Dundalk Friday Tips: Douglas Dc to strike on flat debut

Dundalk are saving the best until last on Friday evening, where we get to see the reappearance of the very smart sprinter A Case Of You in the 6f Book Online @dundalkstadium.com race (19:30) that closes the card.

Last seen when a little outpaced in finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint over 5f at Del Mar in November, Ado McGuiness' colt had previously got up at the death under testing conditions in the Abbaye at Longchamp on Arc day.

He should appreciate making his seasonal bow over further than the minimum trip on Dundalk's all-weather surface.

A Case Of You won't have it all his own way, however, with solid opposition provided by Logo Hunter, who landed four wins from just seven starts last year and is capable of smart form at his best.

Ado McGuiness also fields Current Option, who is the mount of Colin Keane, and this is another runner that merits plenty of respect in a race that will make fascinating viewing, though isn't really one to get involved with from a betting perspective.

We do have a couple of interesting betting propositions on Friday's card, however, and the first of them comes up in the 2m handicap (16:00) that opens proceedings.

Likely favourite First Blood is still relatively unexposed as a stayer having won over this C&D last time, though I'm plumping for another runner that has yet to show her hand over staying trips in Acqua Di Gioia.

Dermot Weld's nicely bred filly is related to some useful types and showed more than enough in maidens last season to suggest she's up to winning small handicaps.

With a filly boasting this sort of pedigree, the main aim will be to just get a win in the bank, and I'm hoping her first foray over a genuine staying trip will bring about some improvement.

Speaking of staying trips, Gordon Elliott's Douglas Dc isn't really bred to a stayer on the flat so it's unsurprising that he hasn't really seen things out while finishing placed in a pair of 2m bumpers on soft ground.

A switch to polytrack, coupled with a drop in trip to a mile and a half, could be just what the doctor ordered in the maiden at 16:30.

Mick Halford's Elzaamsan has done little wrong on his last three outings, but it's perhaps a tad disconcerting that he's found one too good each time, and it would be a braver man than me who sided with one of this profile at what looks sure to be a short-enough price.

With the Elliott string in fine form over jumps of late, I see no reason at all why Douglas Dc shouldn't run a cracking race under conditions that should prove ideal, and he has a sporting chance of knocking the favourite off his perch.