The Irish 2000 Guineas takes centre-stage at the Curragh - the headquarters of Flat Racing in Ireland, on Saturday.

It’s quite a jumble in the 2010 Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh this Saturday. It’s unclear whether it’s going to be one of the favoured three finding their share of success or whether they get dampened down by a long-odds improver. Personally, I think that both options are likely and it’s a matter of finding the right value in each-way and putting a hedge on that with one of the more favoured runners.

It’s certainly not the most open field and you’ll find the competition heating up between Canford Cliffs and Steinbeck. I think Steinbeck is a bit overlaid as this is going to be his seasonal debut, while Canford Cliffs had a 3rd place effort in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Canford Cliffs was sent off at 12/1 that day and offered a decent return for the each-way punters. He was held up a bit at the start in that race and if he was able to get a better position early on then it may have been a different story. He couldn’t find more in the final furlong and I think that his recent workouts indicate that his connections have been trying to stretch him out in distance. The question really seems to be whether it’s going to take or not.

“Canford Cliffs will be much more at home at the Curragh and after two disappointments it would be great if we could get him back on track and prove to everybody that he really is a superstar,” said his Trainer Hannon. 'I know there are still plenty who think that he is a sprinter, but they said the same about Paco Boy, the winner of Queen Anne last year and the Lockinge (both Mile).

Steinbeck is definitely one of the up-and-comers in the AP O’Brien yard and they’re looking for a massive season debut here. Personally, I think he is priced too short here for the money but could be placed into your forecast bets. The last 100 yards or so are crucial for this one and the bay colt needs to step it up in a very big way.

Fencing Master could be worth a punt around. He was second in the Dewhurst and ran a reasonable race in this year's English 2000 Guineas staying on well in the final stages even though he was well beaten. As mentioned, it seems that O'Brien's horses are better for a run this season so we could see some improvement on Saturday from this son of Oratorio. He's worth a small bet for the price.

Right in amongst the Ballydoyle contingent as they crossed the line for the Dewhurst was the Clive Cox trained Xtension, a colt who continues to please.

Xtension, who was beaten a neck and a nose when third in the Dewhurst, started his three-year-old campaign on an encouraging note when fourth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, only beaten two and three-quarter lengths. He is ultra-consistent and there is stable confidence going into the race.

Win-only money is heading towards a member of the home team - Noll Wallop. This Irish colt ticks all the boxes for me- a value price of 9/1, a win over the Curragh surface on soft ground and a win on his seasonal debut at Leopardstown when being rated at 7/2. Even his first race boasts a boosting reference- finishing 4th to the well-respected Group 3 winner Chabal. He has shown the ability to push on late and there’s plenty of tactical speed in there as well. In a field with a lot of question marks over top of it, I think he’s a bit of a steady type and is definitely worth a bet. Try it; you don’t lose much at the given odds.

The revised odds available from Ladbrokes for this Saturday’s Abu Dhabi Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh following the declarations for the Group 1 contest are mentioned below:

Irish 2000 Guineas really is the cream of the crop of the best Irish horses of the generation, and others from abroad. The racing public in Ireland holds the 2000 Guineas close to their hearts because it is the first major flat race of the season. This means that after many months of National Hunt racing, generally featuring slow, old horses, racing fans finally get to see classy and speedy horses race.