Friday's Irish Angle: "Surely he should be shorter."

The in-form Racing TV tipster and pundit Johnny Ward has four selections at Gowran, and one at Wexford on Friday evening. Watch all the action live on Racing TV.

A busy month of August kicks into its second weekend, and Gowran has some nice horses running on the Flat, with Wexford hosting a low-key jumps card. The Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh apart, this is a lower-quality weekend of racing after all the action we have had, but hopefully we've found some opportunities.

A remarkably consistent mare and, given the trip would have been too far at Leopardstown, she is lucky to be dropped 1lb. 

Her previous unlucky fourth at the Curragh reads really well here, there should be pace from the outside to sit off and Nicola Burns rides.  

She looks a fine each-way bet from gate three. 

Time to go nuclear.  

All the dam's runners have done better or much better than Oppenheimer has so far, and he is by a very good sire in Starman. 

Trained by Kevin Coleman and ridden for the first time by Colin Keane, he has obvious positives before noting how well he stayed on at the Curragh when looking badly in need of at least this distance.  

He is drawn one, though to make the most of that he will need to break sharper. 

Coleman's last six runners have yielded two wins and a second, two of those at 10s or bigger.  

He was sent off 11-4 in the Windsor Castle against 24 others so 7-2 in a far weaker race here against five rivals has to be snapped up.  

Aidan O'Brien was guessing he might be too green at Ascot after he was an odds-on winner on debut in a traditionally hot Curragh maiden, stating that they felt he was potentially a Coventry horse, and he did not run badly all the same.  

Surely he should be shorter. 

Who had ridden more horses than anyone else in Ireland this season before Sligo's fixture yesterday?  

The answer is Alan O'Sullivan, and he can get another winner here on the Stephen Ryan-trained mare whose first two runs were good enough to suggest she would win a few races, let alone one off 81.  

She has run very well at Wexford and should be spot-on now after Ballinrobe, her second run after a layoff and a pleasing one at that. 

If you meet Jimmy Dalton ask him who will win this as he rode Anightaway to win at Sligo on  Wednesday and Vervain last time.  

After Anightaway landed a gamble, trainer Sean Davis implied the rain was a big help; none is forecast here and that will suit Vervain, who showed a great attitude when being grabbed late at Killarney. 

He has the assistance of Orla Tynan whose strike-rate is a remarkable 10 winners from 66 rides.