Tommy Lyons: Dolcita can deliver with stiff finish in her favour

Henry De Bromhead’s horses have been running superbly all week and his Festival can get even better as A Plus Tard will be very hard to beat in the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase, writes Tommy Lyons

Thu, 12 Mar, 2020 - 06:00

Tommy Lyons

Henry De Bromhead’s horses have been running superbly all week and his Festival can get even better as A Plus Tard will be very hard to beat in the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase, writes Tommy lyons

The six-year-old made light of the opposition when winning the novice handicap chase at this meeting last year and has since made the step up to life at the top level.

He probably didn’t see out the trip and wasn’t suited by the orientation of the course when well beaten at the Punchestown Festival and can easily be forgiven his defeat to the race fit Ballyoisin on his seasonal debut, in Navan.

He stepped up quite a bit on that form when winning a Grade 1 over two miles and a furlong at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and hasn’t been seen since.

That isn’t a major concern as De Bromhead won the Arkle with a mare, Put The Kettle On, who hadn’t run in almost four months.

A Plus Tard has no concerns with regard to the conditions and can follow up last year’s success at the meeting by proving too good for Min and for last year’s winner of this race, Frodon.

In Minella Melody, De Bromhead also has the favourite for the Grade 2 Daylesford Mares’ Novice Hurdle, but she may have to settle for a minor role behind Dolcita.

The selection is one of four runners in the race for Willie Mullins, who is bidding to maintain his grip on the race, having won all four previous runnings.

She made her debut for Mullins in a maiden at Tramore and duly justified odds-on favouritism with the minimum of fuss. She then stepped up to Grade 3 company and finished third behind two of today’s rivals, Minella Melody and Colreevy.

She has three lengths to make up on the winner but gave the impression she would improve significantly for that outing and would also appreciate the stiff finish this track provides. She is preferred to Minella Melody and Ard Abhainn.

Paisley Park is a deserving favourite to complete back-to-back successes in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.

Emma Lavelle’s horse has won his last seven outings, his last defeat being in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at this meeting in 2018, a race in which he finished last. He tends to hit a flat spot in his races, which will give hope to his rivals, but he is very strong up this hill and will take holding.

It’s really difficult to know just how good Emitom might be but he certainly warrants plenty of respect. Warren Greatrex gelding won both outings in bumpers and followed up by winning his first three over hurdles.

He tasted defeat for the first time when runner-up to Champ in a Grade 1 at the 2019 Aintree festival and got back to winning ways last time after running below form on his return to action in January.

Unfortunately, he jumped poorly on that previous visit here and thus we didn’t get to learn an awful lot about his suitability to the venue. He needs to jump much better to play a leading role, but he remains open to improvement and it will be no surprise if he puts it up to the favourite.

The Grade 1 Marsh Novices’ Chase looks wide open and thus it is worth taking a chance on Tornado Flyer to run a big race at an equally big price.

Willie Mullins’ runner hasn’t been the most reliable of horses in his short career to date but has plenty of ability, as he showed when finishing third in the Champion Bumper at the 2018 Festival and when winning the Punchestown equivalent on his next outing.

He has a little to find with stablemate Faugheen on recent form but has scope for improvement and is worth a small interest at odds above 20-1.

Faugheen would be the most popular winner of the race but this is a huge ask for a 12-year-old. Samcro may not have lived up to his lofty reputation as a young horse but vibes have been strong about his recent work and it will be fascinating to see how much he finds when off the bridle.

On his novice hurdling form, he would have little to fear from any of these, bar former Champion Hurdler Faugheen.

Rapper is an interesting runner in the Pertemps Network Final and, at around 25-1, is worth an interest. Runner-up to Skandiburg at this track in January, he now has the assistance of Richard Johnson, taking over from a 3lb claimer, and he appeals as one with more improvement in him.

He hasn’t run since New Year’s Day, which is a good thing, and his trainer, Henry Daly, is more than capable of having one ready for this meeting. He is just preferred to Welsh Saint, who won with a degree of authority last time and is just 4lbs higher now.