Irish Oaks preview: After yet another tumultuous week in the life of Kieren Fallon, the general assumption going into tomorrow's Darley Irish Oaks is that Alexandrova will provide the former champion jockey with some comforting classic cheer. Assumptions, however, are always dangerous commodities on a racecourse, especially since the odds-on favourite looks to have a genuine Group One rival in Confidential Lady.

As Fallon gears up for the next legal stage in the race-fixing saga that has cast genuine doubt over the course of his future career, a stage that could mean a High Court hearing as early as next week, he will certainly feel on much more comfortable ground at the Curragh where he will try to add to his previous Irish Oaks victory on Ramruma in 1999.

A bigger question for those big-hitters waiting to pile into Alexandrova will be how comfortable the horse turns out to be on the ground.

The going at hedquarters looks sure to be very much on the fast side and that has to place a significant question mark over Alexandrova's chance. Her trainer, Aidan O'Brien, has already pointed to the high knee action that suggests the filly will always appreciate a little ease and there was some worry about it even before Alexandrova bolted up in the Epsom Oaks last month.

Ultimately that classic was run on genuinely good ground and the Ballydoyle filly looked a class apart in beating Rising Cross by six lengths. On the strength of it she was always going to be a red-hot favourite to finally break O'Brien's duck in the Irish Oaks.

Alexandrova has been as short as 2 to 5 during the week and may yet put up a performance to make those odds look generous. But concerns about the ground are not what one wants to hear about when considering a heavy odds-on favourite.

In terms of value, many will be much more tempted by the general 5 to 1 about Confidential Lady who has her own question mark over the trip but otherwise looks to have perfectly sound claims.

Completely adaptable as regards ground, she also is a proven Oaks winner herself, having landed the Prix de Diane, and also possesses the sort of speed that made her a Guineas runner-up at Newmarket.

This will be her first attempt at a mile and a half, and it's a fact that her pedigree appears more that of a miler than a middle-distance performer. However, she has confounded her family links before and it looks significant that Mark Prescott is willing to take the chance of coming to the Curragh rather than wait for next month's Nassau at Goodwood.

At the odds, she looks a much more realistic option, especially in a race that has cut up to just six runners.

Fallon will again be the centre of attention in the two-year-old races where he is scheduled to team up with a pair of highly promising newcomers.

Red Rock Canyon, a half-brother to the ill-fated Horatio Nelson, will be the one to beat in the seven-furlong maiden while significantly Fallon will be on board the Danehill newcomer Abide With Me in the Group Three Anglesey Stakes.

Sadeek, winner of the Wodcote at Epsom, is the sole English raider but it could be that the only filly in the race, Gaudeamus, a Listed winner here last month, will use her experience to come out on top again.

Fallon's choice of Sacrosanct in the Listed fillies event is eye-catching but Dancing Sky's last run at Cork was a disaster best forgotten and she looks worth another chance.