JOSEPH O’BRIEN
EDWULF
9yo b g (P187-5)
Kayf Tara - Valentines Lady
J.P. McManus
He ran well in the John Durkan and, if the ground is safe, the plan would be to go to Leopardstown with him for the Savills Chase. The Punchestown race was over two and a half miles, which is plenty short enough for him, but he ran a good race until he got a bit tired in the straight. He has come out of that race in good form and Derek (O’Connor) was very happy with him. We know that he likes the track, having won a Grade 1 there earlier in the year, and we’ll just keep an eye on the ground, but the plan is to go there with him.
LE RICHEBOURG
5yo b g (80-5112)
Network - Fee Magic
J.P. McManus
He is in the two Grade 1s at Leopardstown (over two and three miles) and he was very good when just touched off in the Drinmore. Gordon’s horse (Delta Work) was rated 12lb higher than him over hurdles and our horse gave him a very good run for his money. He has a few options and we’ll make a decision about where he’ll go closer to the time. The intention is to run him over the Christmas and he is one that appreciates a bit of nice ground.
MAJURCA
4yo b g (4-414)
Maresca Sorrento - Majature
Joseph O’Brien
He is a nice horse who came to us not that long ago from France. I put him the Grade 1 Hurdle over three miles at Leopardstown, but I’d say he is more likely to run in a novice chase either there or at Limerick. He seems to be working nicely and he had a good enough rating in France. I don’t have him that long, but we have liked what we have seen of him so far.
MORTAL
6yo b g (4F226-1)
King’s Theatre - Pomme Tiepy
Gigginstown House Stud
Others to note:
I’d say Mortal will run in either the three-mile Grade 1 at Leopardstown or the new Grade 1 at Limerick over two miles and three. He won well at Fairyhouse and we were very happy with him that day for his first run. (beat Any Second Now by a neck). We’ll wait a bit later to decide on where he goes.
Others to note:
The plan is to run Slowmotion, Arkwrisht and Vieux Morvan in the Paddy Power Chase.
Vieux Morvan ran well in the same race last year. He was unlucky at Galway when he fell in the Blazers and he has been a little bit disappointing since, but he seems to like Leopardstown and he ran very well in this race last year.
Arkwrisht was a bit unlucky not to be placed or maybe better in the Irish National, as he was taken out at the last. He was running well until he just over-jumped and slipped at the back of a fence down the back straight in the Troytown at Navan. He has come out of that race in good shape. He gets into the race too, so he’ll take his chance.
Elsewhere, we’ll look for another beginners chase for Shady Operator. We were happy with his first start over fences when he finished third to Chris’s Dream at Navan and he is one we’re looking forward to.
ERIC MCNAMARA
BLACK SCORPION
7yo b g (5314-213)
Scorpion - Arcanum
Don’t Go There Syndicate
He is in the Paddy Power and the Tim Duggan and I suppose, if I had a preference, we’d be more inclined to go to Leopardstown with him, as that race is worth a lot of money and he has a lovely weight. He is in very good form and we had a very good later summer/autumn with him. It was a shame that he didn’t make the cut for the good handicap chase at Cheltenham a few weeks ago - he was the second reserve and there were two non-runners on the day but there isn’t anything that we can do about that now. We’ll keep our options open, but I am more inclined to go to Leopardstown.
Black Scorpion is set to take his chance in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown (HEALY RACING PHOTO)
Others to note:
Torquay will go to Limerick and she will love the soft ground that they should get there. She is working very well and I think she’ll have a big chance in whatever handicap she lines up in. She always seems to run well at Limerick.
I’ll also run Silver Planeur in a handicap at Limerick. She won at Wexford and was second at Limerick last time out. She went up 3lb for that, but she’ll go for a handicap hurdle and she’ll have her chance.
There is also a very nice horse called Drifting Back, who has had just the one run when third in a bumper at Limerick in March. He will love the soft ground and he’ll go for a four-year-old maiden hurdle. He is a nice horse that we think a lot of.
