Midweek Duo

It is a quiet week for Ballymore but our two runners in the next couple of days - Bishops Castle and Present Arms - both look to be good chances.

A horse who has always shown plenty of potential, the lightly raced Bishops Castle is having his first run since a Sandown victory in August last year.

"He is well forward for his first up run," Michael Moroney enthused, excited about the O'Reilly four-year-old's prospects this time in.

"He should go through his classes pretty quickly," he said.

Due to be ridden by the in-form Oisin Murphy in the Tour Of Victoria Showcase at Geelong on Wednesday, Bishops Castle has his share of weight but - Moroney said - "he has that weight for a reason. He should prove hard to beat with the claim."

Present Arms (pictured) contests the Mighty Contracting Showcase at Seymour on Thursday and he looks a top chance of completing a double following on from a gutsy victory at the same track on January 9.

"He seems to have trained on very well," said Moroney who is confident of another bold showing - and all the more confident that the lightly raced Zabeel gelding will be at his best later over longer.

"The further he goes the better he will be," he said, "and he should be better again next time in."