Irish Rover can sail away

● O’brien charge tipped to land lucrative prize if he runs up to rating

There is huge prize-money up for grabs in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes at Doncaster today.

The undoubted standard setter is The Irish Rover, who was beaten just a length into third place in the Group One Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on his penultimate start.

Whether that form can be taken at face value is open to some question as he did get an easy time of things in front, but it was a fine effort whichever way you look at it.

Trained by Aidan O’brien, pictured, The Irish Rover ran respectably again when fourth in the Gimcrack at York last time and the general consensus is the Ballydoyle string are in much better form now than they were then.

There are plenty of interesting types up against him, but if The Irish Rover runs up to his rating, he will take some stopping.

Pilaster can register her fourth victory on the spin in the DFS Park Hill Stakes.

Roger Varian’s filly finished down the field on her racecourse debut on Town Moor last October, but clearly thrived during the winter as she is unbeaten after three starts in 2018.

A ready comeback success at Chelmsford was followed by a seriously impressive display at Kempton and she graduated to Pattern class with honours when completing her hat-trick in the Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood.

That form looks rock solid as the close-up second, Maid Up, has since won a Group Three and is bound for Saturday’s St Leger, while the third and fourth – Star Rock and God Given – have been placed in Group races on the continent since.

If anything, Pilaster is likely to be seen in an even better light on the slightly easier ground she will encounter at Doncaster and she should prove difficult to beat.

Accordance gets the nod in the other Group Two on today’s card, the William Hill May Hill Stakes. This mile contest has a seriously open look to it, with none of the 11 fillies dismissed lightly. The Mark Johnston-trained Accordance is thoroughly likeable, finishing second over seven furlongs here in July before going one better at Glorious Goodwood last month.

She returned to Goodwood for the Group Three Prestige Stakes and ran another fine race to fill the runner-up spot, with her staying-on effort suggesting this extra furlong will be right up her street.

Accordance has a bit to find on official ratings with O’brien’s pair of Peach Tree and Fleeting, but is open to plenty of improvement and the booking of Frankie Dettori suggests connections mean business.