Fort Defiance laid out for Bumper
As you know, I broke my arm in three places when taking a crashing fall off Celestial Halo at Aintree on April 10 and was ruled out of Galway, after visiting orthopaedic surgeon, Bill Quinlan, in Dublin last Monday.
I could have pushed it and ridden at Galway, but my arm is just not perfect yet and needs more time, probably three weeks or so.
Bill said that if I damaged it again then I would be looking at the New Year before making my return.
Now as disappointed and all as I am to be missing Galway, the idea of being injured for the start of the winter season is a far worse thought.
Listen, I could break my leg the first day back, I know that, but to return at Ballybrit would just have been plain stupidity.
I have been coping reasonably well with my absence, although the Punchestown Festival was very difficult.
That was undoubtedly the worst week, watching Willie Mullins’ horses simply flying and winning Grade 1 after Grade 1.
I’ve filled in a lot of the time writing an autobiography. It’s finished now and I’m happy enough with the end product. It will be out in October, heading for the Christmas market.
I also took two weeks in the sun in Portugal with my wife, Gillian, and baby daughter, Isabelle, who will soon be ten months old.
I really enjoyed Portugal. The little one is crawling and wrecking everything, so she kept us flat to the boards.
We also had television in the house and with access to ATR and the World Cup on as well, boredom was never an option.
Next week, I will work at Galway on Wednesday and Thursday for RTE, so people will have to put up with me giving out again!
Right then, can I find you a couple of winners? Let’s start with the biggie, the Plate on Wednesday.
This looks a really good race, with some decent horses involved, and I think the bottom weights will struggle.
Majestic Concorde has been all the rage in the ante-post market and that’s hardly a surprise, trained by the maestro himself, Dermot Weld.
I rode him to win in a hack canter at Sligo and he’s a great jumper. He ran a cracker on the flat at Chester last time, but my one worry would be soft ground.
I feel if it was very soft, he would be vulnerable and that’s a remark I would apply as well to Willie’s Themooonandsixpence.
He’s only had two runs over fences, but is also a terrific jumper. He can go on yielding, but is just better on good ground.
Cuan Na Grai is definitely worth a shot at the race, but my instinct tells me he won’t quite stay.
Paul Nicholls intends bringing over Five Dream and do not underestimate him. The softer the surface the better, because he does tend to be a careful jumper and the slower they go the more he will be able to organise himself.
There is little or no talk about Dermot Weld’s other horse, Bobs Pride, but to me he is the complete dark one of the race. I won on him at this meeting last year, he jumps like a stag and has a touch of class.
If the ground rides on the good side then I think either Majestic Concorde or Themoonandsixpence will win.
In testing conditions, I’d be with Five Dream and won’t fall off the chair if Bobs Pride runs out of his skin.
I fancy two horses on Monday, Fingal Rock in the novice hurdle and Fort Defiance in the Bumper.
Fingal Rock adores the mud and ran a really nice Galway trial, on fast ground, behind Jerry’s Agent at Bellewstown.
Fort Defiance could be a D K special. He hasn’t run since finishing second to Double Double, form which has been well advertised, at Naas in March and has obviously been laid out for this.
I like the look of D K’S Gentleman Jeff in a maiden hurdle on Tuesday. He has a rating of 110 and that should be good enough to win any maiden at this time of year.
I know he hasn’t run over flights since finishing second to Noel Meade’s Kandari at Fairyhouse in January of last year, but isn’t heading west for the fresh air!
I want to be with Natal in the two mile and six chase that day. He won the race twelve months ago and Jimmy Lambe’s horses are in great shape.
I’ll have three against the field in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday - Deutschland, Gimli’s Rock and Fosters Cross.
Deutschland was second a year ago to Bahrain Storm, when it all happened far too fast for him, and he could set the record straight on soft ground.
I love relatively unexposed four year-olds in this race and Gimli’s Rock falls into that catogory, while Fosters Cross has been mixing it with some of the best novices around over fences.
That’s it until later in the season when, hopefully, I’ll be back in full flow and banging in the odd winner or two!
