Irish Weekend Preview: All eyes on Leopardstown

Aidan O'Brien holds a strong hand at Leopardstown on Sunday

Timeform's Irish Editor Stuart Jones looks at an indicative card at Leopardstown on Sunday.

The Flat action in Ireland goes up a notch at Leopardstown this weekend, with Sunday's card featuring two Group 3s and a couple of listed events, perhaps the most interesting of which is the Ballysax Stakes over one and a quarter miles. 

Paddy Prendergast's Sugar Boy heads the Timeform ratings and he promises to relish the extra furlong on his reappearance. He improved with experience during his two-year-old campaign, running to a smart level when readily completing a hat-trick in a listed race at this track in November, pulling over six lengths clear of Coolibah. Sugar Boy  quickly showed himself to be a straightforward and likeable type last year and could be a spot of value against the likely favourite Battle of Marengo if fully wound up for this. 

Battle of Marengo sits a couple of pounds behind Sugar Boy on the adjusted ratings, but does have the Timeform 'p' for improvement, and his overall profile isn't too dissimilar to that rival's. The son of Galileo met with his only defeat in a maiden here on debut, but progressed into a smart performer after and rounded off a successful campaign when landing the odds in the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh. The penalty he received for that win could well prove to be the difference between him and Sugar Boy this time, and it's hard to envisage the winner not coming from that pair. 

The Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes marks the return of the exciting The United States and it will be a blow to his classic aspirations if he isn't up to making a winning return in this listed event. Bred in the purple - by Galileo and out of the 114-rated mare Beauty Is Truth - The United States' maiden win at the Curragh couldn't have worked out much better, with four of the five immediately behind him going on to win next time out, and he's open to significant improvement after just the one outing. 

The fillies' version of the race should be just as informative and it will come as no surprise that Aidan O' Brien appears to have another strong player in this in the form of Snow Queen. Kept relatively busy at two years, she beat subsequent winner Ballyorban in a nursery at Naas when last seen and the return to seven furlongs shouldn't be any inconvenience. 

Her biggest threat could well come from the John Oxx-trained What Style, who actually got the better of her when landing a C&D maiden on her sole start last term. Whilst she created a good impression that day and is sure to progress in time, the Oxx yard are yet to have a winner this year, and Snow Queen could well reverse form on Sunday with the benefit of a recent gallop at the Curragh under her belt.