Hi all,

There’s racing to suit most punters today. Mind you if you are going racing this weekend be prepared to get wet.

Inside today’s main piece you’ll find one that I really fancy at the Curragh this afternoon.

At the Curragh we have classic action with Irish Oaks (3:45) the centrepiece of a cracking eight race card. Just eight have been declared for the fourth Irish Classic. Four of them are trained by Aidan O’Brien but that doesn’t mean the race lacks interest far from it.

At Newbury it’s Super Sprint Day. Twenty one juveniles have been declared for the Super Sprint. Given the prize money on offer for the race not surprisingly a big field of juveniles (21) are set to line-up for this year’s race.

Jump fans also get a look in on ITV this afternoon. With Market Rasen hosting one of the feature races of the summer jumps season – the Unibet Summer Plate Handicap Chase (3:15).

You can watch the best of the action from Newbury and Market Rasen on ITV this afternoon. The programme also includes live coverage of the Irish Oaks.

Weather Watch

I reported a couple of days ago that the weather looked mostly dry for the weekend. That’s all changed again. It’s going to be a wet Saturday at all the tracks if the weather forecast turns out to be correct.

Here are the potential rainfall totals for Newbury, Market Rasen and the Curragh:

Newbury could see 4mm on Saturday.

Market Rasen which was watering earlier in the week could see 14mm of rain on Saturday.

The Curragh was forecast to receive 4.5mm of rain on Friday and a further 11mm on Saturday.

It’s not good for us punters that’s for sure but its where we are, and we have to work around it.

Saturday Preview

I have a few fancies across Britain & Ireland today. Those of you with the Victor Value service have already got my Saturday preview and it's one of my longest pieces of the season so far.

I looked at both Newbury’s Super Sprint and the Irish Oaks in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s columns.  

The rain means Savethelastdance is likely to go off a strong favourite for the Irish Oaks (3:45). I have reservations about the Epsom Oaks form but she remains the one to beat. I’m expecting more improvement from Bluestocking although she did seem to lack tactical speed at Royal Ascot. At bigger odds Azazat could go well and the softer the ground the better for her.

I think we’ll see a lot better from Beenham than we saw at York last time in the Super Sprint (3:35). This will have been the plan and the 25/1 available with Bet365 at the time of writing is more than acceptable.

Ryan Moore opts for recent Ascot Gold Cup fourth Emily Dickinson in the Curragh Cup (4:20) The filly goes well on soft ground and is the one to beat on form. I mentioned in Thursday’s column that I liked Gooloogong and I have backed him for this. He remains the most intriguing runner in the race for me and could be an Irish St Leger if he was to go close here.

At Market Rasen Francky Du Berlais is just 1lb higher than winning last year’s Summer Plate. And he must have a good chance of hat trick in the race. Stablemate Courtland isn’t discounted either given he comes into the race seeking a four timer.

Thirty five minutes earlier Myristica has sound claims of landing a four timer on handicap debut in the Class 2 Summer Handicap Hurdle (2:40).

Saturday Selection:

Curragh

4:20 – Gooloogong – 12/1 @ Paddy Power & Betfair Sportsbook or 8/1 if you prefer the safety of BOG with Coral & Ladbrokes.

There's a decent card at the Curragh on Sunday but I won't be doing a Sunday column, I will be back on Monday with a look back at Saturday's action.

Good luck with your Saturday bets.

John