Moore targets Dundalk feature with Western Australia

Ballydoyle’s number one saddles two rides for O’Brien in rearranged midweek fixture

If Western Australia lives up to his official 110 rating, Ryan Moore (pictured) should prove hard to beat. Photograph: Bryan Keane
If Western Australia lives up to his official 110 rating, Ryan Moore (pictured) should prove hard to beat. Photograph: Bryan Keane

Ryan Moore is back at Dundalk on Wednesday night with two rides for Aidan O'Brien.

They include Western Australia in the Listed BetVictor Patton Stakes, one of six races transferred to this rearranged fixture following the cancellation of last Friday's programme.

The cancellation took place after the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board security official Willie Buckley fell ill during the meeting and sadly later died.

On Friday, Moore won on the Ballydoyle hot-pot USS Michigan and official ratings suggest he should enjoy another routine success in the four-runner fillies race aboard I Can Fly.

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Western Australia, in contrast, should face a much tougher task half-an-hour later against seven opponents including two Ballydoyle stable companions.

Van Beethoven

One of them, Van Beethoven, can even boast a Group Two Railway Stakes victory and has champion jockey Donnacha O’Brien on board.

Moore’s mount belied 50-1 odds when cutting out the running and finishing third in last season’s Group One Futurity at Doncaster.

That gives Western Australia an official 110 rating and if he lives up to that he should prove hard to beat.

Two champion jockeys, Johnny Murtagh and Patrick Mullins, combine for the ex-Mark Johnston-trained Dalileo who makes his Irish debut in the opening amateur riders event.

The one-time €150,000 Orby Sale purchase won at the trip in Kempton in January and can also boast two all-weather victories at Wolverhampton.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

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