All roads lead to Leopardstown on Saturday for one of the great days in the Irish racing calendar, with the €750,000 Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes the highlight on a glittering card.

Just six runners have been declared for the 1m2f Group 1 feature, but with the likes of Juddmonte International first and second, Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over, and Irish Derby hero Cape Blanco in the field what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. It promises to be a fascinating spectacle and perhaps it will be the York form that once again comes to the fore, with ‘Rip’ taken to once again get the better of Henry Cecil’s fine servant. Last year’s Dewhurst Stakes hero Beethoven enjoyed a confidence boosting success at Group 3 level here recently, and with the step up to 1m2f likely to suit may spring a surprise by proving best of the remainder.

The Group 1 Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes is a worthy chief supporting event, with old rivals Music Show and Lillie Langtry likely to dispute favouritism. The latter had the better of the argument in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, but Mick Channon’s filly reversed the form in no uncertain terms when hacking up in the Falmouth Stakes before understandably finding Goldikova too hot to handle last time. With heavy morning rain easing the ground Falmouth runner-up Spacious also comes firmly into the argument.

Several interesting and unexposed types lock horns in the Group 3 Kilternan Stakes, with recent Cork scorer Await The Dawn and Dermot Weld’s French import Cashelgar two of the likelier types. Noll Wallop has his first start since disappointing in the Irish 2000 Guineas, but previously looked set for a good season when landing a trial for that race at today’s venue.

There are some competitive handicaps down for decision throughout the day, with Galway winner Toufan Express and recent Tipperary scorer Priomhbhean making plenty of appeal in the 7f premier handicap and concluding 1m1f event respectively.

If Sporting Fingal are going to successfully defend their FAI Ford Cup trophy, they certainly are going about it the hard way.

They were taken to a replay in the previous round by Mervue United – and last Friday night they were held by another First Division club, Limerick.

Liam Buckley’s Premier Division side progressed comfortably in the end against Mervue; winning 4-0 at the second attempt. They won’t have it so easy against a strong Limerick – even though Pat Scully is missing cup-tied duo Thomas Heary and Dave Rogers.

Former Bohemians, Shelbourne and St Pat’s winger Bobby Ryan picked up a groin strain in Friday night’s match and is a doubt tonight.

However former Cork City, Derry City and Northampton striker Stephen O’Flynn showed his class with an injury-time equaliser on Friday night.

While Fingal should pick up the win (evens, Ladbrokes), the prospect of a draw at the end of 90 minutes (11/5, Paddy Power) should not be discounted.

And with a goal already in the bag, O’Flynn will be hot on the trail of another and is 11/2 with Paddy Power to score the first tonight.

As for tonight’s other FAI Cup replay, Galway should see off neighbours Salthill Devon (3/10).

It’s a busy start to another week of Irish racing, with Galway’s three-day meeting coming to a close with a late afternoon flat card, but before that there’s a bank holiday jumps fixture at Downpatrick for punters to get their teeth into.

Ruby Walsh has been in typically brilliant form since returning from a lengthy injury layoff and has two good chances at the County Down venue, the first of them another potential winner for his main ally of late Tony Martin. The horse in question is Golan Guy, who on the face of things has no chance in the opening maiden hurdle after finishing last at Down Royal on Friday, but is easily forgiven that disappointment as he sustained a nasty overreach. His previous effort behind Universal Truth at Galway has been handsomely boosted since and a reproduction would probably suffice.

The champion jockey takes the reins aboard Hail Caesar – his first ride back at Roscommon earlier this month – in the novice hurdle at 3.40 and will be hoping for better fortune after the partnership could manage only third on that occasion. Imperial Shabra has been kept busy by Oliver Brady of late but is holding his form well and looks the chief threat after his second at Galway on Saturday.

Rajik, who made the breakthrough at Listed level in the Ballycullen Stakes at the Curragh nine days ago, had previously landed a valuable handicap at the festival at Ballybrit but life will be much tougher for him under his penalty in the featured Ardilaun Hotel Oyster Stakes. Dermot Weld’s runners here must always be feared and his Address Unknown could be worth another chance after disappointing at the Curragh when last seen nearly two months ago, while Leo Gali ran well at Roscommon and hails from a stable in good form.

