Bosses Cousin can make winning start to jumping career
By Pat Keane
Saturday, February 04, 2012
THE Bosses Cousin can get the weekend off to the ideal start by landing the opening Corporate Hospitality Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse today, should the meeting pass an 8am inspection.
The seven-year-old has clearly had problems in the past and will only be having a fourth outing now. But he stripped in good shape to take a modest Leopardstown bumper at Christmas and this represents a gentle introduction to jumping.
Willie Mullins trains The Bosses Cousin and his Maggie Connolly is a hopeful choice in the Racegoers’ Package €25 Hurdle.
She departed at the fourth in the race won by Tillahow at Limerick at Christmas, but had some useful form to her credit last season and gets the nod in a contest in which there are literally question marks against all of the main contestants.
Mouse Morris’ Rathlin should prove hard to beat in the Follow Us On Facebook Novice Chase.
His first two efforts over fences were no more than satisfactory, but looked an entirely different proposition last time when bolting in on this track.
Punchestown tomorrow should house a healthy attendance to see Sizing Europe and Biz Zeb taking each other on in the Grade 2 boylesports.com Tied Cottage Chase.
Sizing Europe won last year’s two-mile Champion chase at Cheltenham and Big Zeb did the business the previous year, so this is going to be most informative.
Big Zeb is arguably better equipped to handle the likely testing conditions, but preference is for Sizing Europe.
Henry de Bromhead’s charge appears to be in terrific shape right now, producing a powerful display at Sandown in early December when taking the Tingle Creek by eight lengths from Kauto Stone.
Trifolium, on his second to So Young at Navan, is the form horse in the Grade 2 Racing UK Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle.
The vote, however, goes to the progressive Joxer, who beat Allure Of Illusion, hampered four from home, by a length at Punchestown.
Joxer’s previous form is tied in with smart horses such as Midnight Game and Moscow Mannon and he might well provide the answer to a difficult puzzle.
The aforementioned Allure Of Illusion can, hopefully, give Joxer a minor boost by landing the Eadestowen GAA And Parish Fair Maiden Hurdle.
Colm Murphy’s Mister Hotelier, beaten three parts of a length by favourite, Too Scops, at Fairyhouse, is the fancy in the AIRO Bumper.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, February 04, 2012
