Orangey Red can kick-off season with success in Limerick
Trained by Dermot Weld, she wasn’t beaten far in any of her four outings last term, and earned a mark of 81 for her endeavours.
She finished the season running Theodorico close in a handicap at Leopardstown, and that level of form should be more than good enough to earn her a breakthrough here.
The main danger may come from debutant No Woman No Kry, who represents respected connections.
The booking of Pat Smullen for Deor looks significant and the consistent handicapper can earn the first victory of his career by taking the Coral.ie Handicap for trainer John Kiely.
Proven to handle a variety of conditions, and over the 11-furlong trip, this looks easier than most of the tasks he faced last season, and with Smullen in the plate for the first time he can prove too strong for Lady Giselle.
Dragon Khan can take the opener for Christy Roche and jockey Killian Leonard.
The seven-year-old was kept busy over hurdles through the winter and returned to the flat with a decent effort in a competitive handicap at Cork less than a fortnight ago.
While today’s conditions will be similarly testing, it looks a more straight-forward assignment, and he can make the most of the featherweight he has to carry, which is just 7-11 when Leonard’s claim is taken into account.
