The Betway ambassador follows up some strong results last weekend by picking out her horses to watch on a good card at Navan on Saturday.
I hope some of you backed some of the selections for the blog last week. It was a good start to the year and long may that continue!
There’s some cracking racing over in England this weekend, particularly Jonbon v Energumene at Ascot. As well as Energumene, Willie Mullins is sending over Kargese for the Mares’ Hurdle. She could be different class and, barring any accidents, should be very tough to beat. There was great racing at Windsor on Friday and another great card there with serious prize money on offer on Sunday. It’s not as exciting over here in Ireland for the next few weekends as we build up to the Dublin Racing Festival, but there’s a good card at Navan on Saturday.
The first race is a watching brief – you could make a case for any of them. They all fall into the ‘could be anything’ category. I’m sure this race will work out, so keep an eye on them in the future. It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw James’s Gate / aimed at the Coral Cup at Cheltenham. He’s got a very lenient mark, and his trainer Martin Brassil knows how to get them spot on the big days.
Kainsbourg / was second to a smart horse of William Durkan’s last time, and you’d like to think he’ll improve for racing, as most of Gordon Elliott’s do. He cost €335,000 from France last year, so they must think something of him. Forty Coats finished second behind James’s Gate last time, so that form could be franked soon enough, which could add to the form of the first race.
I really like the look of No Looking Back / in the Navan Hurdle. It’s a shrewd outfit they operate over at Oliver McKiernan’s, and the fact he was running this horse in some top races last season suggests they think plenty of him. He finished second to Irish Point last year, only beaten a length, and that horse is now rated 160, so No Looking Back’s 132 could look very generous. A drop to handicap company and up in trip could see him run a huge race. He’s the one I’d like to be on.
Sunday’s card at Thurles looks very competitive and I can’t see something that really sticks out to me. The Horse and Groom Chase is the feature on the card and it’s no surprise to see the depth of the race. It always attracts good horses.
I love this time of year for racing, as the excitement starts building for the spring festivals. It’s Trials Day at Cheltenham next weekend, where we’re likely to see Constitution Hill again and then the week after is the Dublin Racing Festival. It’s also a great meeting that Leopardstown put on and I’m looking forward to seeing how the novice hurdlers and chasers get on. It’s fair to say the English have a good hand at the moment, which hasn’t been the case for a while!
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