St. Nicholas Abbey returns at the Curragh

The listed Alleged Stakes over 10 furlongs at 17.00 CET at the Curragh today is not the headline race of a strong card, but it is certainly the most interesting event. as it sees the return of St. Nicholas Abbey (Aidan O´Brien/ Seamus Heffernan). beaten favourite for the 2,000 Guineas when last seen out 11 months ago. He was regarded as a budding champion when winning the Racing Post Trophy in 2009, but has obviously had his problems since. However he should win this relatively modest event before going on to better things. Dermot Weld supplies the main opposition in Galileos Choice (Shane Gorey) and Unaccompanied (Pat Smullen), who was runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham last time out. Main feature here is the Group Three Gladness Stakes over 7 furlongs at 16.30. Lolly for Dolly (Tommy Stack/ Wayne Lordan) won nicely over a mile here a fortnight ago, but the one to beat is surely Regal Parade (David and Adrian Nicholls), who carries a penalty but is well clear on o fficial ratings; he was beaten less than 2 lengts by Goldikova in the Prix de la Foret last October and that form should suffice here. The listed race for 3yo´s over 7 furlongs at 15.25 is another interesting event. Glor Na Mara (Jim Bolger/ Kevin Manning) is the clear form choice, having been placed in all his 2yo starts, all in top company, but Sing Softly (O´Brien/ Colm O´Donoghue) beat a huge field in very promising style here at the last meeting and is a live danger.

At Doncaster, the card for the second day of their Lincoln meeting is much weaker than yesterday´s. The best race is the 6 furlongs handicap at 16.55 with 22 runners, but this looks very diffficult. Arguably Hoof It (Mick Easterby/ Kieren Fallon), Horse Radish (Michael Bell/ Hayley Turner) and Medicean Man (Jeremy Gask/ Steve Drowne) are the form choices, but they all drawn low. Yesterday´ s results suggest that the stands side (high numbers) has an advantage, so we have decided on Joe Packet (Johnny Portman/ Jim Crowley), who is drawn right on the rail.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Boris Grigoriev - Raphael Santi - Dayrina
2. Race: Glor Na Mara - Sing Softly - Triple Eight
3. Race: West Coast Dream - Edenshaw - First In Command
4. Race: Regal Parade - Emulous - The Cheka
5. Race: St Nicholas Abbey - Unaccompanied - Gift From The Sea
6. Race: Notable Graduate - Marksmanship - Zanughan
7. Race: Samain - Black Benny - He`S A Delight
8. Race: Jumbo Rio - Force Of Habit - Leah Claire