Ranger in pole position for Kirby but respect for improver Bubbly
FEATURE of Saturday's racing is undoubtedly the €80,000 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial final over 525 yards at Limerick (9.24) where Graham Holland's FAYPOINT RANGER will go off a hot favourite.
Unbeaten in the event, he produced a competition-defining 27.98sec run in last weekend's semis and the draw in four will not be an issue if he starts in similar style.
That said, Bubbly Charger was only a couple of spots behind on sectional and, with even more scope than most having only debuted in this event, he deserves maximum respect from the inside berth.
Jonathan Kay
UK highlight is the £10,000 bet365 Hunt Cup final over 650m at Oxford (8.26) which sees a lot of speed for a six-bend race.
As such, it is not hard to envisage the powerful Alright Patricia picking off her rivals one-by-one but the double figure value could lie with potential leader Burrows Eclipse, trained by Jason Heath, who would have won many a sprint open with his 15.01sec sectional a week ago.
Jonathan Kay
Whatever the fate of Alright Patricia, trainer Dave Lewis should be on the mark earlier with litter-brother Alright Gordy in a marathon at 8.09, while other open fancies are Matt Dartnall's Long Fellow (6.39), Alistair Scott's Lamorna Lexi (7.14) and Kevin Hutton's Droopys Doris (7.31).
Doncaster has a Saturday double-header while there is a morning fixture at Towcester and Youghal stages an afternoon card.
Burrows Eclipse (nap)
T4 Oxford 8.26