Who needs Cheltenham Dublin Racing Festival has it all!
Newsletter #36
This weekend sees the Dublin Racing Festival take centre stage and after the cracking contest between Enerugumene and Shishkin two weekends ago it’s great to see so many top horses taking each other on at Leopardstown ahead of Cheltenham. For far too long the lure of Cheltenham has been diluting top class jumps action throughout the year. However the DRF has really put a dent in that since its inception and looking through this weekends fields it is great to see some UK trainers and owners having a crack too. I’ve thrown my eyes over the cards and tried to highlight a few horses to follow over the weekend.
Saturday starts with a tricky looking Grade 1 Novice hurdle as it is difficult to rule out any of the runners. However after assessing the field I felt Grand Jury was the one with the least amount of questions to answer.He blew away one of his rivals Minella Cocooner in a point to point and has since been steadily progressive on the track. I thought he ran a very promising race on his latest start on his 1st forary into Grade 1 company. He toughed it out well and after winning his maiden hurdle on similar ground will find conditions no problem at all. With the promise of more to come I think it will take a fair performance by one of the others to beat him and the fact he can be backed at odd’s of 5/1 makes him a cracking each way bet for me.
Icare Allen again looks the value play in the juvenile Grade 1 hurdle. Fil Dor deserves to be at the head of the market on what he has done so far and Vauban is bound to improve plenty from his hurdles debut behind the subsequently impressive Cheltenham winner Pied Piper. However at around the 9/2 mark I’d prefer to back Icare Allen each way against the two ahead of him in the market in the hope that he can improve past them. He was very impressive when winning at Christmas and also enjoys the ground.
The Irish Arkle is a fascinating contest and again I’m willing to take on the market principals. Haut En Coulers was very impressive on his chase debut and I’m taking him to build on that display and lower the colours of his better fancied stablemate Blue Lord. He shaped really well in Grade 1 contests last year but looked like he needed a fence then. He is only 5 and should have plenty more to come.
The 3 mile handicap hurdle looks a right puzzle to solve however two I’m happy to back each way in this are Priory Park and Captain Kangeroo. Priory Park has been highly progressive on his last two starts and on pedigree could improve further for this step up in trip. Captain Kangeroo on the other hand seems exposed but on further examination has had a few excuses for some of his recent performances and if putting it all together now should go close from his current mark in a contest of this nature.
The Irish Gold Cup I’m happy just to watch as I find it hard to select a horse to back as they all have little question marks to answer.
In fact the last three races on Saturday are difficult to form a strong opinon. The 2 mile handicap chase while not a huge field looks tricky and the bumper seems like one of the strongest bumpers ran all year. Most trainers seem to really fancy their horses in it so best to watch this rather than risk backing one of the supposed machines!
On to Sunday and the opening mares handicap hurdle looks a cracker. I’m sweet on the chances of Banntown Girl here. She was well beat by Party Central already over hurdles however enjoys a 6lbs swing here and over this shorter trip I believe she can close the gap and possibly overturn the tables with her. Whatever happens she looks way overpriced compared to Party Central and should be up to going close in this after a few nice runs in maiden hurdles.
The 2 mile 5 novice chase is a cracking lineup and Galopin Des Champs should be very hard to beat however isnt a betting propostion for me at the price.I’ll be firmly cheering on Master McShee for the smaller trainer Paddy Corkery which would be a great story if he can win this contest.
Chacun Pour Soi should be winning the Grade 1 Dublin Chase however again at the odds I’m happy to watch this.
The 2 mile 5 handicap chase is another difficult handicap to try and unravel however I’m going to take a stab at Mortal for the Gordon Elliot yard. He has shaped very well on his two most recent starts and while be may be vunerable to an improver he is certainly on a good mark these days and with such a light weight ought to be going close in this if jumping around ok. Trip and ground will really suit him too.
The Irish Champion hurdle just sit back and enjoy Honeysuckle it will be a shock to she her getting beat and I hope she maintains her unbeaten record.
Sir Gerhard is the one to beat in the 2 mile novice hurdle in what will be a fascinating contest to watch with Cheltenham in mind. The key horse is Colonal Mustard who chased Jonbon home on his latest start. Again at the odds I’m tempted to back Colonal Mustard each way against Sir Gerhard in the hope that Jonbon is the real deal.
Another near impossible 2 mile handicap hurdle to sort out however I’m going to take a chance that Arthur Moore has been keeping Sea Ducor on ice for a nice pot since he finished 2nd to Grade 1 winner Master McShee at Leopardstown. He has clearly had a few issues since then however he should be fully fit now after a recent spin over hurdles and could potentially be on a good mark. Interesting that he is entered in the Betfair hurdle also which indicates to me they feel he has a bit up his sleeve from the handicapper.
Finally well done if you have made it this far hopefully your stamina will be rewarded. Hi Stranger could be interesting taking on the mullins battalions. She hasn’t ran in a while but on her lastest start she ran a cracker in a listed bumper finishing 2nd to a horse that was subsquently sold for 100k. In theory that run is the best form in the field and while she is up against all sorts of unkowns here if she can repeat that run she should get involved.
Horses to follow:
Grand Jury 1.05 - Leopardstown - Saturday
Mortal 2.25 - Leopardstown - Sunday
Sea Ducor 4.10 - Leopardstown - Sunday
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