16:05 Cork

Andy Holding Selection for 16:05 Cork

PLAINS INDIAN (NAP) (best price 11-2) wouldn’t have the experience of many of today’s rivals in this sort of environment, but he does possess quite a bit of ability and, off what appears a handy enough opening mark of 121, he can make his presence felt in his first attempt in handicap company.

Unlucky when falling at the last at Clonmel two starts ago, the son of Shantou was sent back to the Powerstown Park venue two weeks later in a bid to make amends and for those who laid the odds, they never had too many anxious moments. Picking up the running going well coming out of the back straight, Andrew Slattery’s gelding steadily worked his way clear approaching two out and by the time he’d hit the line, he’d pulled 16 lengths clear of his rivals in pretty tidy fashion. Moreover, his winning time figure was easily the best on the card and with the conditions likely to be pretty similar to what they were 26 days ago if the weather forecasters are proven correct, the lightly-raced six-year-old rates one of the standout bets of the day.

16:30 Sunday

George Gamble Selection for Chelsea vs Crystal Palace

Both of these sides have endured a difficult cup run to reach this stage but now the two London clubs will fight it out for a place in the final in May. Chelsea will look to bounce back after their agonising aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League (UCL) during the week, despite winning the match on the night. However, Crystal Palace could represent the perfect tonic for Thomas Tuchel’s side given how dominant the ‘Blues’ have been against the ‘Eagles’ in recent years. They’ve scored against Palace in all of the last 16 head-to-head clashes and have covered a -1 handicap in three of the last four meetings.

Patrick Vieira’s side were dealt a blow when Chelsea refused to allow loanee Conor Gallagher to feature here and he’ll be a big miss as he’s arguably been the player of the season for Crystal Palace. He’s involved with a lot of transitions and brings an energy to the midfield that will be difficult to replace.

Chelsea are a wounded animal and they’ve been in this situation a thousand times before. I’ll have a point on Chelsea relying on their experience to bounce back immediately by covering the -1 handicap and as a result, booking their place in the final.