Wednesday 2 December
IRELAND'S EYE
Plumpton was called off earlier this morning but there is some fine racing nevertheless today with Sundays excellent abandoned Fairyhouse card taking centre stage while Catterick and Ayr cater for jumping enthusiasts in England. A progressive hurdler can upset the main fancies in one of the Graded contests on the Fairyhouse card while a potentially well handicapped hurdler can land a handicap for Gordon Elliott of a low weight. Meanwhile at Ayr a former Irish trained bumper performer can land a similar contest on his second career start and first for his new yard in the finale.
Despite the fact that our nap Smooth Classic (4-7/2) flattered but was finally outgunned in the closing contest at Hereford we did keep up our fine run when Barafundle (2-6/4) took an earlier contest on the same card while our third selection Owen Glendower (evens-5/6) just went down on his debut at Southwell. However we did ‘bag’ 2 from 2 in our back up service when My Shamwari (7/2-2/1) and Recif De Thaix (8/11-4/6) both obliged at Southwell and Hereford respectively.
Jessica Harringtons 141 rated hurdler Give It Time had an unfortunate experience on her chasing bow as she looked to have a Wexford 2m 1f novice chase ‘in the bag’ till toppling at the last after putting in a sound round of leaping. Although the daughter of Kayf Tara could only finish a modest fourth to Whauthink on more demanding ground at Thurles less than a fortnight later she can score at her third attempt over the larger obstacles in the 2m 4f mare novice chase at Fairyhouse at 2-20. The four time hurdle victor has won over this trip at Leopardstown on yielding ground she handles deep ground and the Andrew Leigh ridden 6yo can account for the penalised ex point/chase winner Inistioge (gives 5lbs) who is suited by ground and trip.
Impact Zone only showed reasonable form in bumpers/hurdles during 2007/08 but the 5yo has certainly discovered the winning formula ‘between the flags’ this season where he registered 5 out of 6 on mainly decent ground. Now returning to hurdles the son of Erhaab can now make a winning mark on his third handicap hurdle start for the in form Easterby yard under the useful Ollie Greenall (claims 3lbs) in the 2m 4f hc hurdle at Ayr at 2-25 despite some reservations about the prevailing ground (soft). However he looks to be on a decent mark and he should be capable of accounting the Lucinda Russell trained Bracken Lad who must give 24lbs to the former pointer. Nevertheless the 6yo was far from disgraced in taking second spot in a course and distance novice here back in January on soft but the Peter Buchanan ridden gelding has been disappointing in the main in the interim.
Gordon Elliotts 7yo Hoopy looks to be on a highly tempting mark on just his fourth start over hurdles in the 3m hc hurdle at Fairyhouse at 2-55 off a mark some 31 pounds lower than his chase mark and with the promising 7lb claimer Keith Donoghue on board to boot he must get the vote to land the spoils despite his lack of experience over timber. A winner at Roscommon over 2m 4f on heavy on his hurdle debut in 2007 his subsequent efforts over hurdles were less inspiring however but the Presenting gelding has subsequently scored twice over fences – including a Cheltenham 3m 1f hc on soft and he can ‘bag’ this at the expense of the Dessie Hughes trained Ten Fires who is closely matched with Danderry on running in a Naas 3m maiden hurdle back in March where the former came out on top by two and a half lengths but the latter arguably has the most scope for improvement and was a clear cut winner of a Down Royal 2m 6f maiden hurdle on latest where he had the subsequent dual hc hurdle winner Steviemac (rec 11lbs) some 20 lengths in arrears. Tony Martins chase course winner Lochan Lacha is another to consider as the Ruby Walsh ridden 8yo looks to be on a decent hurdle mark comparable to his chase rating and the dual hc hurdle winner should have little trouble in scoring off a mark of 104 in due course.
Howard Johnson usually enjoys success with his purchases from Ireland and he could have found the ideal winning opportunity with the once raced County Colours in the concluding 2m bumper at Catterick today at 3-20. Formerly with Michael Kelly the son of Lord Of Appeal seemed to run well above expectations when staying on to finish a fair third to a fair sort in former point winner Caduceus in a big field Punchestown bumper some 7 weeks ago at odds of 33/1. He should be capable of making a winning start for his new yard (who are in form) under Denis O’Regan at the expense of facile Sedgefield winner Benny Be Good and the twice raced Chief Bucaneer.
1-25 AYR 2m 4f hc chase
The in form Nicky Richards yard could further add to their win tally with the lightly raced 8yo SKIPPERS BRIG who can land his fourth chase start from 6 starts on the back of a decent third placing in a competitive Bangor 3m 1f hc where a return to this trip (won three times – including over course and distance) should prove ideal.
2-05 FAIRYHOUSE 2m 4f hurdle
A sporting vote goes to the Tom Taaffe trained NINETIETH MINUTE in this Grade 1 contest as the 6yo arguably has the most score for improvement and the Old Vic gelding can prevent Catch Me – returning from chasing - from recording back to back wins in this contest.
ADVICE
BET 5pt win (nap) GIVE IT TIME 2-20 Fairyhouse
BET 2pt win (saver) INISTIOGE 2-20 Fairyhouse
BET 3pt win IMPACT ZONE 2-25 Ayr
BET 2pt win (saver) BRACKEN LAD 2-25 Ayr
BET 3pt win HOOPY 2-55 Fairyhouse
BET 2pt/1pt win (savers) DANDERRY and TEN FIRES 2-55 Fairyhouse
BET 4pt win COUNTY COLOURS 3-20 Catterick
BET 1pt win (savers) BENNY BE GOOD and CHIEF BUCANEER 3-20 Catterick
We are now recording the daily profit and loss of Ireland's Eye to help readers gauge the current form of the service. We will provide the profit / loss on the previous day to a £1 level stake on each selection (eg: a 5 point bet = a £5 stake). In the interests of consistency the profit / loss will be recorded at SP prices, however BETDAQ users can reasonably expect to beat SP in the majority of races.
Monday's Return was: LOSS 6.5 points
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