Already Anstey has chalked up a win at the Isle of Man TT this season and was "robbed" of victory in another race where he had passed the finishing post in first place.

Anstey, however, is not one to worry about decisions going against him.

He has the ability to pull out all the stops when it matters and, with the TAS Suzuki team in unstoppable form, there is no reason why Anstey shouldn't register a number of high speed successes over the Dundrod circuit next month.

Anstey has had a lot of success there and has a total of five wins in the Ulster Grand Prix.

That's more than most of his compatriots and I know that Philip Neill, manager of the TAS team, is looking for some good results whenever the Ulster Grand Prix comes round.

In the past this has proved a lucky meeting for TAS and Anstey has been in the vanguard of their streak of wins.

Whether or now the New Zealander does the job this time remains to be seen but rarely a meeting passes without Anstey being on the podium and in 2006 he had his most recent win over the course when taking the Superstock race which has turned out to be his speciality.

That was the year when Guy Martin had swarmed over everyone like some stray bees with a four timer and the fast-talking Lincolnshire rider will be hoping for something more this time.

He is a real character and he loves the Ulster, as well he might for he has also been successful on the course in the Dundrod 150 which is now part of the Ulster setup.

One rider who will be hoping for a big race win is the king of the Isle of Man TT, John McGuinness. John had yet another win in the Senior in the Island this year but successes have eluded him so far in the Ulster Grand Prix.

I might say major success is what he's looking for, for he has had two wins in the backup races.

McGuinness is also the fastest man round the course and he will be intending to set the record lap even further into the 130 mph-plus category.

McGuinness is a class act and there's no doubt that if he comes to the Ulster he will be a tough man to beat. But then so too will Cameron Donald, the Aussie who has set the Isle of Man alight with two wins this year.

Donald has his heart set on winning at the Ulster. He went close at the North West 200 in May and this was a prologue for his TT odyssey.

Donald is one of the nicest people you could meet and he has confined his season this year to the three big road races - the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix. He is also a member of the TAS team who apparently can do no wrong these days and, if conditions are right, I would without hesitation tip Donald to win at Dundrod.

It sounds like a good headline anyway!

Sadly there will be no Robert Dunlop at this year's Ulster. This was a race he dominated for some years when, along with his brother Joey, he had the 125cc race in the palm of his hand. Robert was killed at the North West 200 in May and of course Joey also ended his career on the track with a crash in Estonia in 2000.

It seems unthinkable to have Dundrod without the two Dunlops but, without going too deeply into the matter, there is some consolation in the fact that Robert's sons, William and Michael, will be competing. William won the 250cc class at the Ulster last year while Michael took the same class at the North West 200 only two days after his father's death.

That was an emotional moment which hopefully we'll not see repeated for a long time to come.

So at this stage in the game it looks like TAS hold all the aces. They must surely make a major impact with Anstey and Donald, while Ryan Farquhar is also standing by to pounce, especially if the course is wet. Farquhar has a good record round Dundrod and he could spike a few guns, given the opportunity.