Our Cheat Sheet for today is available to download below. We have plenty of horses with a high star rating due to go to post and I would expect to see plenty of winners. I have also included my reviews for some of our Tracker Horses running today.
TRACKER HORSES
12:45 Cork – 2m1f Bar One Racing Maiden Hurdle (4yo+)
We have one Basic Tracker horses in this contest.
ARTIC BRESIL (5/2) – This horse was purchased out of a PTP for big money by Henry and I think it is safe to say that they’re taken things slowly with him, as this will be his first run in 400 days. Usually, I am not overly interested in horses that failed to win one of their PTP’s but the form of this lads second place finish at Tattersalls Farm is working out well. The winner hasn’t run since, but the 3rd was MASTER CHEWY, the 4th was AN MHI, and even the fifth horse home (RECORD HIGH) was able to win a Bumper in the UK. Henry’s horse is arguable the best bred of the bunch and it will be fascinating to see how he takes to Hurdles today. Clearly, he will need to be above average to beat MECUREY though who was a horse I had Champion Bumper ambitions for at one-point last year. A poor run at Limerick put an end to that though and we haven’t seen him since. We all know that Willie’s Maidens deserve considerable respect at this time of year, but this Gelding has been very easy to back overnight. I was very tempted to take a chance with ARTIC BRESIL because of that but the form of Henry’s yard still concerns me and he’s probably short enough in the betting at 5/2.
Advised Bet: N/A
Bet Confidence: N/A
1:15 Cork – 3m Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle (Grade 3) (4yo+)
We have one Basic Tracker horse in this contest.
MONBEG PARK (LRC) - This horse certainly took a step forward for his debut and ended up winning a shade cosily. I am not sure that he’s top class, but he has something about him, and I love the way he goes about his work. He will remain in my basic tracker for now.
MONBEG PARK (2/1) – I’ve been singing this horse’s praises for a while now and today he gets a shot at Graded company. It is not going to be easy though with the likes of LETSBECLEARABOUTIT and HIDDENVALLEY LAKE in opposition. However, he is stepping up to 3m today and I think that could bring out further progression. He jumps well, he travels powerfully and on balance, I think he’s more than capable of winning a race such as this. This race will also give us a few collateral form hints as well regarding some of my Shortlist horses so it will be a fascinating watch.
Advised Bet: MONBEG PARK (2/1) - WIN
Bet Confidence: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
1:45 Cork – 2m½f O'Flynn Group Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase (Grade 2) (4yo+)
We have two Basic Tracker runners in this contest.
DINOBLUE (11/8) – This horse was added to my Basic Tracker after her last run. Prior to that race the dogs had been barking about what she’d been doing at home and they proved to be correct as she beat a depleted field with consummate ease. Whilst she was fully entitled to win that race, I was impressed by her professionalism as it was not something I’d really seen from her over Hurdles. She’s going need all that professionalism and more today though, as IMPERVIOUS is precocious, professional, and battled hardened. I would personally still give DINOBLUE a slight edge, as she seemingly has a little more tactical speed and Willie has won this race 5 times in the last 7 years.
IMPERVIOUS (6/4) – This Mare went from strength-to-strength last season and is a real credit to her connections. She arguably improved on her Hurdles form when winning on debut over Fences and like her market rival, she was very clean and professional throughout. Realistically, on all known form, this is a match race between the top two and its effectively a coin toss but for the reasons mentioned above, my slight preference is for Willie’s Mare.
Advised Bet: DINO BLUE (11/8) – WIN
Bet Confidence: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2:20 Cork – 2m½f Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase (Grade 2) (5yo+)
We have one Cheltenham Shortlist horse in this race.
ENERGUMENE - Proved me wrong when beating a below par Shishkin at Cheltenham. It is impossible to fault his record and if Shishkin can’t bounce back, I’d expect this horse to win just about everything in his division this season.
ENERGUMENE (1/7) – Today we get to witness the return of one of the most explosive horses in training. He’s not the easiest to train by all accounts and he’s extremely headstrong but there is no doubting his considerable talents. The two-mile Chase division looks weak currently and with this horse already sitting at 2/1 for the Champion Chase, he probably has that race at his mercy providing he can make it to the festival in one piece. Today’s is the first step in the process and as his odds suggest, he should be winning this contest comfortably and I won’t be at all surprised if we see him win this by a very wide margin. If by some miracle he were to flop, then I would expect to see the bookies cut EDWARDSTONE for the CC, so it may be worth taking the 8/1 EW about that horse in advance because whatever happens with ENERGUMENE today, it should be an EW bet to nothing providing he runs at the Festival.
Advised Bet: N/A
Bet Confidence: N/A
