Naas – Tuesday 21st June

It was another decent day yesterday at Sligo as we registered a winner and a third from the two selections at Sligo, which was a nice bonus at a track where I don’t have too much luck at in recent years. I won’t lie, at the moment – I am struggling to find regular selections to be putting up on a daily basis as there is a limited amount of jumps racing on at the moment and I am not overly intrigued by the action over in England at this moment in time. With that in mind, and with tonight’s card at Naas looking a very tricky one – there is merely just the one selection to go to war with today from Naas. 

I am waiting all the while till 7.10 for the one selection of the day as well, so my patience will be tested tomorrow, but it comes in the feature race, which is the Oaks Trial over 1 mile and 2 furlongs. This race, constricted to 3 year old fillies has some very interesting runners and top of that list is One for Bobby, who is looking to remain unbeaten after two wins from two at Gowran Park. It is hard to know how much she has achieved from those outings, but she has done it well so far and there should be room for more improvement. 

However, I am going to favor the hardened, The Algarve, in this race, who is stepping back down into much milder company today after two big race starts so far this season. Her two trips to Britain, to take in the Musidora and The Oaks itself have both yielded big defeats, but she has been encountering the top range fillies of her generation in those races and there is nothing to fear on this occasion instead. She was fourth of five behind Emily UpJohn at York, where shaping quite nicely and she seemed a little bit lost when finishing well down the pack in the Oaks, which was a run that can easily be forgiven.

Looking back on last year’s form, she should not be out of place in this type of race, and the fact she was pitched in so highly must mean they have some feeling of her ability being above ordinary. Ryan Moore, who has a scintillating Royal Ascot and was the friend of most of us WhichBookie followers throughout the week, takes the ride and I am expecting a big run. At a price of 13/2 with Bet365, I am hoping she runs well and should be backed each way.