Thursday’s controversial Tipperary dead-heater Beauthea seeks a quick follow-up in the extended 1m handicap at 5.30 and having already proved her effectiveness at the track should go well, while another recent scorer to make plenty of appeal is Lily’s Star, who is officially 3lb well in for the opening 50-85 handicap after striking at Bellewstown on Wednesday.

Kerry National hero Northern Alliance warms up for another tilt at next month’s Listowel highlight in the 1m4f apprentice handicap, and while he is unlikely to be knocked about the booking of Adrian Heskin suggests he could be competitive.

Plenty of racing today, but not that many stand out bets. Here are a few from Galway and one from Huntingdon.

4.20 – Galway, 1.5 points ew Snap Alam (4-1 widely available),  0.5 point ew Cinnin Oir (4-1 widely available)

Snap Alam has produced a few decent efforts of late, most notably behind New Magic here at the festival and at Sligo last week in a 0-91 handicap, where she was a bit unlucky not to finish closer. Joanna Morgan’s filly takes a drop in class here and she could take advantage of this.

I will have a saver on Cinnin Oir also. She was noted staying on well last week at Tipperary, where it is hard to come from behind. That run suggested that she could well be effective over a mile. A possible lack of early pace is a concern for her today, but she is still capable of going close.

7.00 – Galway, 0.5 point ew Stoned Immaculate (20-1 widely available)

A token bet here on Stoned Immaculate for an interest. This Eddie Harty trained gelding ran well here at the festival, splitting the 75 rated Pozyc and Caesars Song who subsequently went on to finish very close to horses rated in the high 90s. That run probably flatters Stoned Immaculate a good deal, but nevertheless on a literal reading of it, he looks reasonably handicapped off 63. A small bet at 20-1 will do no harm.

4.50 – Huntingdon, 1 point win Get It On (11-4 widely available)

Get It On makes his debut for Evan Williams here. He ran reasonably well behind City Hustler (subsequent winner) at Ballinrobe last time and looks open to more improvement. The favourite Mutadarrej will be a tough nut to crack, but Get it On looks capable of a good run.

Mixed fortunes yesterday with Cumulus Nimbus badly hampered and losing all chance, but Dusty Trail winning (9-4 sp) balanced the books.

A few for an interest today across three meetings.

3.00 – Galway, 2.5 points win double Silverhand (4-6 Blue Square) and 4.15 – Curragh, Memory (evs Blue Square)

A good chance of a hot pot double here. Silverhand was an impressive winner at the summer festival here and at these weights should be too good for these opponents.

Memory was very impressive in the Cherry Hinton last time, and looks a star in the making.

3.30 – Galway, 1 point ew St Devote (5-1 Widely Available)

St Devote, owned by a syndicate comprising Irish soccer internationals, looks to have a decent chance here. This Eoin Griffin trained gelding ran well in a good 2m4f novice hurdle at Galway a few weeks ago and looks on a reasonable mark based on that form. The drop back to 2 miles should be in his favour today and the likely faster pace of a handicap race, should help him settle better than in his last two starts

5.20 – Curragh, 0.75 point ew Carefree Smile (9-1 William Hill)

I’ll take a chance with Carefree Smile in this one. This filly produced two very fair efforts earlier in the season, behind Vivacious Vivienne at Navan and Charminamix at Leopardstown. She has disappointed subsequently on her last two outings, where she has run too free and failed to see out her race. The blinkers which she has worn on her last few starts are left off today and I am banking that this will help her settle better early on, and that she will have more in reserve at the business end of the race.

5.30 – Yarmouth, 1 point ew Uncle Keef (7-2 Boylesports), 0.75 point ew Sparkaway (8-1 bet365)

Uncle Keef ran well at Kempton last time, staying on well from off the pace. He has been generally consistent this year and usually travels with ease in his races. Soft ground is a bit of an unknown but as a son of Sadlers Wells he should get through it.  This Marcus Tregoning trained gelding looks well capable of going close.

The obvious alternative is the potentially progressive Fuzzypeg, but at the prices I will have a bet on Sparkaway. This Willie Musson trained gelding is slipping down the weights and is a proven soft ground performer. He has shaped with a bit of promise on occasions this year and today he could step up on those efforts.

