Interesting card at Cork this afternoon and our man Fran Berry has two fancies on the card, including the in-form Strong Johnson.
Recommended Bets:
1pt win Strong Johnson in 3.05 Cork at 10/3
1pt win Pearls Galore in 4.15 Cork at 4/1
STRONG JOHNSON looks the answer to the Doneraile Handicap at 3.05. He's up there with the best sprint handicappers in Ireland right now, winning the Rockingham over this trip two starts ago.
He was a beaten favourite at Navan next time but ran well in second and the yielding to soft ground wouldn't have been ideal for him.
It's good and drying all the time at Cork and he has a high draw which is a big plus on the sprint track here. He has a tendency to go left under pressure so will have the rail to help and all in all looks a bet at around 10/3.
So is PEARLS GALORE in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Handicap.
There are a couple of notable non-runners in this and the selection was trained in France as a two-year-old before joining Paddy Twomey.
She made a winning start for new connections at Limerick, producing a performance of some authority to win from stall 17. With normal improvement an opening mark of 87 looks exploitable and I really like her chances.
I'm looking forward to the clash of Cayenne Pepper and Passion in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Give Thanks Stakes. They finished second and third in the Irish Oaks last time and there won't be much between them again. I wouldn't want to call it but they should have this between themselves.
Preview posted at 1300 BST on 08/08/2020
Responsible gambling
We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.
Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.