Leopardstown Tips: Tarawa can give Weld record-setting win

There is plenty of racing action on Thursday with seven meetings scheduled across Britain and Ireland. They include an evening Flat card at Leopardstown from 16:45-20:30 which is headlined by the Group 3 Meld Stakes at 18:50. Conditions at the Dublin venue are forecast to be Good, Good to firm in places.

Dermot Weld's record in the feature race is strong and he may be set to add a 10th Meld Stakes win, as highlighted in my Leopardstown tips below.

Today's Horse Races

17:45 - Enchanted Garden @ 14/1

Race three on the Leopardstown card is an apprentice handicap over 7f and it looks like a wide-open heat with 17 runners declared.

Amongst them is ENCHANTED GARDEN for trainer Anthony Mullins. The Calyx filly had four starts last year as a two-year-old, offering little enough in maiden company before a marked improvement when sent handicapping at Dundalk over 7f in December.

She came through with a strong late surge to earn the verdict there under Rory Cleary and that race looks reliable enough in terms of the form book.

She is rated 4lb higher for this seasonal return, but her rider can negate that burden in the saddle and, if raring to go after the break, there should be more to come from her now.

18:50 - Tarawa @ 15/8

A mile-and-a-furlong is the journey ahead of the eight contenders in the Group 3 Meld Stakes, with €30k (£25.2k) up for grabs in the feature race on the card.

Dermot Weld has won this contest a joint-record nine times, the Master of Rosewell House scoring with the likes of Nanticious (1977) and Carla Bianca (2015) in a winning spree that spanned almost four decades.

He may well extend it out now with TARAWA in the famous Aga Khan silks. The filly was fourth in last year's Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh and also finished a close-up third in the Group 2 Minstrel Stakes over 7f here.

She made her comeback over that same trip at Naas in May and shaped as if she would benefit from it, before winning over this C&D last month in a Listed event. She was excellent in the closing stages of that race and could have plenty more to come over this trip and maybe slightly further.

She can take Weld into double figures in this race and out on his own in terms of overall wins.

20:30 - Bridgehead @ 11/2

The finale is a staying test with just shy of a mile-and-three-quarters for the runners to negotiate and BRIDGEHEAD is one who is fancied to go well for Ger Lyons and Colin Keane.

The gelded son of Belardo is a 10-race maiden on the Flat, but he ran well last month at Ballinrobe (1m1½f, good) to finish third and has duly built on that when winning over hurdles at Bellewstown earlier this month.

He remains unexposed at this trip on the level and a mark of 68 looks perfectly within his reach now. The Lyons string are in fine fettle and another winner beckons in the Leopardstown nightcap.

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