There is Group 1 racing in France to get stuck into alongside four UK and Irish meetings and we head to the Curragh for our first wager.
The feature Listed Michael John Kennedy Memorial Irish European Breeders Fund Stakes at 3.50 has attracted a strong field of fifteen and I'm expecting Azazat to prove she remains a very classy filly by getting back to winning ways.
Dermot Weld could hardly have his string in better form at present (5-17, 29% for the last 14 days) and this filly looks to have plenty going for her this afternoon.
She was ultimately well-beaten when seventh in the Irish Oaks last time but travelled well for a long way before fading on testing ground over a mile and a half. The drop back to a mile and a quarter could see her in a better light and she certainly has the standout piece of form having finished runner-up to Rosscarbery in the Group 3 Munster Oaks at Cork in June. The Aga Khan-owned filly looked to be travelling like the winner at the furlong pole that day and the form has worked out with subsequent Listed winner (and Irish Oaks runner-up) Library finishing back in fourth.
Dropping back to Listed level should see Dermot Weld's daughter of Camelot get her head back in front and it's certainly possible there's more to come on just this second start over 1m2f.
Selection: Azazat – General 11/4
Windsor is the port of call for our second selection and I'm targeting another in-form trainer in the Follow AtTheRaces On Twitter Handicap at 5.05.
Ed Dunlop's fine season continues, and he arrives with a brilliant 34% (10-29) strike-rate over the last fortnight. The La Grange stables handler saddles Letaba here and this unexposed three-year-old looks to have every chance of getting off the mark against some more exposed rivals.
It's interesting connections are happy to turn him out just three days after a solid second at Yarmouth, where he definitely caught the eye with some good late headway. The fitting of first-time cheekpieces should help him concentrate more in the closing stages. There's no doubt this looks like a wide-open contest on paper, but he has both trip and ground to suit and it's hard to not see him being bang there off an unchanged mark.
Selection: Letaba – General 4/1
