Eric Michael Tips History

It was a shock and a wake up call for Sarsfields when they lost in the last round to Ceilbridge. Today is their backdoor chance to get their title quest back on track. Chasing a third straight title, they seemed to have got leaky in defence and the tightening up at the back against Ceilbridge hindered their attack, very often the best form of defence. I think they will not make the same mistake in this.

Dermot Weld has his yard in good form and this filly looks to have every chance in this off a good mark. She was having her first race when behind Sirici at Tipperary and has a 7lb pull in the weights for that narrow loss. It's interesting that Pat Smullen is on board her today when he was the Jockey that won that race on Sirici. Has to have a good chance today.

OÇurrys hve struggled to score many points and they will find it hard to contain Milltown today. They played well in the lst round and should win this with ease.

Dundalk seem to have finally put the disappointment of losing in europe behind them and moved on. They have found the sort of team spirit and form that served them well last season. St Pats have been in reasonable form as well and will almost certainly try to keep it tight here. I feel though that Dundalk will eventually wear them down and win by 1 or 2 goals.

The betting suggests this will be easy but I very much doubt it. Waterford have the best home record in the division and remain unbeaten. Shelbourne though are second to none on away form. They have had more wins on the road than Waterford and have picked up 19 points, one more than their opponents tonight. I do not think they will though, I'd expect Waterford to continue their progress towards promotion. But i do not see a big score, maybe just a 1-0 or 2-1 win.

The Mullins yard are in really good form over the past few weeks with 15 winners and as many placed horses from their 53 runners. This mare was a very easy winner of her bumper at the Galway festival and if she still has that razor sharp edge she will be very hard to pass in this. The trainers son rode that day and is again in the saddle.

Éire Óg Cargin began their quest for a third Championship in a row with a fairly facile win against O'Donovan Rossa by 3-15 to 0-6. St Marys have started well this season considering they have gone out in the first round in 2015 and 2016. They beat St Theresas in a close contest by 3-10 to 2-12. They are capable of shutting down teams but usually at the expense of scoring themselves. Cargin will eventually wear them down and win by 8 to 10 at least.