Winx can Hunt down Oxford title after impressing in semi defeat

THE OTHER WINX impressed every bit as much in semi-final defeat as she had in heat victory and Maxine Locke's bitch is fancied to land the £10,000 bet365 Hunt Cup final over 650m at Oxford (8.26).

This is her second Category One final of the campaign having finished fourth in the Golden Jacket at Monmore behind superstar trio Mongys Wild, Droopys Flare and Vhagar and it is fair to say that this decider will take considerably less winning.

However, it is ultra-competitive with Powerhouse Duke boasting the sole unbeaten record of the finalists having twice overcome moderate breaks to lead at the bend then dug in gamely to hold on.

The Other Winx was behind him in third seven days ago having blasted out when winning her heat with similar numbers and the amount of running she did in defeat bodes well should she repeat her first round ping break.

In a contest where only Remember Betty, who will probably find herself with too much to do, is relatively easily overlooked, the other major player is Resonate who has developed into a strong all-rounder although Java Joan has twice caught the eye and last year's beaten favourite Ballymac Madgie is hardly running poorly.

Preview - Saturday at Oxford, Cat One bet365 Hunt Cup final

THE £10,000 bet365 Hunt Cup over Oxford’s 650m course reaches a conclusion on Saturday evening [live on sisracing.tv] with last weekend’s semis only serving to muddy the waters somewhat. Jonathan Kay caught up with the sponsor’s Pat Cooney to look back at those two races and ahead to

SIS RacingJonathan Kay

Oxford has two BetGoodwin-backed supporting finals with the suggestions being the two fastest heat winners in the shape of Angie Kibble's Ballymac Loca (7.31) and Kevin Hutton's Coppice Ferry (8.09) over 650m and 450m respectively.

There are also a number of one-off opens on the card with the strongest picks being Seamus Cahill's Brother Patrick (7.14) and Matt Dartnall's Betweenthesticks (9.01).

Eight round two heats in the Con & Annie Kirby Memorial over Limerick's 525 yards course are previewed by Ian Fortune via the link below suffice to say that Stephen Murray's Run For Rum (7.17) looks the best supporting pick when he goes in the A2 opener.

Preview - Saturday’s 2nd round Kirby Memorial hts at Limerick

THE €80,000 Con & Annie Kirby Memorial can be seen in its entirety on sisracing.tv starting and continues with eight second round heats over Limerick’s 525 yards course on Saturday. Ian Fortune takes a race-by-race look at the action: 0:00 /3:43 1× Monarch is fastest in Kirby

SIS RacingJonathan Kay

Doncaster has a full evening open card with Debbie Calvert's Bombay Fantasy (7.04) and Rose Draper's Rockmount Lucy (7.58) fancied over 483m and 661m respectively.

Jimmy Gaskin's Keefill Storm (11.29) appeals in a B4 over 450m at the early meeting there, while the afternoon action comes from Youghal where Bernadette Connolly's Kind Bessy can make the most of a drop in class at 4.18.

The Other Winx (nap)
T5 Oxford 8.26