Hired Hand can get the job done
Reasonably progressive, the five-year-old showed he was in good shape when scoring over flights at Roscommon eight days ago.
Heavily supported in the market, Hired Hand cruised clear from the final flight to win with plenty in hand.
Prior to that he was a creditable fifth behind Secretsubstitute over an inadequate ten furlongs, also at Roscommon, and should now be ready to strike on the flat.
Handicaps by their very nature tend to be seriously competitive, but it is difficult to oppose Uncle Taffy in the Mulranny Park Hotel Handicap Hurdle.
He is in tremendous form right now, completing a hat-trick of successes at Gowran Park on Sunday.
Partnered by Ruby Walsh, Uncle Taffy hardly broke sweat and never came off the bridle when scoring by an unflattering seven lengths.
The Ashkalani gelding runs now under a mandatory 6lbs penalty, but goes up by a whopping 18lbs in the future.
This is a contest confined to amateur riders and Derek O’Connor is surely the perfect replacement for Walsh.
John Oxx’s once-raced Dawariya is the choice in the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Fillies Maiden. She wasn’t knocked about on her debut when third to Claoimh Solas and Catch The Eye at Naas and can only improve for the outing.
The Purcell Construction Maiden Hurdle is probably best left to Ted Walsh’s Devil’s Elbow, who won a bumper at Downpatrick by five lengths.
Seaside Shuffle, who went up 10lbs for slamming South Wing by four lengths at Wexford earlier in the month, is the one to beat in the first division of the Mask Pavilion Handicap Hurdle.
