Tony Keenan looks ahead to today's action and has bets at both Leopardstown and Limerick.
Irish racing tips: Friday December 27
0.5pts e.w Diamond Nora in 2.20 Leopardstown at 14/1 (William Hill - 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
1pt Uhavemeinstitches in 12.19 Limerick at 4/1 (William Hill)
There were some excellent spectacles in racing yesterday, though not so much at Leopardstown where neither quality nor visibility were up to scratch, but both of those look set to improve today for the second card of their Christmas meeting.
Gaelic Warrior on 166 is the highest rated horse running in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase at 1.10 and it will be interesting to see how he performs off a break; Willie Mullins has won 43 Grade Ones at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting since 2008 but only three of them were coming off an absence of 100 days or more.
That was from a group of 29 runners overall and they only produced six total places, the winners being Klassical Dream who was best fresh, Sharjah who loved the meeting and Whiskey Sour who was lucky as two horses fell in front of him.
Gaelic Warrior might be vulnerable here and among his more interesting rivals are his stablemates Dinoblue and Blue Lord, who won this in 2023 and 2022 respectively, both fit from a recent run in the Hilly Way.
This year’s Royal Bond looked a weak running and that seems to have filtered through to the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at 1.45. There was two and three-quarter lengths between Romeo Coolio and Sea Of Sands then, but the latter was given a lot to do and made up plenty of ground late. I would have him closer to the favourite in the betting though his jumping will need to improve, though it remains to be seen if the Fairyhouse form is good enough.
My shortlist for the Paddy Power Chase at 3.00 quickly turned into a longlist with the likes of Midnight Our Fred, Desertmore House, Hgranca De Thaix, Panda Boy and Toss Again all figuring in that rough order. It looks too difficult for a firm selection.
Four-year-old handicap hurdlers have been more than holding their own in races like the Spinal Injuries Ireland Handicap Hurdle at 2.20 and there must be a decent chance that another one wins here with the likes of Ethical Diamond, Pinot Gris and Lark In The Mornin holding good claims, though Joseph O’Brien reported in a recent At The Races stable tour that the last-named may improve for this run.
My way into the race is a related angle with DIAMOND NORA. She beat a well-treated four-year-old that won since last time at Limerick, the fifth from that race also winning subsequently, despite returning from a 174-day absence.
Nor did she get the run of things, short for room turning in and forced to wait for a out before the second last, doing well to win when getting a clear run as the runner-up had already made its move. A big sort, the inside track at Limerick looked against her last time and this more galloping track should suit better though she faces a number of interesting rivals, not least Special Cadeau who shaped well last time at Fairyhouse.
In the opening race at Limerick, Earl Of Harrington Mares Maiden Hurdle at 12.19, UHAVEMEINSTITCHES may also be worth a bet. She finished behind Diamond Nora on racecourse debut at Limerick last April when making good late headway under tender handling over a trip that is short of her best, being out of Irish Grand National winner Bluesea Cracker.
Upped in distance for her first run since at Clonmel earlier this month, she showed plenty despite being sent off a big price while racing against geldings, moving well through the field before travelling smoothly into the straight, again not getting a hard time late to be beaten only two lengths and a quarter.
The winner of that race had finished fifth in a Grade Two on his sole previous start in Ireland and runs in the Future Champions today, and while the third let the form down yesterday, her run was too bad to be true. Uhavemeinstitches gets into today’s race with no penalty and provided her Walk In The Park head carriage doesn’t hold her back can get involved here.
Preview posted at 0755GMT on 27/12/24
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