Weld to strike at the double
Set In Motion, a son of Grand Lodge, looks sure to handle the testing condtions and gets the nap in the opening Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden.
Certainly, he performed very solidly at Tipperary a week ago. On a surface officially soft, Set In Motion tried to make all and only gave best to a promising newcomer of John Oxx’s, Waldblume, close home, going down by a neck.
The selection drops down almost two furlongs in trip now, but that shouldn’t be a major problem on heavy ground.
Tasman, with Ruby Walsh aboard, is the one to beat in the John and Terry Moriarty Memorial Maiden Hurdle.
He’s run two reasonable races on the flat of late, at Tramore and Galway, and his only outing over flights, at Navan in March, saw him finish a head second to the useful Definate Spectacle.
Feature event is the Smithwicks’ Beer Handicap Hurdle and if Kilbeggan Lad, Walsh also rides, strips fit, well and fancied then he should run a big race.
Michael Hourigan’s six-year-old hasn’t been seen since promoted to first spot following a stewards’ inquiry, he finished three lengths runner-up behind Macs Joy, at Leopardstown in February.
That effort is put in perspective when you consider Macs Joy went on to take a valuable event at Fairyhouse and then the Swinton Handicap Hurdle at Haydock.
The winners’ Bumper is the best event of its type run for a long time and the market, to say the least of it, should prove lively.
The vote goes to Tony Mullins’ L’Antartique, who revelled in the dreadful ground when making an impressive debut at Tralee.
