Rivage D’Or can make winning start over fences
Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud has enjoyed success with promising novice chasers First Lieutenant (at Tipperary on Sunday) and Westmeath (Gowran Park on Saturday) and the Dessie Hughes trained Rivage D’Or, successful only once over hurdles, looks an interesting prospect as a staying novice chaser, capable of landing today’s prize on his seasonal debut.
Placed no less than ten times over hurdles, the French-bred six-year-old finally opened his account when beating stable-companion Raz De Maree over three miles at Naas in February.
He ended last season by finishing second — off a mark of 130 — to Kerb Appeal in a competitive, three-mile handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
Rivage D’Or has always looked a chaser-in-the-making and is expected to prove superior to fellow fencing debutant Seafield and Forjoetheplumber, which unseated his rider when a close second to Lucky William at Listowel recently.
Like Rivage D’Or, the Pat Flynn trained Worldly Wise has run up a sequence of placed efforts over hurdles and his turn might come in today’s Tipperary Supporters Club Maiden Hurdle.
Runner-up to Black Benny at Listowel last time, Worldly Wise’s placed from also includes seconds to Galway Hurdle victor Moon Dice and Sunday’s Grade 3 scorer Tavern Times.
Rated 116, Flynn’s charge is overdue a change of luck and might put his fitness edge to good use against Jimmy Mangan’s hurdling debutant Castle Wings.
A reproduction of his second to the useful but long-absent Frawley at Navan recently should be enough to see the Tom Hogan-trained Flycorn open his hurdling account in the first division of the Visit Tippoerary Maiden Hurdle.
The Willie Mullins trained Local Celebrity, runner-up in each of his three career starts, might go one better in the bumper.
