Weekend Horse Racing: Bell and O’Brien Eyeing Big Race Success

July’s horse racing schedule starts with a bang this weekend, with several high-profile meetings taking place in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The prestigious Northumberland Plate Handicap at Newcastle is the highlight in the UK and has already attracted a ton of interest on horse racing betting sites.

The Irish Derby Festival at the Curragh headlines the action in Ireland, with the meeting featuring several Group-level races.

Read on as preview some of the standout races over the weekend, starting with an event that offers a fiendishly tricky puzzle for punters to unravel.

After making a spectacular start to his career, promising young jockey Billy Loughnane could add to his burgeoning reputation in the Northumberland Plate on Saturday.

Trainer Michael Bell has booked the teenager to ride Adjuvant, who ran out a comfortable winner on his most recent outing at Newmarket.

Bell has been talking up the horse’s chances in the run-up to the race and looks a tempting each-way proposition at odds of 7/1 on several new betting sites. 

Adjuvant looks well drawn in stall number seven and will need to run well here if he is to have any chance of making the cut for the Ebor Handicap at York.

The Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday has attracted a high-class field of fillies and mares, some of which have already tasted Group-race success.

They include Joseph O'Brien pair Above The Curve and Goldana, with the former likely to be the stable’s number-one choice under jockey Ryan Moore.

However, Aidan O'Brien’s Never Ending Story could be the value bet at odds of around of 4/1 on UK betting sites after finishing second in the French Oaks at Chantilly.

The three-year-old will carry ten pounds less than all but one of her rivals and looks likely to run well with Wayne Lordan in the saddle.

Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin is long odds-on with all the leading betting apps to complete the double in the Irish Derby on Sunday.

While it’s difficult to imagine the horse not following up, there is undoubtedly some each-way value to be had in the rest of the field.

Knight To King was an impressive winner on his debut at Gowran Park in May and trainer Dermot Weld admitted after the race he thought the horse was Classic material.

The Kingman colt is a best-priced 16/1 with Bet UK and those odds look tempting given the manner of the horse’s debut victory.