FAIRYHOUSE’S EVENING MEETING is a tricky betting prospect; the novice hurdle races and big-field handicaps on offer will make life difficult for punters.
But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.
Mullins and Walsh prove popular
The highlight of the evening is the Grade Two is the Coolmore N.H. Sires Ask & Getaway Novice Hurdle, where last year’s impressive bumper winner at this meeting, Last Instalment, and Willie Mullins’ Cheltenham also-ran Gagewell Flyer vie for favouritism.
The former is regarded as mud-lover while the latter was pulled up on his last start and carries a penalty here so it’s difficult to be too bullish about either of their chances. Noel Meade’s Perfect Smile ran a decent race at Aintree in better company and he may find the extra half-mile to his liking at a bigger price.
The Weatherbys Ireland GSB Hurdle for four-year-olds is very difficult to assess. A number of the horses have clashed with each other on a few occasions – with a different result each time.
Twinlight heads the betting for the Mullins-Walsh team, having been bought from France where he placed in a Grade One hurdle. Mullins has been very successful with his Gallic imports in the past, but it would take something of a leap of faith with this latest addition given that he was pulled up in two of his last three starts. Money has tumbled in for him this morning however so his long break may see him return in good heart.
The big handicap-hurdle of the day sees yesterday’s Grand National winning team join up again with Cheltenham scorer What A Charm. Nina Carberry and Arthur Moore will be quietly confident of more big race success with the former John Oxx-trained gelding who improved rapidly to win a decent race at the festival. The second from that day went on to fill the same placing again in a Grade One in Aintree so his rise in the weights may not stop further progress.
His biggest danger may be Alaivan who has been a revelation this term. He carries top weight, but given his form this season it would be foolish to write him off even if the ground may be a little firmer than ideal for the five-year-old.
Nap of the Day
It has been a very long time since Alaivan ran a bad race. His sixth in Cheltenham saw him run only two-and-a-half lengths behind the winner and before that he produced two very professional performances to beat some smart horses. It will not be easy to overcome top-weight, but the horse will have had other options here at Fairyhouse and Punchestown so Edward O’ Grady must believe the race is winnable.
It’s difficult to imagine him not placing, especially as many of the runners must race out of the handicap proper. 6/1 is tempting.
Each-Way
Scotsirish should run a big race in the penultimate chase. He performed well over a longer trip at Aintree and the drop back to just over two-miles should suit him well. More than half of the runners are out of the handicap so he will be favoured by race conditions, and he gets on very well with today’s rider Ruby Walsh. 8/1 seems more than fair.
