Thursday, May 13, 2010
THERE are times when you really wonder what the race-planners are at in this country?
Gowran Park this evening houses no less than four dreadful handicaps, offering punters absolutely no incentive to make the effort to go racing.
An Aidan O’Brien first and last race double with Petronius Maximus and Rain Forest will, hopefully, see us make some profit.
Lightly-raced Rain Forest is the nap choice in the Rooftop Restaurant At Gowran Park Race over a mile and a half.
He hinted at possessing ability on his only outing as a juvenile and made no mistake at the first time of asking this season at Navan.
The Sadler’s Wells colt went off a somewhat uneasy 13-8 favourite, but battled on doggedly to beat Dermot Weld’s newcomer, Minsky Mine, by two and a half lengths.
Rain Forest stayed on strongly up the Navan hill, indicating that the extra two furlongs he tackles now will work in his favour.
Once-raced Petronius Maximus should prove hard enough to beat in the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden.
O’Brien started him off over five furlongs at Naas, where he finished a well beaten third behind Jim Bolger’s impressive first-timer, Head Space and Lightening Thief.
This seven furlongs should be far more suitable and the subsequent Cork success of Lightening Thief gave the Naas form a little boost.
The Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden looks a woeful contest, which may go to Bolger’s Majestic Dancer, even if she was a bit disappointing when only third to Dance Hall Girl and Big Bad Billy Bob at Limerick.
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