Bank on Bolger's Heliostatic

Leopardstown's Guineas Trials have a history of throwing up future Classic winners and there will be many banking on Heliostatic…

Leopardstown's Guineas Trials have a history of throwing up future Classic winners and there will be many banking on Heliostatic proving up to that level too today.

The Jim Bolger-trained colt makes his seasonal debut in the Group Three colts race over a mile but it's likely that his major targets will ultimately lie over longer distances.

Already Heliostatic is as low as 25 to 1 for the Epsom Derby on the back of two encouraging runs last year and an eye-catching bit of work at the Curragh last weekend.

It's debatable how much can be deduced from a gallop like that but Bolger has always maintained he is going to campaign Heliostatic at the highest level and certainly kicking off a three-year-old career in this race hasn't done any harm in the past to the likes of Grey Swallow (2004), Refuse to Bend (2003) and Saffron Waldon (1999).

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Virginia Waters used the Dimitrova 1,000 Trial as a launch pad to Guineas glory at Newmarket last year and Aidan O'Brien could also have the answer this time with Beauty Bright. Kieren Fallon's mount looks more of a type to progress than the Park Stakes winner Ugo Fire and O'Brien should have a line to that filly anyway though Beauty Bright's stable mate Kamarinskaya.

Perfect Hedge, a Group Three winner on soft ground in France last year, is an interesting top weight in the Listed Ennistown Stud Salsabil Stakes but the 3lb concession to the Park Express runner-up Utterly Heaven may be beyond her.

Galileo Galilei is as low as 20 to 1 for the Derby already and those prices will look pretty silly if he cannot win first time of asking this season in the mile and a quarter maiden.

However, the feature at Cork, the Listed Imperial Call Chase, could provide the best bet of the day courtesy of Philip Fenton's Sher Beau.

This classy sort has had an important break since disappointing in last February's Moriarty Chase. However, he had looked a very decent prospect when winning at Gowran and at his best Sher Beau will be very hard to beat in this company.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column