Expect better run from back-to-form Boston Bob
My weekend gets underway on Voix Du Reve, in the juvenile hurdle at Fairyhouse, and hopefully it’ll be a winning start.
He came from France with a good reputation and the potential to develop into a Triumph Hurdle horse, having won his last two races there.
I suppose he has to win today to justify a place at Cheltenham but, with four-year-olds, you don’t really know what you have until you bring them to the track.
That said, he brings plenty of experience from his native country, and hopefully will get his career of to a winning start for us.
I ride Townshend in the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle and he, too, is having his first run for us.
He has had two runs over hurdles in France, winning one of them, and looks on a fairish mark, with 131.
He goes okay at home, holds entries in all the novice hurdles at Cheltenham so if he can’t win off this mark, he has no business going there.
Today’s trip and soft ground should suit.
We have three runners in the Bobbyjo Chase and I’ve chosen Boston Bob because his work at home has improved a hell of a lot recently, and if he was near his best he would surely go very close.
On His Own was disappointing last time, but will be better going this way around, while Turban has to finish in the first four to qualify for the Grand National.
It’s a competitive race, and some of the younger horses, Mala Beach and Baie Des Iles, are probably the ones to beat, but I’m expecting an improved effort from Boston Bob and he could go very close.
Vedettariat, who runs in the beginners’ chase, was disappointing on his return but has been going a good bit better at home recently.
He was a decent sort over hurdles, and also won a point to point, but will have to brush up on his jumping if he’s to win here.
Fine Theatre is probably the one we have to beat.
Willie runs Are You Bidding in the bumper. He works okay at home but improved when sent to Thurles for a schooling bumper recently.
That gives hope he can step up again, in which case he should go very close.
I have just two rides at Naas tomorrow, starting with Au Quart De Tour in the novice hurdle. He fell the first day, with the race at his mercy, but won nicely at Gowran Park last time.
He has to improve again to win what is a much better race, and might want a bit further, but he is in very good order at home and should go well. Don’t Touch It looks the one to beat.
He looked a fair horse at Leopardstown last time, and we have to respect his chance.
I’m on Twinlight in the Grade 2 Chase and, while he has struggled under his Grade 1 penalty all year, there was a little more optimism to be taken from his run behind Felix Yonger at Punchestown last time.
Although well beaten, he was still in contention coming away from the second-last, and that’s a lot further than he got in previous outings this season.
If he improves again he should be in the shake-up, but British challenger Simply Ned looks the one we have to beat.
Willie runs Net D’Ecosse in a handicap chase, and I think he will take beating.
He ran in the Feltham at Kempton last time and that proved too much too soon for the Gigginstown-owned gelding.
The drop in trip should suit, 129 is not a bad mark and, in a competitive race worth a nice few quid, he won’t be far away.
I’m going to nap Avenir D’Une Vie, who runs in the bumper. I think I’ve tipped him in each of his three runs to date and he has won only one of them.
But, his last race at Gowran Park, in which he was beaten by New To This Town, was probably better than I gave it credit for at the time.
He has been working well since, and can recoup the losses this time.
Faugheen incident highlights the pitfalls of ante-post betting
The disappointment of Faugheen’s injury is still raw in the memory but this is sport at the highest level and we have to accept these things will happen.
I suppose it’s no different to a soccer player pulling their hamstring, or a rugby player picking up a muscle injury, and it’s just unfortunate that he and Killultagh Vic are the ones from our team that will miss Cheltenham.
It also reiterated the issues of ante-post betting. Punters must really ask whether or not they were getting value in backing these sort of horses – short-priced ones – so far in advance of the Festival.
There may have been some non-runner no-bet concessions on the singles but Faugheen, in particular, I suspect was a cornerstone of many multiples.
I really don’t understand ante-post betting, unless you’re getting very big prices. At these short odds, many of the horses will likely be the same price or even longer on the day.
And then there’s the fact it’s another three weeks before the Festival. So much can still happen between now and then.
Think back to last year’s Rugby World Cup.
If you backed Ireland before the tournament, the one you backed was not the same one beaten in the quarter-final by Argentina – there were an awful lot of injuries.
That may be the unfortunate vagaries of sport, but it highlights the need for punters to get real value when placing an ante-post bet.
