Stay In The High Grass
This is a very clever piece of placing by trainer, Tom Taaffe. The contest is for horses rated 123 or less at the time of entry and, at that stage, the selection was on 122.
His Gowran victory, however, has seen him move onto 132, so the conditions of the race are very much in his favour.
As well as that, because there are no penalties for winning a handicap, In The High Grass is unpenalised for his Gowran success.
He was impressive on that occasion, jumping for fun to beat fellow 7-2 joint favourite, On The Net, by five and a half lengths.
A progressive six-year-old, Taaffe’s gelding now faces rivals with far more experience, but is a reasonably confident choice to have the edge on them.
Slash And Burn, given time to mature by Charlie Swan, is nap material in the Powerstown Maiden Hurdle.
Lightly-raced, his form is nothing out of the ordinary, but you do get the impression there is plenty to come!
The five-year-old has been rested since finishing three lengths second to Significant at Cork in early January.
Liam Burke’s former winning pointer Step Outside, beaten a short head by Barcardero at Punchestown, is the danger.
The opening Slievenamon Maiden Hurdle is a moderate event, which is probably best left to Brave Right.
His three lengths second to Jack Ingham at Gowran Park last time would be good enough to land this, but it is a trifle disconcerting Brave Right hasn’t been seen since the middle of December.
