Out Now worth risking
The hopeful nap vote falls on the Edward O’Grady trained Out Now in the Demense Maiden hurdle over two and a half miles.
He made his seasonal debut at Limerick at Christmas, the trip was two miles and five, and looked a sure-fire winner in waiting following his performance that day.
Out Now was beaten a head in a driving finish by Golden Sunbird, with the third horse a further 11 lengths behind.
The form is even better now in the light of Golden Sunbird’s success in a competitive handicap at Leopardstown last Saturday.
The selection then started a heavily-backed favourite at Navan next time, in a 30-runner affair, and travelled like a dream for most of the trip.
He cut out quickly in the straight, however, eventually finishing a well beaten 13th behind Raz De Maree.
Whether he didn’t stay the two miles and seven or simply had an off-day isn’t clear. But, in a modest contest, Out Now is worth risking to leave that below-par effort behind.
The Powerstown Chase is best left to Paul Nolan’s See U Bob, whose last couple of outings have come over flights.
He is the highest rated in this race and has two decent efforts to his name over fences which entitle him to preference.
At Leopardstown in February See U Bob was a creditable second behind the smart, but ill-fated, Citizen Vic and prior to that beat Kempes at Thurles.
