Irish racing expert Tony Keenan is back to mark your card ahead of the high-class action from Cork this afternoon.
This year’s Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase (Cork, 2:15) is more competitive than it has been in years, the last four winners all sent off 1/3 or shorter, though I am not sure it makes much or indeed any appeal for a bet. We get six Willie Mullins-trained runners and guessing at their fitness, and in some cases their ability after time of the track, is difficult.
The other Grade 2 two mile chase, the Coolmore NH Sires Order Of St George Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase at 1:40 is of more interest. This race often goes to the best mare, regardless of whether they were pure two milers or not, with recent winners including Impervious and Mount Ida, going back to the likes of Shattered Love and Vroum Vroum Mag.
Nara and Zenta are two that look suited by the minimum trip but perhaps the more interesting ones are those with form over further. Only By Night looks the most likely winner after an impressive chase debut at Tipperary where she beat geldings, jumping well and pulling away late having briefly been niggled along at the top of the straight, recording a decent Timeform timefigure in the process.
At the current prices, however, A LAW OF HER OWN, might be worth a small play. Despite her flat pedigree, she has taken well to fences and is dropping back to confined company, having raced against geldings on her first two chase starts and open mares last time.
The form of her first run when third at Galway worked out well, the runner-up and fourth winning Graded races subsequently, while she got black type herself last time in the T.A. Morris at Clonmel over two miles five furlongs, travelling and jumping like a mare that would be suited by dropping down in trip, leading to the second last but tiring late.
She enjoys decent ground though handles an ease and despite the storm over the last few days, the going (yielding, yielding to soft in places on the chase track with a dry forecast) is not as bad as might be expected and she looks overpriced.
The Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle (1:05) is a race left over from the summer rather than a winter one and perhaps Churchroad Prince, impressive in winning at Ballinrobe in May from that improved subsequently, is the one to be with. He seems a better hurdler than bumper horse and his trainer maintains a high strikerate from few runners.
In the maidens that open the card, Lakota Blue appears solid in the first while Sky Lord might be the way to go in the second. He stepped up on his initial effort after moving yards in the middle of last season to chase home a decent type in a Fairyhouse bumper in February, ridden with restraint with the likely aim of settling him after he was too keen first time out, but finished up getting further back than ideal before finishing well.
Buck Rogers made some appeal in the Bar One Racing “100% Acca Boost On Self Service Terminals” Handicap Hurdle at 2:50 after showing that some of his old ability remained after a long absence at Wexford in October, doing best of those held up and finishing well despite making mistakes at the last two hurdles and not getting a hard time.
He would have preferred slower ground, however, and might lack the pace for this trip as a result.
Preview posted at 0850 GMT on 08/12/24
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