The All-Ireland hurling final is the main source of our weekend punts, with some horse racing, rugby and international football thrown in for good measure.
By Conor Heneghan and William Nestor
Weekend patent
Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling final promises to be a fascinating encounter and whether Kilkenny go on to claim the five-in-a-row, or Tipperary become the most famous party-poopers since the Offaly footballers of 1982, history will be made at Croke Park. Tipp ran the Cats seriously close last year and even though they looked impressive against Galway and Waterford, we don’t think Cody’s men can be stopped.
We’re going to plump for Kilkenny to win by 4-6 points at 4/1.
To read JOE’s preview of the All-Ireland final, click here.
There’s top class flat racing on show at Leopardstown on Saturday and the 7f Maiden race at 5.05 features a Dermot Weld runner which has been heading in the right direction.
The ever-present stable jockey Pat Smullen will mount A WORD APART in a bid to break his duck in this nine runner contest.
She finished second best here earlier in the month over the same trip and with all going to plan she has a great chance of scoring at 4/1.
Take A WORD APART to come home in the 5.05 at Leopardstown on Saturday at 4/1.
Leinster begin their Magners League campaign away to the Glasgow Warriors on Friday evening on the back of two far from impressive pre-season results. The Blues suffered heavy defeats against both London Wasps and Leicester Tigers, giving new coach Joe Schmidt something of a baptism of fire in south Dublin.
In last year’s Magners League, Glasgow inflicted a 24-point defeat upon Leinster and unfortunately, we think they’ll do the same again on Friday evening.
We’re tipping Glasgow to be in front at half time and full time at 13/8.
A €3 patent (total outlay €21) could return just shy of €400.
Break the bookie
It’s been quite a while since Tim Vaughan’s PRINCE NOORA has been in the winners’ enclosure but at a nice price of around 14/1, the nine-year-old could be on song at Stratford on Saturday.
The 3.25 Handicap Hurdle over 2m 6f looks wide open and there can be cases made for a number of these fellas, however, with the talented Richie Killoran on board and provided suitable ground, Prince Noora could sluice in as a tasty outsider.
We’re going for PRINCE NOORA to win in the 3.25 at Stratford on Saturday at 14/1.
A hallmark of Kilkenny’s march to this year’s All-Ireland final has been their ability to get out of the blocks early and end the game as a contest before the half-time whistle. Dublin, Galway and Cork have all suffered as a result of the Cats’ ability to start a match at lightning pace and it is a fate that could befall Tipperary on Sunday.
What are the chances of a Kilkenny goal being the first score of the game? 14/1 sounds good to us.
Across the pond in Wembley on Friday evening, England take on Bulgaria looking to erase the bad memories of a typically disastrous World Cup campaign. Good for them, then, that they’re up against a side that finished below Ireland in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and are now minus the services of Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, who retired in May.
With Frank Lampard injured, Steven Gerrard will be relied upon to provide the attacking thrust from midfield and there’s a good chance the captain will find the net in what will likely be an England victory.
Try Steven Gerrard to get the first goal and England to win 2-0 on for size at 25/1.
A tenner on those three could return €58,500, probably just enough for a few vastly overpriced Aviva Stadium tickets for Ireland v Andorra on Tuesday evening.
