) at Naas. Cyber Attack  is having her second career start, but she ran a race full of promise on her debut at the Curragh. She raced up with the pace and seemed to be well within her comfort zone before getting tired late on. The form of that race is working out well and this is an easier type of maiden, as it’s confined to horses whose sires had a median price of €60,000. She should improve from that first run and be tough to beat.

Saturday at Curragh

There are a couple of two-year-old races to open the card and they’re probably more of a watching brief than anything. The opener is a race that has been won by a few good horses in the past including High Definition two years ago.

The second race is a complete guessing game as it’s a race for unraced fillies. There is nothing to go on but, again, a potential superstar could be lurking in the field.

The competitive fillies’ handicap (14:35) is over 1m4f and you could make a case for a couple. Kerkiyra is interesting in the first time cheekpieces, following up from a good win last time out. However, I’m going to give another chance to Onameridance , who hacked up two starts ago. Last time, she was too bad to be true, so I’m happy to put a line through that performance. She showed plenty of promise prior to her win and I’m convinced she has a little more up her sleeve.

I don’t think I’m the only person who was slightly surprised by Ryan Moore’s decision to ride Aesop’s Fables over Hans Anderson (15:10), who has achieved more in their short careers to date. I’m not sure whether they'll both end up running, so if Hans Anderson does get pulled out I’d be siding with Proud And Regal , for Donnacha O’Brien. He’s two from two and is a course-and-distance winner, too. The form of his latest win at Leopardstown is working out well with the second and fourth winning next time out, too.

It's very hard to look past Meditate in the Debutante Stakes (15:45). She is three from three now and was heavily backed to win the Albany at Royal Ascot in June. That performance was a big step up on what she’d shown before.

I was also impressed by tablemate Maybe Just Maybe  (same race), who won very well just nine days ago. She’s being turned out again pretty quickly, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she improved for that recent success.

Harley Street is an interesting newcomer, who is exceptionally well-bred, but I’m willing to give another chance to Touching Clouds  (16:55). The Dermot Weld-trained filly was a big eye-catcher on her debut at Gowran Park and it was no surprise that she rocked up at Galway, given her connections. She ran towards the end of the week, when the rain was falling heavily, and the conditions went against her. Back on a quicker surface, I expect her to give a good account of herself.

Saturday at Killarney

There’s a good competitive Chase at Killarney (17:05) and I like the look of Discordantly , who is one of two runners for Jessie Harrington. He ran really well in the Galway Plate on his last start, considering he was on the back foot from the off. It’s virtually impossible to win the Galway Plate with a bad start. You’d ideally be in the first eight and he was way off the pace. Interestingly, his connections have reached for the first-time visor and that might just help Denis O’Regan get him into a good early position in the race, which will be a huge plus. 

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