For pub talk or to become immediately popular with sporting followers, there are few jobs better than that of an odds compiler. Relative to anything administrative, or technical, the world of trading sports seems quite glamorous and is much more likely to elicit follow on questions and genuine interest from the other parties to the conversation. In most cases, the follow on question will be “so have you any good tips?”

Here is where one enters a proverbial minefield. To many of those with little more than a fleeting knowledge of the betting game, their idea of a tip is something that involves small stakes, big odds and is guaranteed to win. As those with more than a little fleeting knowledge will tell you, such recommendations simply don’t exist. And so the odds compiler invariably ends up scrambling to come up with some viable long shot, while at the same time trying to dampen expectations with all sorts of warnings and caveats. Of course if the other party actually takes out a pen and paper or makes a note on their phone, there is little left to do except pray, since all future relations now hang on whether or not this bet comes in.

An alternative approach is to try and tip a winning selection, but as many of those who make money from their betting will tell you, one of the first secrets to turning a betting profit is to lose your fear or prejudice surrounding certain prices. Odds on selections quickly become a lot more viable and soon become the best way to turning a consistent profit, however they certainly do not constitute good recommendations for pub talk. A suggestion of a 1/2 shot that should be closer to 1/4 is normally met with rejection on the grounds that 1/2 is “no kind of price”, before your new found friend looks at you in a manner that suggests that he or she thinks you have mixed them up with JP McManus or Dermot Desmond.

For those outside the game, and particularly for those who aren’t comfortable with numbers, the concept of value is simply too much to grasp. For example this weekend, there is fantastic value in the 4/7 about the Kildare vs Down game to be the higher scoring match of the weekend, even though 4/7 is the sort of price that would turn off a lot of punters.

As a general rule, most senior games score higher than minor matches simply due to their longer duration. Given an average senior match and an average minor fixture, this would be a fair price. However Kildare and Down are both scoring freely in the qualifiers and both teams would consider their strengths to be in moving the ball and creating scoring opportunities as opposed to constrictive defending. The two minor protagonists on the other hand are both solid overall units who haven’t shown any great flair up front and neither team would expect to accumulate too large a total.  Galway have scored 0-13, 1-10 and 0-10 in three meaning ful games, while the Rebels have scored 1-9, 2-12, 1-8 and 3-11, a good average but very hit and miss. Cork did cut loose a little against Armagh but they scored two late goals in that game to nick the tie and it could very easily have gone quite differently. Both sides are now coming up against the best defensive units that they have faced so far, meaning that a line of 27.5 would probably be closer to the mark than the 28.5 currently on offer from Ladbrokes.

Kildare and Down’s total line of 31.5 could easily be raised a point as well, so the best plan of attack is surely to take the market that combines both of these outcomes while still leaving a little leeway. As with all odds on bets, a good size stake is required to make this bet worthwhile, however every so often it’s worth throwing the shackles off and this is one such case. A 6pt bet on Kildare vs Down to be the highest scoring game is recommended at the 4/7 odds on offer.

A mouth-watering renewal of the Moyglare Stud Stakes takes star billing on a terrrific seven-race card at the Curragh, while the three-day meeting at Galway continues with another jumps programme.

Richard Hannon and stable jockey Richard Hughes suffered a rare setback when Strong Suit was turned over in the Phoenix Stakes earlier this month but the top partnership have a great chance to gain compensation in the day’s Group 1 feature with the exciting Memory. The unbeaten daughter of Danehill Dancer produced a terrific turn of foot to take the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and if anything was even more impressive in the Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket last time. She shapes as though she will stay the extra furlong today and is expected to see off a strong home challenge headed by Debutante Stakes winner Laughing Lashes.

A trio of Group 3 events make for some terrific supporting action and Lush Lashes is the star name on show in the Dance Design Stakes, Jim Bolger’s mare making an unexpected return to the racecourse after failing to get in foal. You’ll Be Mine and Enchanted Evening are among her more interesting rivals.

There is a typically powerful overseas challenge for the Flying Five Stakes – eleven of the sixteen runners are British-trained – while Group 1-placed Glor Na Mara and the Hannon-trained Big Issue clash in a fascinating Round Tower Stakes.

