Promising Castello Sforza looks set to strike

So much racing to busy ourselves with on St Stephen’s Day, and, at Leopardstown, Castello Sforza gets the nap to step up on his promising hurdling debut.

A classy sort in bumpers, he made a winning start on the racecourse when beating Sunni May in April of last year, and was then thrown straight in at the deep end for his next start, at the 2016 Champion Bumper at Cheltenham. Despite the absence, he ran a superb race to finish fourth, beaten just three lengths behind Ballyandy.

Off another long break, he made his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse and, while his jumping wasn’t up to scratch, he finished a close third behind Runfordave.