Johnny Ward: my best three bets for The Curragh on Saturday

It's tricky to gauge how the ground will ride at the Curragh on Saturday, with a mix of rain and sunshine at Flat headquarters on Friday.

I love these Classic cards at the Curragh and, while the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas isn't especially appealing for a bet, there are plenty of alternatives.

Be lucky.

It seems significant that Michael O’Callaghan threw this Mehmas colt straight into a winners’ race at Naas on debut when he split the exciting The Antarctic and the well-fancied Wadao.

It was a tough start for the colt as he had no cover and had to tackle the stiff Naas finish, but he gave the favourite a fright. He appeals as the sort who will now be more streetwise and he’s overpriced into the bargain.

He was half-a-length behind Entropy at Leopardstown and that horse went onto win in a canter at Sligo, having been worn down previously at the Foxrock track by Moracana.

The latter is greatly feared but Annexation shaped really well at Leopardstown, travelling like the winner on the outer for much of the race. As a dual winning hurdler, he can surely only do better again over this trip.

How well-handicapped could this horse be given that he went off 7-2 to beat Luxembourg when last seen?

His absence isn’t a big issue given Paddy Twomey’s record and he said after he won a Curragh maiden easily on this weekend last year that he wanted better ground. He runs off 87.