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Irish horses to follow including Blood Destiny, Gentlemansgame and Flooring Porter

By Donn McClean

09:36 · THU February 08, 2024

As the dust settles on the Dublin Racing Festival, here are five Irish horses who didn’t run at Leopardstown last weekend and who may be moving a little under the radar.

Monty’s Star (Henry de Bromhead)

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Monty’s Star was one of the leading staying novice hurdlers in Ireland last season. A close-up second to Shanbally Kid on his hurdling bow at Navan last January, he progressed from that to win the Grade 3 novices' hurdle at Clonmel in February.

A half-brother to Monalee, it was always likely that Henry de Bromhead’s horse would be an even better chaser than hurdler, and he has been impressive in both his runs over fences this season so far. Third behind Corbetts Cross and Three Card Brag in one of the hottest beginners’ chases run this season at Fairyhouse’s Hatton’s Grace Hurdle meeting, he stepped forward from that last time when he exacted his revenge on Three Card Brag at Punchestown. His jumping was very good that day, he settled into a lovely rhythm for Rachael Blackmore, and he ran out an impressive winner.

His only entry at the Cheltenham Festival is in the Brown Advisory Chase, and that looks like the right race for him. He has that mix of class and pace and stamina that Brown Advisory Chase horses possess, he has the right profile for the race, and there is every chance that he can go one better than his brother did in 2018.

Flooring Porter (Gavin Cromwell)

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A dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner, Flooring Porter is nine now, he was late enough starting out on his chasing career, but he is a fluent jumper of fences. Impressive in winning his beginners’ chase at Cheltenham’s October meeting, you can easily allow him his defeat in the Florida Pearl Chase at Punchestown in November. That was his first time to race right-handed since April 2021, and he wasn’t helped by the fact that a loose horse continually competed for his attention.

Gavin Cromwell’s horse ran well to finish third in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, and he can probably be marked up at least a little on the bare form of that run. He jumps to his left, so he raced down the inside the whole way, probably on the worst of the ground.

He holds entries in the Stayers’ Hurdle and in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham, but you have to think that the National Hunt Chase is the race for him. He is a really good jumper of fences, and the step up to three miles and six furlongs should be a positive. Also, his age is not a positive for the Stayers’ Hurdle – before the remarkable Sire Du Berlais came along last year, you had to go back to Solwhit in 2013 to find the last Stayers’ Hurdle winner aged older than eight – and it is not a negative for the National Hunt Chase.

Two of the last five National Hunt Chase winners were 10.

Flooring Porter is in control at Leopardstown

Is Flooring Porter ideal for the NH Chase?

Gentlemansgame (Mouse Morris)

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We haven’t seen Gentlemansgame since early November, and he has run just three times over fences, but he is still a horse to keep in mind.

Third behind Klassical Dream in the Grade 1 Champion Stayers’ Hurdle at the 2022 Punchestown Festival, he was impressive in beating subsequent Irish Grand National winner I Am Maximus to win his beginners’ chase at Leopardstown’s 2022 Christmas Festival. He didn’t race afterwards last season, but he returned with a promising run to finish second to the race-fit Easy Game in a Grade 2 contest at Gowran Park in October, and he stepped forward from that last time to beat Bravemansgame in the Charlie Hall Chase.

He was receiving 6lb from Bravemansgame that day, and Paul Nicholls’ horse made a significant mistake at the final fence, but it was still a fine performance by Mouse Morris’ horse to get the better of him. That was just his third chase too, there is every chance that he will step forward from that.

We haven’t seen him a while, but Mouse Morris has previous in that regard. When War Of Attrition won the Gold Cup in 2006, he was racing for the first time that calendar year.

Blood Destiny (Willie Mullins)

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Blood Destiny was all the rage after he won his beginners’ chase at Naas in December, but it appears that he has fallen from perceptual grace since he was beaten in a Grade 3 chase at Punchestown last month.

He was a high-class juvenile hurdler last season, he was sent off as second favourite behind Lossiemouth for the Triumph Hurdle. It didn’t happen for him there, and he was beaten in the Grade 2 juveniles’ hurdle at Fairyhouse in April, but he proved at Naas in December that he remains a young horse of considerable ability.

The form of that Naas race (replay below) took a nice boost on Sunday when the horse he beat into second place, Heart Wood, the pair of them clear of their two rivals, ran out an impressive winner of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase.

Also, the horse who beat him in that Punchestown Grade 3 contest over two and a half miles, Spillane’s Tower, is a talented and progressive horse, and Blood Destiny travelled like by far the most likely winner into the home straight. While he won his beginners’ chase over two and a half miles, it may be that the trip at Punchestown in that grade on soft ground stretched his stamina and, he is such a fluent jumper of fences, it may be that he will be better over the two-mile trip of the Arkle than over the intermediate trip of the Turners.

Click here to back Blood Destiny at 12/1 for the Arkle with Sky Bet (NRNB)

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Mighty Bandit (Warren Greatrex)

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A little from left-field, perhaps, because he is not Irish-trained, not any more, but Mighty Bandit was mighty impressive in winning his maiden hurdle at Punchestown in November on his racecourse debut, his first run for Gordon Elliott.

He shaped like a hugely exciting prospect that day, winning a race that worked out well in the immediate aftermath and clocking a time that was two seconds faster than the time that State Man clocked in winning the Morgiana Hurdle later on the day.

The Order Of St George gelding was sent off a warm favourite for the Grade 2 juveniles’ hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival on the back of that win, against some of the best juveniles in Ireland. He was well beaten there in the end, but he scoped poorly afterwards, so you can easily allow him that.

It is not ideal that he has moved yard and moved country, all that upheaval can’t be helpful, but Warren Greatrex has confirmed that, all going well, the Triumph Hurdle remains the plan and he could be one of the forgotten horses of the race.

www.donnmcclean.com

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