Peaceinthevalley
(Henry de Bromhead)
Naas, February 8th
On paper, a 24-length defeat in fifth didn’t scream immense promise from Peaceinthevalley on his rules debut in a maiden hurdle at Naas last weekend.
However, he showed more potential than the bare form implies and will be an interesting candidate to watch for Henry de Bromhead and Sean and Bernadine Mulryan going forward.
The Saint Des Saints gelding joined these connections privately, after two runs between the flags for Pat Doyle.
He was four lengths clear heading to the final fence on his second of those point-to-point appearances, when making a bad mistake and unseating his rider in an unlucky development.
The six-year-old spent 279 days on the sidelines, before appearing in an extended-two-mile-and-two-furlong maiden hurdle last weekend and was easy enough to back at 17/2.
He was ridden patiently and, as if to learn with the experience, jumping a little sticky at a couple early, though he was still travelling fine in mid-division when losing ground to go around a faller four flights from home. To his credit, he showed a bit of zip to get back into contention early in the straight, before fading at the death.
Given we haven’t seen the best of some of the stable’s runners in this window, his absence and how things unfolded for him, this was a satisfactory first rules outing and one he should be able to build on for top connections.
Apples Jane
(Gordon Elliott)
Naas, February 8th
It’s difficult to gauge how strong the four-year-old bumper run at Naas last Saturday was, due to the small field of untested types and the fact it was run at an extremely steady gallop.
That said, even though she was beaten on debut, Apples Jane ran a race of definite promise for Gordon Elliott and Bective Stud.
There was always going to be interest in seeing how this Walk In The Park filly fared on her introduction given she’s the first foal out of 11-time Grade 1 winner Apple’s Jade, who joined Noel and Valerie Moran for €530,000 at the end of her racing career.
This four-year-old is on the handy side in terms of size, but having had to effectively make her own running and sprint on the front end against the boys, she emerged from this effort with credit, beaten three-quarters of a length.
The most pleasing aspect of the performance was how she battled when strongly pressed.
She was slower than anything else in the field from the half-mile pole to the furlong marker, yet her final furlong only marginally slower than the winner, as the second fastest through this closing portion.
Even if others have a size advantage on her at present, her attitude should take her a fair way.
Low Style
(Barry Connell)
Navan, February 9th
Even though the three-mile handicap chase won by Verdant Place at Navan on Sunday didn’t look the deepest affair on paper, Low Style took a definite step in the right direction for Barry Connell and looks capable of popping up in a similar event before long.
This was only his fourth start in the last two years, so mustn’t have been easy to train in that timeframe, but stepping up to three miles for the first time looked a help - it should open up options for him going forward.
The handicapper nudged him up 2lb to a mark of 102, though he could still technically drop in grade from this 0-120 contest, if the right race presented itself.
With only six runs over fences to his name, the Beat Hollow gelding remains pretty unexposed and rates a likely future winner, if able to build on this. He might now begin to make up for lost time.
Frankie John
(Denis Hogan)
Navan, February 9th
The concluding bumper at Navan on Sunday has been won by some talented types in recent years and there was plenty of talk surrounding several runners in this year’s line-up.
The impressive, Willie Mullins-trained winner Copacabana is now priced up as one of the primary contenders for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, while the runner-up Burrows Drive had been an eye-catching third on his Punchestown Festival debut, behind none other than Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle hope Sixandahalf and Dublin Racing Festival scorer Colcannon.
The third, Coyote Spirit, had also shown potential previously, when second to He Can’t Dance - subsequently a close-up third in Grade 2 company.
It could be unwise to overlook the effort of the fourth-placed Frankie John, though. Denis Hogan has long held this Walk In The Park gelding in high regard, having joined the trainer for €115,000 at the 2023 Derby Sale, and he went through the ring at £275,000 in December, after a debut point-to-point win at Boulta a month earlier.
Still running for the Hogan team here, he was ridden from further off the pace than those who finished in front of him and came home to decent effect as one of the faster finishers through the final two furlongs.
He has a future and is bred to be useful as a half-brother to the Paul Nicholls-trained Shearer (priced between 12/1 and 16/1 for the Festival Hunters’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival).