IRISH DERBY WEEKEND: English Derby winner Ruler of the World will attempt to land the coveted Derby double at the weekend when he goes off at the Curragh and is a 6/5 shot with Sean Graham[/caption]
Royal Ascot 2013 is done and dusted, thank God, with punters a well-beaten second throughout the five-day meeting Not to worry, though – another cracking weekend of racing lies ahead with Irish Derby the stand-out race of the weekend at the Curragh on Saturday, and that’s where we start.
English Derby winner Ruler of the World is Sean Graham’s 6/5 favourite midweek and looks destined to go off as favourite on Saturday evening.
The big question is, can the jolly be beaten? Not sure, so we think each-way is the route to take in the race. Galileo Rock, third in the English Derby, is a really class animal and looks a big each-way player at 7s. Sugar Boy, meanwhile, who inexplicably swerved Epsom having had both David Wachman's charge and Libertarian behind him when winning at Sandown in May, is a live contender at 8/1 and we know the stable are bullish about his chances.
A great card all round at the Curragh on Saturday and the £100,000 Paddy Power Sprint is one hell of a race to work out. We like the look of top-weight CAPE OF APPROVAL, and at 12s each-way might be the smart choice, while PG favourite BUBBLY BELLINI could also run into the prize money at 16s.
Over at Newcastle we have the John Smith’s Northumberland Plate where Amanda Perret’s ARCH VILLAIN can make it a hat-trick of wins in this two-mile event and is around 10s, while Sun Central could be a big danger.
