1:30 TURNERS NOVICE CHASE
Gordon Elliott may have found a real star in Mighty Potter. His performance in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival was particularly eye-catching. Gordon Elliott has already been asked if this is the best he has ever trained and he didn’t exactly say no. Mighty Potter might be Gordon Elliott’s best hope of a Gold Cup winner since Don Cossack. To put himself in that bracket he has to win here. The ground has now changed to his advantage so it is very hard to see anything beating him.
The race for second is most likely between the next two in the betting. There is not a whole lot between Banbridge and Appreciate It. Although it’s a while ago now, Appreciate It put in a performance in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle which left a lasting impression.
Banbridge might have challenged the favourite on good ground but the turn in the weather has gone against Joseph O’Brien’s seven-year-old.
SELECTION: MIGHTY POTTER ALTERNATIVE: APPRECIATE IT
2:10 PERTEMPS NETWORK FINAL HANDICAP HUDLE
The Irish won this race six years on the trot between 2016 and 2021. This year the English horses seem far better handicapped than the traveling Irish contingent. With the ground likely to be quite soft at this stage and 22 runners likely to line up, it’s probably better to look toward the mid-to-lower end of the weights. The likes of The Bosses Oscar and Maxxum may just be carrying too much weight for these sorts of conditions. Hector Javilex produced a fine performance on New Year’s Day on this course. He won that day by seven lengths. The six-year-old followed up that with a solid run in the Huntingdon qualifier for this race. Trained by Charlie Longsdon, he is currently a 20/1 shot and could run a big race here.
The Changing Man is another who might be coming in under the radar. Joe Tizzard ‘s gelding also ran very well in the aforementioned Huntingdon qualifier and had decent form coming into the race.
SELECTION: HECTOR JAVILEX ALTERNATIVE: THE CHANGING MAN
2:50 RYANAIR CHASE
The complexion of this year’s Ryanair resembles the Turners Chase that will be run earlier in the day. There is a very warm favourite who is the clear pick, while the next two in the betting market will probably battle it out for second.
The shape of this race all changed in the third week in February. That week started with the news that ante-post favourite Allaho would miss the race, and the week ended with both Shishkin and Janidil winning important races within 10 minutes of each other.
Shishkin was absolutely awesome at Ascot and looked back to his very best. The way he ran away from his rivals that day was incredible. If he can reproduce that run, nothing is going to beat him in this race. Janidil put in a strong performance in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran and the sectional times from that were encouraging.
SELECTION: SHISHKIN ALTERNATIVE: JANIDIL
3:30 PADDY POWER STAYERS HURDLE
The Stayers' Hurdle betting market has five horses at single-digit odds. Tuesday’s Mares' Hurdle gave us a tip for this race. After Teahupoo won the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December, many people questioned whether or not the third-placed Honeysuckle had deteriorated. Maybe the real question that day should have been how good is Teahupoo? If Honeysuckle’s performance on Tuesday is anything to go by then Teahupoo may be holding pocket aces here. We know Teahupoo loves it soft as well, so the change in the ground is a massive plus for Elliott’s gelding. The 4/1 available now is probably good value.
The word coming out of Gavin Cromwell’s yard regarding Flooring Porter is quite positive. It’s hard to believe that this horse is 6/1 to make it three in a row. This season’s performances have left doubts in the minds of a lot of keen racing fans though. If Flooring Porter can get back to being the horse he has been in the last two editions, he will be very hard to beat. However, that is a leap of faith.
SELECTION: TEAHUPOO ALTERNATIVE: FLOORING PORTER
4:10 MAGNERS PLATE HANDICAP CHASE
John McConnell’s horses have been performing exceptionally well this season. Mahler Mission was unlucky not to win for him here on Tuesday. The Co Meath trainer could get compensation here with Seddon. Since joining McConnell, Seddon hasn’t been out of the first three, and the handicap chases he has been running in have been quite competitive. His last run, on soft ground at Leopardstown, was quite eye-catching. He won by a massive 13 lengths. The 20/1 shot might turn out to be very overpriced.
When you see Emmet Mullins with a horse at the top of the betting market for a big handicap, you have to take notice. They often end up winning. So Scottish has been laid out for this contest and looks to be a massive player here. Ground is a bit of a concern though as all his runs this season have been on a better surface.
SELECTION: SEDDON ALTERNATIVE: SO SCOTTISH
4:50 JACK DE BROMHEAD MARES NOVICE HURDLE
The hype around Luccia is probably fair enough. She hasn’t put a foot wrong in any of her four starts and she might just be a Grade 1 mare of the future.
It would be fantastic to see one of Henry de Bromhead’s runners go well here. The race is named after Henry’s late son Jack. Rachael Blackmore’s decision to ride Foxy Girl could be a tip in itself. Foxy Girl is relatively unexposed and has delivered some good performances. Her win at Limerick at Christmas has probably gone a bit unnoticed but it was a fine performance all the same. She could go close here.
SELECTION: LUCCIA ALTERNATIVE: FOXY GIRL
FULKE WALWYN KIM MUIR CHALLENGE CUP
Paul Nolan trained Mrs Milner to win the Pertemps in 2021 at big odds. This year he could have a massive odds winner of the Kim Muir in the form of another mare, Western Zara. At the time of writing Western Zara is 40/1. She comes alive in the spring. If you take her career form for just January to May it reads 21112. In 10 runs under rules, she has been in the money on seven occasions. She showed her love for soft ground when winning by 11 lengths in Clonmel this time 12 months ago. Paul Nolan had a 25% strike rate with his last 12 runners pre-Cheltenham, so the yard is in great form. She will be there or thereabouts and she might just win this.
Gordon Elliott’s Dunboyne has to have a big chance as well. The yard has provided three of the last 10 winners of this race. Dunboyne was just beaten in the Theystes when Carefully Selected defeated him by a short head. He will go well on soft ground.
SELECTION: WESTERN ZARA ALTERNATIVE: DUNBOYNE
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