Tag: Irish Saint

Horse Racing Preview 31st January

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

What a fabulous weekend of sport! As well as the Australian Open tennis finals, we have the final of the Asian Cup, the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup, the Premiership clash between Chelsea and Man City and the Superbowl! Somewhere in between all of that we have to fit in some top quality Horse Racing action from Sandown and Ffos Las.

The Sandown card gets under way at 12.40 and I hope to see Pain Du Chocolat book his Triumph Hurdle ticket. The unknown quantity is The Saint James, now racing in the colours of JP McManus and ridden by AP McCoy. The champion jockey did us proud in last week’s Sky Bet Chase but I’m hoping he will settle for second here.

There could be another Triumph re-shuffle after the second race where impressive Chepstow winner Bristol De Mai takes on a couple of smarter older horses. I generally don’t like backing four-year-olds against their elders but the French imports are a different matter altogether. If this one hacks up, the owners could face a quandary with ante-post favourite Peace And Co also in their colours.

I’ll side with Ballygarry to confirm Ascot form with Ulck Du Lin in the 1.50, although I am slightly worried about the bounce factor. Ballygarry overcame a year’s absence to win last time but Philip Hobbs is a master of his trade. Irish Saint faces four useful opponents in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at 2.25. He was very impressive at Ascot and I think he will have too much toe for Champagne West over this distance. I’m more worried about Splash Of Ginge who won a competitive handicap on New Year’s Day but he ought to be held on hurdles form.

We picked Polamco earlier in the week for the Heroes Hurdle and I see no reason to desert him but the staying chase that ends the C4 coverage looks tricky. Ardkilly Witness and Theatrical Star were second and third last year and this could be a case of horses for courses. I respect There’s No Panic, winner of the London National here, but think he probably needs further.

The highlight of the Ffos Las card is the 2.05 which goes under the grand name of Welsh Champion Hurdle. Of course it is now a handicap so is anything but a Champion Hurdle but it has produced the last two Coral Cup winners. Rebecca Curtis would love to win this for Wales and has booked Paul Townend for the novice Foryourinformation. He had a bit more in hand than it appeared last time here and may have most to fear from Doll In Milan.

I expect the well-bred Souriyan to win the opener for Jamie Snowden and I’m going to side with Global Power in the West Wales National. It would be great if he could provide Oliver Sherwood with his 1,000 winner as a trainer.

Pain Au Chocolat 12.40 Sandown @7-4 BetVictor

Bristol De Mai 1.15 Sandown @6-4 Bet365

Ballygarvey 1.50 Sandown @9-2 Totesport

Irish Saint 2.25 Sandown @9-4 Bet365

Polamco 3.0 Sandown @4-1 Ladbrokes

Ardkilly Witness 3.35 Sandown @8-1 BetVictor

Souriyan 12.55 Ffos Las @13-8 Paddy Power

Foryourinformation 2.05 Ffos Las @9-2 William Hill

Global Power 2.40 Ffos Las @6-1 Bet365

Betfair Hurdle Ante-Post update

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Twenty-nine horses have been left in the Betfair Hurdle including both Irish Saint and Irving from the Paul Nicholls stable. The Trainer has warned that Irving is unlikely to run if the going is extremely testing and that seems to be heavy hint as to the direction our cash should be going in.

Irish Saint bolted up in the mud at Ascot last time and has been raised 12lbs by the handicapper. Because of the conditions of Saturday’s race, he gets in here with only a 5lbs penalty so is theoretically 7lb’s well in at the weights.

These handicap good things don’t always win but, with the going currently soft and heavy in places, the omens are good for Irish Saint. Noel Fehily keeps the ride and I imagine that he couldn’t believe how well he was going at Ascot on this horse. He had previously run in the Ladbroke and got bogged down in the middle of the chasing pack.

That race may also hold the key to his biggest danger as David Pipe’s Dell’ Arca was still in touch when unseating his rider three out. The form for the big two-mile handicaps is really hard to fathom this season with neither the Greatwood nor the Ladbroke being boosted since. I backed Sametegal (2nd) in the Greatwood but he was slaughtered up at Musselburgh on Sunday.

It is difficult to be too confident about how Dell’ Arca will run as Pipe has had a couple of notable disappointments with Dynaste and The Liquidator. The victory of Red Sherlock recovered a bit of faith so we’ll give Dell’ Arca an each-way chance here.

Alan King’s Montbazon was on my horse to follow list a couple of seasons ago but has been out injured since finishing fourth at the festival behind Cinders And Ashes. This would be a very ambitious place to start him off by King has entered him in the Champion Hurdle so obviously believes the talent is still there. With the stable still recovering from the virus, I can’t support him here but I shall be keeping a close eye on him.

Of the others, Cheltenian is another that has had his problems and is hard to weigh up on a win in a poor race at Uttoxeter. His trainer managed to get that good hurdler Snap Tie back to win a big prize a couple of seasons ago so you cannot rule him out here.

Irish Saint at 7-1 Bet365

Dell’ Arca (each-way) at 9-1 Coral

¼ odds 1,2,3,4

Betfair Hurdle Preview

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The weather is continuing to play havoc with the racing programme in the UK and it is not looking that great for the weekend. The bookmakers have not even bothered pricing up the Saturday races so perhaps they know something we don’t?

If the weather relents by the following weekend, the Betfair Handicap Hurdle is scheduled for Newbury. Last year’s runaway success for My Tent Or Yours seems to have put everyone in the mind-set that a smart novice is what is required to win this. Admittedly Darlan was travelling ominously well the year before when he fell but he was exceptional too. What a shame that his life was so cruelly cut short.

The “talking horse” this year is Irving, trained by Paul Nicholls. He is currently vying for favouritism in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and there is no doubt that he is pretty smart. Having said that, he is not exactly thrown in on 11st 2lb against some seasoned handicappers.

Although I tipped him when he won impressively at Ascot last time, I’d be worried about those that he beat. Prince Siegfried had not yet been shaken off when he fell and he ran deplorably next time. The third and fourth have also been well beaten so I don’t think we should rushing to take 7-1 in a race like this.

Having mapped out this race for Irving, you get the feeling that Nicholls was taken slightly by surprise when Irish Saint romped home at Ascot in the heavy ground. It is true that he expected some improvement but he won so easily that the trainer is almost obliged to run him here under a 5lb penalty. The handicapper has stuck him up 12lbs for winning that race so he is officially 7lbs better off here.

The doubts are whether he will be so effective over this shorter trip and on potentially better ground. I’d also wonder whether he will get such a free run here as they tend to go like a bat out of hell in this race and we’ve seen him struggle in similar contests. If the field cuts up and the going rides heavy, then Irish Saint would be a logical choice.

I was really impressed by Flaxen Flare’s run in the Boylesports hurdle at Leopardstown last week. I had gone through that race inside out and come to the conclusion that he was just too high in the handicap but he ran a blinder to finish second to Gilgamboa. The vibes are that the winner will miss this and head to Cheltenham but I have no idea whether Flaxen Flare will have a crack at this race.

Cheltenian has been through the wars since winning the Cheltenham bumper in 2011 and it’s hard to fancy him on the back of an easy win in an egg-and-spoon race at Uttoxeter. He did hit a few hurdles there and this will be a different kettle of fish if we get a big field.

With several trainers holding multiple entries, the sensible policy at the moment is to sit tight and wait for the next acceptance stage. The weights could go up and change the complexion of the race completely. Watch this space!