5.10 Fairyhouse: the one race you cannot afford to miss on Monday

5.10 Fairyhouse
Ballyhane Blenheim Stakes (Listed) | 6f | 2yo | RTV

Why is it interesting?

Donnacha O'Brien and Colin Keane are battling it out for the Irish Flat jockeys' title and both will fancy their chances of adding another winner to their tallies.

Keane, the 2017 champion who leads O'Brien by three, will be on board Soul Search, who is the highest-rated runner in the race with a mark of 105 following four fine efforts against hot opposition. She was last seen finishing fourth to Love in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.

O'Brien rides Pistoletto for his father, Aidan. He won his first two starts but has finished sixth on each of his last three outings and arrives with a bit to prove.

What do the stats say?

There has only been one winning favourite of this race in the last six years as The Great War justified 10-11 favouritism in 2014. However, the last four winners have been priced at 8-1, 6-1, 5-1 and 8-1.

Ger Lyons has yet to win the race despite supplying the favourite for three of the last four years in the shape of Miss Katie May (2015), Gobi Desert (2017) and Inverleigh (2018).

Ronan Whelan, who has been booked for Zanzyni, has a 43 per cent success rate (3-7) when riding at Fairyhouse this season, with three winners from just seven rides at the track, yielding a £1 level-stakes profit of +£7.00.

The last British-based winner was Moonlit Show for Charlie Fellowes in 2016.

What do the trainers say?

Fozzy Stack, trainer of No Nay Now
He goes well enough at home and is a nice horse. He wouldn't want too much rain so hopefully the ground won't soften too much.

Tom Dascombe, trainer of Sir Boris
He has some nice form on soft ground and with a bit of rain around at Fairyhouse, I thought it was a good idea to declare him. He'll like conditions and I'd like to think he has a good chance of getting some black type.

Michael Halford, trainer of Zarzyni
He has a good draw and I would imagine the ground at Fairyhouse will be ideal for him. He ran very well last time behind a good horse at the Curragh and he has been in good form since. On ratings, I would imagine Ger's filly [Soul Search] will be hard to be beat.

Read The Lowdown from 8.30am daily on racingpost.com and the Racing Post app for all the day's going updates, news and tips