IAIN JARDINE
BEDROCK
5yo b g (413-411)
Fastnet Rock - Gemstone
Irvin S Naylor
He has a couple of options including the Grade 1 at Leopardstown, but he’s also in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. We’ll keep our options open and I am very happy with him at the moment. He won very well the last day at Down Royal and the fact that Sharjah came out and won that Grade 1 (Morgiana Hurdle) at Punchestown was very encouraging. I don’t think there was any fluke about Bedrock’s win, he has improved into a very decent horse. He missed the Fighting Fifth due to a minor hock injury but I couldn’t be happier with him at the moment.
LIAM CUSACK
SNUGSBOROUGH BENNY
8yo b g (74-61319)
Beneficial - Saddlers Arc
Raymond Loughnane
He won the Galway Blazers well and we gave him a break after that with a view to aiming him at the Paddy Power Chase. He had a prep run over hurdles at Fairyhouse a couple of weeks ago and the ground was probably a bit on the quick side for him that day, but he came out of that well. It’s a smashing race to have one to aim at. He is running off a career-high mark and it remains to be seen how he will handle that, but he seems to be progressing nicely.
It’s great for his owner/breeder Raymond Loughnane, who is from Shinrone in Offaly. He was delighted just to have one good enough to even run at Galway and he got a great kick out of it when the horse won. He, along with his family, are really looking forward to it.
Denis O’Regan gets on well with the horse and he’ll ride him. He’ll go there and give a good account of himself. Once the ground is not too heavy or fast, it will be fine for him.
TOM TAAFFE
GOOSE MAN
6yo b g (3/2211-9)
Gold Well - Young Amelie
Mrs Fitri Hay
I was happy with his comeback run at Navan over two and a half miles last weekend and hopefully he will come on for that. We’re aiming him at the Paddy Power Chase and he looks to be guaranteed a run. He is bred to get three miles – I’d say he wants it. We ran him over two and two and a half miles last season as he is not slow. Ground won’t be an issue for him.
RIDERS ONTHE STORM
5yo br g (21260-4)
Scorpion - Endless Moments
Mrs Paul Shanahan & Mrs John Magnier
He is in the two Grade 1 novice chases at Leopardstown, but I’d say he’ll go to Limerick for their Grade 1 there over two miles and three. The novice chase division is very hot and the fact is that you’ll meet graded horses in nearly every novice chase, so it doesn’t matter where you go now. You’ll need a Grade 2 horse to win one.
I’d say that is where he’ll go and I suppose time will tell what where he’ll end up. He is bred for chasing and he’s a horse that we’ve always liked.
ANDREA O’KEEFFE
(Wife of Jedd)
SAM SPINNER
6yo b g (21153-U)
Black Sam Bellamy - Dawn Spinner
Caron & Paul Chapman
He has the option of Leopardstown (Squared Financial Christmas Hurdle), but we also have him in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot next weekend, so we’ll make a decision on where he goes next week.
He has come out of Newbury in very good form and we were happy with his run there. The long-term aim is to get him back to Cheltenham for the Stayers’ Hurdle in March. He has a preference for soft/heavy ground, so we’ll see what the ground is like at Ascot. He was very good when he won there last year. But the Leopardstown race is a very solid back-up if he didn’t run at Ascot and his owners were very kind to allow us to make the entry for him there. We’ve been delighted with him since Newbury and we’ll have a look at the weather and ground next week and then we’ll make up our minds as to where he’ll go.
NICKY RICHARDS
SIMPLY NED
11yo ch g (2412-42)
Fruits Of Love - Bishops Lass
David & Nicky Robinson
He has run five times at Leopardstown and never finished out of the first three. This will be his fifth year in a row running in the Grade 1 over two miles on December 27th.
Every time he has been beaten, it has been by a top-class horse. His durability is remarkable - you need a little bit of luck with soundness and we’ve had that thankfully. To his credit, he is just a very durable and consistent horse who rarely runs a bad race – he is just a pleasure, isn’t he?
He gave weight to Sceau Royal at Cheltenham, when he was second at Cheltenham in November and he has been in great form since.
He clearly likes the track and I just hope the ground is not going to be too quick for him, but I’d say it’ll be fine. We made a call to see if we could get Mark Walsh to ride – he won on him last year and hopefully he’ll be free to ride him again.
Simply Ned (red) has yet to be out of the first three when taking on the Paddy Power-backed Grade 1 two-mile chase at Leopardstown, a race he won in the stewards' room last season (Photo: INPHO/Morgan Treacy)