Irish Horseracing Betting: Friday at Dundalk

005 Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 15 August 2008 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Bailey previews each race as the all-weather resumes in County Louth...

2:25 - Hanlon Machinery Race (3yo+) £10,530.88

Normally, the first race of any meeting is pretty poor but with over ten grand up for grabs, this has attracted a few promising sorts. There's an old rule in betting that we are all familiar with; don't change your mind after you've made your selection. Well, I'm afraid I'm going to break that rule, and I hope it doesn't backfire. I was originally going to give The Emperor Nero a plug here, and anything Johnny Murtagh rides these days is surely worth considering - however, the more I watch his previous races, the more I think Epic Odyssey might be the one to get me off to a good start. They locked horns a couple of times before, and have both tasted success at each other's expense. It's Epic Odyssey that seems to have improved the most, so let's hope he doesn't let me down.

Advice: Back Epic Odyssey

3:00 - Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Fillies) Maiden (2yo) £7,621.32

Hmm. A two-year-old fillies race with barely any form. The type of race where you should consider sitting in the bar with a nice pint, and watching the screens instead. Marquesa will probably go off favourite and she'll probably win too. However, a short price doesn't make much appeal in a race with too many unknown quantities.

Advice: Marquesa is the obvious choice but proceed with extreme caution.

3:35 - Irish Stallion Farms EBF Auction Maiden (2yo) £7,621.32

A pretty tough race, but Lista Lightning seems overpriced, and may well just nip a place. He ran poorly at Sligo just over a week ago, but was very slow out of the stall and never recovered. That race aside, he's shown improvement recently - but it's not a race for big money and stakes should be kept to a minimum.

Advice: Back Lista Lightning to place (small stakes).

4:10 - BAR ONE Racing Handicap (3yo+) £26,327.21

A very decent prize of over twenty-six grand on offer for this and at 8st 13lbs, I think Nastrelli may be getting away with murder here. OK, it's over two yeas since he won a race, and he went through a bit of a bad spell for a while; but his second placing to Kingsdale Ocean at the Curragh recently shows that he's returning to form, and I'd be surprised if he's not placed at the very least.

Advice: Back Nastrelli to win and place.

4:40 - Smirnoff Handicap (Div I) (3yo+,50-70) £5,080.88

With a strike rate of 38% and a profit of €290 to €10 stakes at Dundalk, it would be a brave man who opposes the Ger Lyons/Johnny Murtagh combination here. Stats aside, Chasing Clouds still looks like a decent betting opportunity in an open race. She's yet to clock up a win, but her best performance to date was second in a similar contest back in April, and this race should be right up her street.

Advice: Back Chasing Clouds.

5:10 - Smirnoff Handicap (Div II) (3yo+,50-70) £5,080.88

The second division of the handicap is far trickier, and even Mystic Meg would struggle to predict the winner here. I'm not getting heavily involved, but a token vote goes to Turk, a horse that showed dramatic improvement as a three-year-old this season, and should have enough to keep Archmani at bay.

Advice: Back Turk (small stakes).

5:40 - Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund August Handicap (3yo+) £28,720.59

Another handicap, and another big prize pot. Any Tony Martin horse slotted in nicely in the weights stands out like a sore thumb, and Charminamix looks the obvious choice to land the money. However, Fiery Lad may prove more reliable. Ger Lyons was a bit optimistic entering him in a listed race at Newmarket last month, and excluding that run, his form is rock solid. This is a more realistic level, and if he's fully tuned up, he'll take all the beating.

Advice: Back Fiery Lad.

6:10 - Guinness Maiden (3yo) £6,351.10

Not very original, but Matters At Hand looks like he can break his maiden tag after a few promising career runs under the belt. This is the type of race where the favourite could get backed off the boards, so if you're having a bet, do so early.

Advice: Back Matters At Hand.