The Irish Angle: Johnny Ward's best bets for Sunday

Leopardstown officials will no doubt be delighted with the recent rain and conditions will be testing for their first Flat meeting of the season on Sunday.

Watering is far from straightforward, and nature does things better. The wet conditions will help make it easier when we have hotter weather in the summer.

The first time that I went to Leopardstown for Ballysax Day was when Yeats prevailed in 2004. Alexandroupolis, who also has Sadler's Wells in his pedigree, is a hotpot for Ballydoyle on this occasion.

Downpatrick has its big meeting of the calendar – and what a story if Ronan McNally were to take the €50,000 feature with The Jam Man at his local track.

Be lucky.

With form of F4PF, what's not to like? The one of those that wasn't a letter was at Fairyhouse hurdling when this horse went long odds-on in running after travelling well. He's no lost cause.

This daughter of Galileo was an €1,500,000 yearling out of the brilliant Nickname. Connections clearly think she is better than a mark of 82 as she was sent off 13-8 in maidens at the top tracks on her final two starts at two, yet she just came up short. She is bred to be a three-year-old, Ryan Moore rides, she handles an ease and what about yard form? Aidan O'Brien can start the season slowly but has had five winners and two seconds from his past ten runners, most not sent off favourite.

Who knows what to expect from the McNally-trained Full Noise here, other than that he will make everything else better odds? Indie Belle is a better chaser than hurdler but she's been competitive in far better hurdle races than this, so back chasing at a track that will be ideal she can only go close under Cheltenham Festival-winning rider Aidan Kelly.

She interesting after market strength on her past two starts plus the fact she now encounters soft ground.

Clearly, she is considered better than her mark and it's hard to know how many of these will cope with the slop. She needs to step up a bit but has a good attitude.

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