19:15 Curragh

Andy Holding's Selection (19:15 Curragh)

The draw could have been a little kinder to EARL OF TYRONE, but other than that slight negative, he has a good bit to recommend and he’s strongly fancied to confirm his hugely impressive victory at Bellewstown last time was a sign of better things to come.

Talented but always considered a bit of an underachiever, the son of Australia was fitted with a first-time tongue-tie 42 days ago and the addition of the new contraption seemed to make all the difference to his end product. Instead of not quite seeing out his race like he’d done on several occasions in the past, Paddy Twomey’s gelding fairly rocketed clear of rivals in the closing stages, so much so, that he ran the last three-furlongs way quicker than the five-furlongs sprinters on the same card. Moreover, his overall time figure was also very good, so it’s just a case of him piecing it altogether again back in handicap company.

19:45 Wednesday

George Gamble Selection (Scotland vs Ukraine)

It all comes down to this as Scotland face off against Ukraine for a place in Sunday’s playoff final against Wales. It’s an overused term but this promises to be an intense atmosphere at Hampden Park. It’s also likely to be an emotional one given the current political circumstances but the visitors will arrive here feeling immense pride and will look to silence the home crowd.

It also looks as though it could be fairly hot with 18 degrees being forecasted in Scotland and it reaffirms my belief that this fixture will be a closely fought contest. Neither side will give away early chances as they look to suss each other out and I feel that the opening 45 minutes will be a cagey affair. As such, the evens on the half time result being a draw looks tempting.

Both teams will look to avoid conceding any early chances and given the magnitude of this clash, I think the deciding moments are more likely to arrive in the second half. 

I’ll have a point on this particular pick.