Red House Hill looks worth the wait in finale
Bondi Beach who lost, then won, then lost the English Leger again, is the star turn and will be hard to beat if able to returning anywhere near his peak.
The Aidan O’Brien team has started the season in good form and that is a clear positive, but it will be no surprise if he needs the run.
He has to be the choice on form, but couldn’t be a confident bet unless the market spoke most favourably towards him.
Radanpour could be the best alternative, as he can confidently be expected to take a significant step forward from his seasonal debut, when behind Toe The Line.
The nap goes to Red House Hill, who can take the finale for Charles Byrnes and Pat Smullen.
The son of Ad Valorem is lightly raced for a six-year-old, but showed plenty when third behind Oiche Mhaith Boy over course and distance a little more than a fortnight ago.
The fact he coped so well with the utterly demanding conditions that day bodes well for today, and he should be better for the run.
The booking of Smullen looks significant, and he is preferred to Never Again, who has been running well over hurdles and remains capable on the level.
At Gowran Park tomorrow the Dermot Weld-trained Ebidiyn can get his career firmly back on track after finishing off with a somewhat flat performance on the latter of his two outings last term.
Although the margin of victory on his debut was small, he filled the eye when winning at Galway in September, and was heavily backed to follow up in a listed raced at Leopardstown the following month.
He weakened late into fifth place behind Moonlight Magic, which wasn’t in keeping with the promise of his debut.
However, he still holds engagements in the Epsom and Irish Derbys, and if he’s to entertain taking up either he’ll have to win today.
