Royal County can star in Kerry National
The selection has to overcome an absence of 147 days, but is certain to strip fit and fancied and appears to have been laid out especially for this.
Formerly a useful enough hurdler, he got off the mark over fences in a beginners chase at Fairyhouse back in April.
The eight-year-old then went off a nicely backed favourite to land a competitive handicap at the Punchestown Festival.
He didn't disappoint, sweeping through late in the hands of his rider today, Robbie Colgan, to beat Carrigeen Kalmia by three parts of a length.
The great Ansar tops the wights, but surely has far to much to do off 11-10. Ballyagran ran the race of his life when second to Sir Frederick in the Galway Plate, but a rise of 6lbs for that is hardly a help.
Ballycullen Boy is an up-and-coming young horse, but a lack of experience in the hustle and bustle of handicaps sways one away from him.
Emotional Article is hugely progressive and has to be on the short-list, but Royal County Star will very much do for me.
If the handicapper is right then Cool Touch is the proverbial good thing in the opening Ladbrokes' Conditions Race. He meets main rival, Westlake, on terms 12lbs better than in a handicap. But Cool Touch has been struggling for a bit of form of late and Westlake is readily preferred.
Admittedly, the selection is not straightforward, but has bundles of talent and certainly seemed to benefit from the fitting of blinkers for the first time when producing a smooth performance in a moderate race at Sligo last time.
Galilean is the horse to beat in the Schering Plough Animal Healh Veterinary Maiden Hurdle. On the face of it, it was disappointing he couldn't cope with 33-1 shot Compton Court at Kilbeggan. But Compton Court put that in perspective when scoring again, in what looked a better race, at Roscommon.
