Britain and Ireland today

Best race in the U.K. today is the listed 6 furlongs event at 16.40 CET at Salisbury. Only 6 are entered and it should develop into a match between Palace Moon (Hughie Morrison/ Steve Drowne) and Diana´s Choice (Mike de Kock/ Pat Cosgrave). The de Kock runner is a bit of an unknown quantity but will have to be smart to defeat Palace Moon, a half-brother to the July Ciup winner Sakhees Secret and potentially equally smart. Ar Doncaster the main event is a 20 runner handicap over 6 furlongs at 16.30. This is a typical puzzle, in which many of the runners have repeatedly met already and luck in running will probably be decisive. We would not be surprised to see one of the top-weights - Barney McGrew (Michael Dods( Phillip Makin), Excusez-Moi (Ruth Carr/ Tom Eaves) and Biniou (Robert Cowell/ Graham Gibbons) come out on top, but almost anything is possible.

Main feature in Ireland is the Group Three Noblesse Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/2 miles at 17.30 at Cork. The only foreign runner is Les Fazzani (Kevin Ryan/ Steven Donohoe), who has a good chance, especially if the ground is soft. The home defence is headed by 3 runners each from the John Oxx and David Wachman stables and two trained by Dermot Weld, of which Profound Beauty (Weld/ Pat Smullen) and Roses for the Lady (Oxx/ Mick Kinane) would appear to hold the best prospects. There is also N.H. racing today at Stratford and Downpatrick.