Tony Calvin: My thoughts on the weekend action at Haydock and the Curragh

Mecca's Angel heads the betting for Saturday's Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock at 4.3100/30 and she does have an awful lot going for her.

Firstly, the conditions of this race means that she escapes a 4lb penalty because her Group 1 Nunthorpe win came before August 31 - no such luck for Abbaye winner Goldream - and she is also the highest-rated horse in here. She won first time up last season, and is also one-from-one at the track.

The most obvious negative is that the ground is currently good to firm. But she has won on a fast surface before, and the good news for the Michael Dods camp is that there is a very unsettled forecast at Haydock this week.

In short, she will take the world of beating but I imagine that she will be a similar price on Saturday morning, when at least we will know the conditions and whether she is definitely running.

Bookmakers tend to be slow to price up three-year-old handicaps these - the first firm to open up betting on last Saturday's London Gold Cup only did so on Friday morning - so I am not sure if there will be an ante-post market on Haydock's Silver Bowl handicap.

Paddy Power has priced up Goodwood's Festival Stakes, in which they make Decorated Knight the narrow favourite ahead of Mutakayyef.

There are plenty of interesting horses ranged against them in the five-day declarations, but the only problem is that a fair few are doubly-declared, so playing in the race is not really sensible, as it stands.

The same firm has also priced up the Grand Cup at York, where Moonrise Landing tops the betting at 15/8 just ahead of Mr Singh.

Moonrise Landing would have been my Chester Cup fancy were it not for the fact that she was pulled out the day before after coming in season and I think she must go very close if taking up the engagement. But the price tells you that.

Gold the right Guineas favourite faces strong opposition

Galileo Gold trades at around the 2.77/4 mark for the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday and it is not hard to see why.

The more you look at his Newmarket win, the more impressed you have to be given the authorative manner of his win, despite his outside draw and racing far too freely.

The immediate impression you got after the race was that it was a moderate renewal but the seventh First Selection chased home runaway winner The Gurkha in France on Sunday, and it would probably be unwise to underestimate the form, or the potential of the winner.

But you also have to remember that top two-year-old Air Force Blue was a 4/5 chance when disappointing badly in that race and plenty of Aidan O'Brien Newmarket also-rans have put those moderate efforts aside and come on to win this race, such as Roderic O'Connor and Power in recent years.

Galileo Gold is the right favourite but it is not hard to pass up the opportunity to bet on the race, especially with the likes of Tetrarch 1-2, Awtaad and Blue De Vega, set to line up, too.

You can read Timeform's Irish 2,000 Guineas Runners Guide behind the link.

Wait for final decs before a Now or Never 1,000 Guineas bet

Oaks favourite Minding is expected to miss the Irish 1,000 Guineas on Sunday with the stable relying on their Newmarket runner-up Ballydoyle.

However, I'd be more interested in impressive Leopardstown winner Now Or Never at the prices, though, again, it probably makes sense to wait for the final declarations on Friday morning before getting involved.

Sunday's Tattersalls Gold Cup is also shaping up into a cracker, with Found predictably heading up the market after looking back to her best here last time.

In summary, the ante-post markets could be a little stronger this week and it's tough to find a strong recommendation, but if anything pops up in the next 24 hours or so, I will be back with an update!

Good luck.