Chasing Cars worth the wait
Chasing Cars gets the nap to land the Bumper. The five-year-old is highly rated in a yard full of talent and has been waiting on an ease in the ground to make his seasonal debut.
His best effort so far was at Leopardstown last Christmas, when a very promising third behind Townabrack and Whatuthink.
Given plenty of time to mature, he wasn’t seen again until the Punchestown Festival in April. That race was won by Meadow Vale, but Chasing Cars appeared to be full of running, prior to slipping up turning in when tracking the leaders.
Harrington’s Taravada, successful in two bumpers, is fancied to make a winning debut over jumps in the Narraghmore Maiden Hurdle.
He has reportedly schooled really well and was especially impressive when taking a winners’ race on his second outing at Listowel.
Leading Run, a smashing bumper horse, never translated that ability to jumps last season, so it will be interesting to see how he goes in the Profile Systems Holdings Hurdle.
A safer proposition is Captain Cee Bee, who seemed much more straightforward when scoring at the first time of asking over flights at Punchestown.
Cork tomorrow houses a superb programme and deserves to attract a bumper attendance. Decoy Daddy is the nap choice in the Mitchelstown Hurdle.
He made a good start over hurdles, grabbed late and beaten a neck by O’Hana at Galway, and should have the legs on a smart opponent in Venalmar.
Third in that Galway race was Oliver McKiernan’s Whatuthink and he gets the nod in the www.corkracecourse.ie Maiden Hurdle.
Stepping up another half mile in trip is a big plus and he is preferred to Sizing Africa, who was among the best bumper horses in the country last season.
Footy Facts, one of the best young horses in the country, who had his campaign curtailed by injury last season, returns in the Blackwater Handicap Hurdle.
It would be logical to conclude he will be all the better for the outing and the nod falls on the progressive Head Waiter, who will relish this two and a half miles and any easing in the surface.
Feature at Punchestown tomorrow is a cracking renewal of the Grade 1 Maplewood Developments Hurdle and the vote here goes to Macs Joy.
The eight-year-old never really got going last season, forced to miss Cheltenham, but, with the possible exception of Sublimity, could be just about the leading hurdler in Ireland at the moment.
