RACING in Britain is of a lower quality today with Newbury’s Weatherbys Super Sprint the feature. The race has been monopolised by the Fahey and Hannon stables in recent times with each having three winners in the last 10 years.

Richard Fahey has saddled three of the last six winners of this lucrative two-year-old event and appears intent on adding to his tally – with the red-hot favourite Ventura Rebel is joined by a trio of stablemates in Mighty Spirit, Show Me Show Me and Baileys In Bloom.

Hannon also saddles four headed by Separate, shortest priced at 14/1, backed up by Audio, Ocasio Cortez and Bacchalot.

Also on the Newbury card the last two Northumberland Plate winners Withhold and Who Dares Wins take on Royal Ascot winner The Grand Visir in the Marsh Cup Handicap.

Withhold also won the 2017 Cesarewitch before a fruitless trip to Australia where he burst a blood vessel. Group 1 winner The Tin Man drops down to Group 3 level for the Hackwood Stakes, a race he won in 2016.

Over the jumps, Galway Plate entry Pacific De Baune is top-weight for the Summer Plate at Market Rasen.

Byron’s ton up

ONE of our most popular flat horses, Gordon Lord Byron makes his 100th start at the Curragh this afternoon in a career that has seen him race in places as far apart as Dundalk, Ascot, Longchamp, Meydan, Sha Tin and Rosehill and achieve Group 1 successes in Britain, France and Australia. The 11-year-old has run 21 times and won on four occasions at the track and Tom Hogan reports him as enthusiastic as ever.

Ladies Derby

SOME of our best lady amateur riders, Lisa O’Neill, Maxine O’Sullivan, Aine O’Connor and Sheila Ahern, take on a few rivals from the UK, Megan Nicholls and Joanna Mason, in the Curragh’s Kildare Village Ladies Derby at 5.45 today.

Also taking to the saddle for the day are well-known trainers Evanna McCutcheon and Madeline Tylicki.

O’Neill is going for a hat-trick in the race and also won it back in 2010 for Pat Flynn, one of her first big successes. Helena Mooney was also previously successful on Zeftan and has a plum mount on the improving Galeoa for Sheila Lavery. Jodie Townend rides the likely favourite Royal Illusion for Willie Mullins. Royal Illusion has added two flat wins to her two wins in bumpers, and starts in handicaps with Townend taking a useful 7lbs off her back