Saturday Racing: Top Picks for Dundalk and Limerick Action There are two Irish meetings to look forward to on Saturday and both take place on the level. Dundalk is the first to kick off and the action from Limerick follows swiftly after. Dundalk gets underway at 13:20 in the afternoon and concludes the day’s racing with a 1m4f handicap at 17:15. Our expert has had a good look at both cards and picked out their three strongest fancies across the day. Selections 15:52 Limerick - Floresta 16:05 Dundalk - Lombardi Trophy 17:15 Dundalk - Quickshot bet365 Betting Offer If you already have a talkSPORT BET account, check out more of the best betting sites and online casinos 15:52 Limerick - Floresta Johnny Murtagh has been amongst the winners in the last couple of weeks, with six from his 22 runners over this period. He runs the twice-raced FLORESTA at Limerick and she looks set to go close. The daughter of Waldgeist is out of a mare who won over 1m4f and her half-sibling also scored over this trip. She made her debut at this course over slightly shorter in April and she kept on well, after being a little outpaced when the winner turned the screws. Third when upped to 1m4f at Fairyhouse next time, the winner is a potentially smart colt and her stronger fancied stablemate finished third. It’s possible that she’ll thrive over longer trips in the future but further progress seems likely and this race is much easier. Handicaps could also encourage improvement in the future but she needs a mark first, although her form is solid enough to make her a serious contender. 16:05 Dundalk - Lombardi Trophy Donnacha O’Brien has only had one three-year-old runner at Dundalk this year and the horse in question won. This means that his runner LOMBARDI TROPHY will be looking to defend the trainer’s 100 per cent record. There’s lots to like about his pedigree, as he’s out of a Listed-winning mare who beat Duke Of Marmalade as a two-year-old. By the late great Galileo, he’s related to several winners and winning a maiden of this standard shouldn’t be beyond him. O’Brien’s colt had little chance of winning on debut at Leopardstown in April as the winner is a very smart prospect, but he stuck to his task well to finish fourth. Outstayed when upped to 1m4f at the same track next time, he should be suited by the drop in trip. Paddy Harnett takes 5lb off, which could make a significant difference, and it surely won’t be long before he gets off the mark. 17:15 Dundalk - Quickshot Adrian Murray is a regular visitor to Dundalk and in fact, 14 of his 21 winners so far this year have come at this course. He’s the track’s leading trainer and his strike-rate is a more than respectable 29 per cent. QUICKSHOT is going the right way and consequently gets the nod. The three-year-old, who will have Colin Keane aboard, showed some positive signs when fifth on his penultimate start. The switch to handicaps facilitated a large amount of improvement last time and he ran on well to finish second, despite getting outpaced. Connections have opted for a step up in trip and that looks like a very sensible decision. It’s interesting that the handicapper has decided to drop him 2lb since and it would be no surprise if he were to take full advantage.
