Nic Doggett provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Tuesday.
Small-field head-scratcher at Clonmel
It wouldn’t be an Irish winter jumps card without Willie Mullins unleashing some highly-thought-of hurding debutants, with C’Est Ta Chance and Jump Allen standing out in the 1.35, while Karafon – who has the benefit of two hurdles starts to his name already – looks the one to beat half an hour later, primarily at the main expense of stablemate (and fellow French recruit) Karamoja.
But the pick of the action at Clonmel on Tuesday comes in the Jim Strang & Sons Kilsheelan (Peugeot) Hurdle due off at 1.05.
Timeform weight-adjusted-ratings have Franciscan Rock, Sandor Clegane and Three Card Brag (who gets the Timeform nod) separated by just 1 lb, with 7 lb back to recent C&D winner Plains Indian.
It’s a tricky puzzle to pick apart, with both Brown Advisory fourth Sandor Clegane and Three Card Brag, who was one place ahead of that rival when third to Spillane’s Tower in the Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival, better known for their exploits over fences.
Franciscan Rock, in contrast, is back over hurdles this term after failing to take to chasing once again on his final start last season, and is in better company here after winning a Pertemps qualifier handicap hurdle off 134 at Punchestown on his reappearance last month.
Drumgill completes the five-strong line-up. He has plenty to find on the figures but comes into the race on the back of a confidence-boosting win over fences where he appeared to appreciate the stiffer test of stamina. Unfortunately for connections, he has a 10 lb penalty to shoulder thanks to a hat-trick of hurdling wins in the summer.
Johnston runner flagged for big run
Mark Johnston gained a lot of his success with straightforward tactics; tell jockeys to ride fit horses prominently and make them extremely hard to pass. Those tactics have passed on to son Charlie who now runs the Middleham outfit.
It's not always possible to implement such tactics, though, and a slow start from a wide draw from Marhaba Ghaiyyath on debut at Wolverhampton last month meant Billy Loughnane had little option but to sit at the back of the field on a horse who was running green.
His eventual second-placed finish was chock-full of promise, however, attracting both the Timeform ‘Horse In Focus’ and ‘Sectional’ flags, and he was likely to have won had he not been forced to come from so far back. For all he will get much further in time, with above-average improvement anticipated, he'll take some stopping in the mile maiden (12.27).
He’s a half-brother to several winners, including the Stayers’ Hurdle winner Nichols Canyon, so should be extremely hard to pass if given a more positive ride (the booking of Richard Kingscote looks a positive one as he has an excellent record when riding horses prominently).
Newcastle race to note
Sir Gino lit up the large crowd at Newcastle on Saturday afternoon when emphatically winning the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, but it’s the all-weather track that is the centre of attention on Tuesday.
The Gosdens have been strong supporters of racing on the all-weather surface since it opened in 2016, and they have enjoyed plenty of success in the mile novice contest (4.00), winning four of the seven renewals of the race.
This year’s contest looks a strongly-contested affair, with Fort George and Merchant just two of the four horses in the field with a Timeform ‘small p’ indicating that improvement is expected.
However, the Gosden newcomer Ashmolean looks an exciting prospect. By Frankel out of the yard’s very smart Coronet, winner of two Group 1s in France, namely the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Prix Jean Romanet, he looks the pick of the debutants on breeding.
Can he follow in the footsteps of Enable and Stradivarius who both began their careers for the Gosdens with wins in the North East?
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