Ruby Walsh and Tony Martin continued their blistering run of success when Another Ambition bounced back to something like his best at Galway yesterday and will be hopeful of further gains today, with Dream Champion their best hope as he bids for a quick-fire hat-trick in the 2m4f handicap hurdle.

It’s the first day of Galway’s recently revamped late autumn fixture, and somewhat surprisingly for this time of year the jumping fraternity have the stage to themselves with a seven race card kicking off at the rather unusual time of 2.55.

In terms of quality the opening 2m1f novice chase is probably the pick of the action, with Festival winners Beau Michael and Kilmurry set to clash. The first-named had to call on all his reserves to land a similar contest on the Thursday and having scored over hurdles at Ballinrobe in the interim comes here in great heart. However Kilmurry looked a horse of serious potential when destroying the opposition in a beginners event on the final day and can take advantage of the weight concession.

John Kiely provided Ruby Walsh with his first winner since returning from injury when Glantara scored at Killarney and the canny Waterford handler teams up with the champion jockey a couple of times during the afternoon. Liss Na Tintri has the more obvious chance in the 2m4f maiden hurdle after bumping into a rejuvenated Ainama at Cork last time, but Ella Watson is a very interesting candidate for the 2m2f handicap hurdle on her first start since being bought out of Charlie Swan’s yard. She hinted on several occasions that she could be capable of winning off today’s sort of mark.

Clonard Lad is probably Walsh’s best chance during proceedings, the son of Presenting sure to improve from his run at today’s venue last time in the 2m2f maiden hurdle, though Riverstown could put it up to him if back in the sort of form that saw him finish an eye-catching third behind subsequent scorer Abbey Lane at Gowran Park.

Cristal Island’s 1st (6-1) yesterday gave us a nice boost heading into the weekend action.
 
People may be only recovering now from their hangovers after the summer week at Galway, but racing returns to Ballybrit today for the start of a three day programme. I won’t go overboard today, with one selection from Galway and one from Newmarket.
 
Galway – 4.00, 1.5 point win Dusty Trail (7-4 widely available)
 
The defection of Turner Brown looks to have opened the door for the progressive Dusty Trail. This Eoin Doyle trained gelding has been a revelation in low grade flat handicaps this summer, with three wins to his credit. He won a small hurdle race at Tramore also and while the form of that win is nothing special, Dusty looks like he could have plenty more to offer over hurdles also. 
 
Newmarket – 5.00, 1 point ew Cumulus Nimbus (11-2 widely available)
 
Cumulus Nimbus has produced two fine efforts recently at Goodwood and Sandown, in top handicaps. On both occasions he has been set a great deal to do and stayed on well. The forecast soft ground is a concern, but with his dam Supreme Talent and half brother Doctor Dino both having acted well on soft, there are grounds for optimism on that front. It is another tough competitive race, but this Richard Hannon trained colt should run well.

Monday is a big day for everyone connected with Roscommon racecourse as the track celebrates 125 years of action at the popular Lenabane circuit, and with Ruby Walsh set to make his return from a four-month injury layoff a big crowd looks assured.

The multiple champion jockey resumes with what looks a golden opportunity aboard his father Ted’s recent Galway runner-up Hail Caesar in the Owen Dervin & Sons Hurdle at 7.20, in which the ex-Ballydoyle inmate faces just seven rivals. In theory he has nothing in hand over Soldier Bay at the weights, but the latter hasn’t been seen since a disappointing effort at Leopardstown in February and a greater danger may come from Kilbeggan scorer Save My Blushes.

Gordon Elliott saddled another winner at Tramore yesterday and looks the man to follow in the night’s two other jumps events. Shopfrontspecialist has won two of his last three starts, both at Perth, and while that hasn’t escaped the attention of the handicapper the opposition for the 2m handicap hurdle appears particularly weak. Stable-mate Definite All Star has often been a weak finisher, but with the ageless Paul Carberry to keep him on the bridle for as long as possible the concluding 2m4f maiden hurdle may see him notch an overdue success.

The featured Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Handicap is the most valuable event on the card, and few of the ten runners can be easily discounted. Hanikiyya, who beat recent Leopadstown winner Truth Seeking when shedding her maiden tag, will be popular at a venue her yard does well at, while the latter’s stable-mate Stroke Of Love and prolific pair Strandfield Lady and La Chassotte will also deservedly have their supporters.