Galway Day 6 previews

LEAFCUTTER ran a nice race on his debut when fourth behind Renaissance Art at the Curragh. The unlucky second on that occasion, Australia has done his bit for the form in the interim by landing his maiden also at HQ. A son of Shamardal, the selection is probably facing a decent enough type in Iniesta. Needless to say he's a real well-bred sort and he ran okay on his debut when third of six at Leopardstown. It's likely a case of which one of them copes best with the ground but it's difficult to go against team Weld. Keyword was very disappointing at Bellewstown but he could do better now back on the softer surface. It's hard to imagine any of the rest of them making their presence felt. (EM)

I'll go with the top one here, DOVE MOUNTAIN. A son of Danehill Dancer, he'll likely have no problem with the testing ground. A visor is applied now instead of cheek-pieces and the well-bred youngster could be worth chancing. Similarly, blinkers replace cheek-pieces on Focussed and he could go well at decent odds. As the only previous winner in the line-up Princess Aloof certainly can't be under-estimated. Dermot Weld claims off Mahon Falls with local lad Leigh Roche jocked-up. Named after a well-known beauty spot in County Waterford, this Dandy Man (flying as a stallion) filly is a bit of an unknown quantity and hopefully the market can help to reveal the level of confidence behind the chestnut. With Pat Smullen up, Touch Of Snow is probably the other one worthy of the most consideration. (EM)

It might be as well to keep things simple here and go with the Weld horse with the string of ones to his name. STUCCODOR is the animal in question and he's going for a six wins in a row now. A hardy type, the Modigliani gelding has won four of his starts by half a length or less and he certainly appears to possess a big will to win. The four year old stays a lot further than this seven furlong trip which is an obvious asset in the conditions and the form of his last success, over Fiesolana, has certainly been boosted by that filly in the interim. Pintura bids to achieve what he did last year by winning at the Festival (the corresponding race) after an effort in the Topaz Mile (6th this year) on the Tuesday night. First-time blinkers might help and he has a squeak despite top-weight. There are a couple of other English contenders as well, namely Boots And Spurs and Al Khan and they'll likely contend strongly for a placing at least. Hardly surprisingly for a contest of this nature, everything has a chance of sorts. (EM)

Talking to the trainers of a few of these it's pretty clear that plenty are fancying their chances. With the maximum twenty declared and three reserves it's hardly a race that any serious punter is going to be wading into. With Willie Mullins four-handed it's probably not a bad idea to go with one of the champion trainer's quartet. A beaten favourite the last three times he's run, SWEET MY LORD is a tentative pick. Of course the late Colm Murray was a part owner of this fellow so how appropriate would it be if he went and did the business. The multi talented teenager, Johnny Burke has his first mount on the track for Willie Mullins, after working at Closutton for quite a while. Burke's seven pound claim brings Sweet My Lord's impost down to an attractive ten stone ten so the soft ground lover could well make his presence felt at a reasonable price. (EM)

A couple of old Ballybrit stalwarts in here with Fit The Cove and Toufan Express (won on Wednesday) turning out for the second time this week. Plenty will likely have a little each-way tickle on one or the other but they haven't fared great with the draw getting stalls fourteen and ten respectively. Remarkably Fit The Cove is listed as the winner of this back in 2004, and indeed last year, but he was drawn low on either occasion. The much less well known AVALANCHE could be the type to take a chance on. The grey is still a maiden but he is well-drawn and first-time cheek-pieces could help. His trainer, Thomond O'Mara won this in 2008 with another popular campaigner around here, Senators Alibi. (EM)

JOHANN BACH could go well at an each-way price here. I like the Oratorio's and though you'd wonder about his ability to go on the ground, there are a couple of positives about his chance. Firstly he has Joseph O'Brien in the plate and on top of that he has a nice draw in four. The Dundalk maiden winner needs to return to his best after a poor effort last time but dropping a little in the handicap and going back up in trip should aid his cause. Magnolia Ridge is the favourite in early betting here and that's hardly a surprise whilst the other big player this week, Tony Martin has Quick Jack so watch him in the market. Face Value, third here on Tuesday evening, is a previous course winner not to be under-estimated either. (EM)

I'm going to take a chance on MANALISA here. I love the way she's bred and though equipped with a hood for her debut it might be significant that Jim Bolger has afforded her the time she's got as she only starts off now at the age of four. The Master of Coolcullen scored with a similar type in Pastilla at Dundalk back in April. That one went off at odds-on so the market could be quite revealing here. Sharp Crisp Air is tried in a visor now and whilst she'll justifiably be the choice of many she may not represent much in the way of value. This is certainly a well-contested affair and it would be folly not to consider the chances of Cin Cin, Exotic, Mindy, Smolensk, Tae Think Again and Tri Na Ceile too. (EM)

She's in again on Sunday, over flights, with Ruby Walsh jocked up and BUSTED TYCOON looks the obvious way to go here. She won well here on Tuesday night and with Shane Shortall (yet to ride a winner but looks capable) claiming 10Ibs, her chance is there for all to see. Anyone wanting to stay away from punting at skinny odds should probably consider the likes of Raggletagglegypsy (tongue-strap first-time) and Ibsen. Pat Flynn tries a visor on previous course scorer Prince Chaparral so he could have a squeak. Mind The Pennies has shown some ability before and he mightn't be one to completely discount especially if he's lively in the betting. (EM)