On His Own can strike Gold this time
The ten-year-old is currently in the form of his life and will arrive on the back of a tremendous effort in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He was due to be partnered by Walsh on that occasion, but fate intervened, with the pilot missing the rest of the meeting after taking a crashing fall off Abbyssial in the opening Triumph Hurdle.
David Casey then stepped in and On His Own proceeded to produce a career-best effort, finishing a short head second behind Lord Windermere.
Indeed, the selection was carried across the track by the winner and it would have been no surprise had he been awarded the race in the stewards’ room.
Add in the fact that On His Own is actually more effective travelling right-handed and, unless Cheltenham has left its mark, he should go close, at worst.
Walsh rides Boston Bob, who came back to something approaching his best when beating Rolling Aces at Aintree. That form, however, has a less than solid appearance.
The nap vote falls on Dermot Weld’s Silver Concorde in the Attheraces.com Champion Bumper.
His display when winning the Cheltenham equivalent in March was a revelation, as he quickened in style in the closing stages to beat Shaneshill by a length and half.
Silver Concorde will revel in the surface and there seems no good reason to think his potentially high-class rivals can reverse placings.
Very Wood, so impressive when taking the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, is the obvious one in the Irish Daily Mirror Novice Hurdle.
He will be hard to beat, but a chance is taken with Lots Of Memories, who, having very much lost his way, got right back on track with an easy success in a competitive handicap at Fairyhouse ten days ago.
A lot of use was made of Le Vent d’Antan when eventually slammed to the tune of ten lengths by Lieutenant Colonel at Fairyhouse and more conservative tactics might reap a dividend in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel Hurdle.
