Cork: the scene of racing's only fixture in Britain and Ireland on WednesdayCredit: Patrick McCann
Our reporters in Ireland have picked out a trainer and jockey to follow at Cork's evening meeting
By Conor Fennelly
When evaluating the strike-rates of trainers at Cork, Dermot Weld's record stands out and he's represented by three solid chances on today's card.
In the last two years, he's operating at an excellent 42 per cent at Cork with eight winners from 19 runners and it was his most successful track last year by a fair distance.
If you needed further encouragement, Weld saddled two winners from three runners at Navan on Saturday and has history in hitting a purple patch at this time of year. In 2023 and 2022, over half of his winners for the season came between August and September.
By Denis Harney
Billy Lee is a rider to watch around Cork, with the County Limerick man the winningmost jockey from those currently riding and second of all time behind Pat Smullen.
Lee has a 28 per cent strike-rate at Cork for the current season, with eight wins from 29 rides, making it his most successful track this year. Overall he has 87 wins from 564 rides at the course, a strike-rate of 15 per cent.
The 39-year-old has just returned from a broken collarbone having been challenging for the lead in the champion jockeys' title prior to his misfortune, so he will be keen to make up for lost time.
Lee doesn't have any nailed-on winners on Wednesday, but the pick of his six rides appears to be Verhoyen in the final race on the card (7.10). The ten-year-old has been knocking on the door in his last couple of starts and can go close if the ground doesn't get too soft.
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