Weekend racing tips: Royal Rendezvous can lead home a Willie Mullins one-two at Gowran Park

Willie Mullins: Looking for a 1-2 today at Gowran Park. Picture: Healy Racing

Four Irish meetings on a busy weekend and the feature of today’s action is the Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park, in which Royal Rendezvous can lead home a Willie Mullins one-two by accounting for last year’s winner, Easy Game.

The two clashed in the Galway Plate and it was Royal Rendezvous who came out on top with a length to spare. On that occasion, he was in front rank early, led from a long way out, and found plenty to see off his stablemate. He was in receipt of 4lbs that day, is 1lb better off today, and can make all the running once more.

Easy Game was an easy winner of this race in 2020 and returns in even better form having followed up that Galway Plate runner-up finish with victory in an effective match race with Ballyoisin at Listowel.

It will also be interesting to see Put The Kettle On back on track.

She is clearly really suited to Cheltenham, where four of her seven wins to date over fences have come, most notably the Arkle and Champion Chase. She steps up to two and a half miles for the first time since being beaten by Robin De Carlow in a Grade 3 novice chase in 2019 and it will be interesting to see how much it suits her. She was a late non-runner in this race last year, with the ground put forward as being unsuitable.

There is Flat racing this afternoon in Killarney, where Happywifehappylife can reverse Galway form with stablemate Truce when they renew rivalry in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies’ & Mares’ Maiden. Both were heavily backed that day, but the selection’s lack of experience showed, and she eventually finished fifth, three places behind the touched-off Truce. With that under her belt, she should be a different proposition and can turn the tables.

There are three Grade 3 races on tomorrow’s card in Tipperary and Galway Hurdle winner Saldier can take the Grade 3 Horse & Jockey Hotel for Willie Mullins.

Always very capable, he had looked a frustrating sort until returning to winning ways in a Flat race at Listowel in June.

He followed that with a fine effort in defeat at Royal Ascot before carrying top weight to victory in the Galway feature. If he remains in the same sort of form, he will take beating.

Jason The Militant is giving 7lbs to all his rivals and that might be enough to stop him, while Felix Desjy hasn’t run over hurdles since falling early in last year’s Galway Hurdle.

The National Hunt action in Killarney looks quite tricky, but Robyndeglory has been found a great opportunity in the opening race while, at the other end of the card, Stealthy Tom, with blinkers on for the first time, should be good enough to beat his rivals in the handicap chase.

GOWRAN PARK (Saturday)

Tommy Lyons

1:00 Iberique De Seuil

1:35 Helisone

2:10 Boghlone Honey

2:45 Kilashee

3:20 Royal Rendezvous (nap)

3:55 Cerberus

4:30 Noble Yeats

5:05 Spades Are Trumps 

Next best

1:00 Loughisle Lady

1:35 Bust Or Bray Dee

2:10 Frazel Express

2:45 Tullybeg

3:20 Easy Game

3:55 Optical Confusion

4:30 Definite Plan

5:05 Golden Spread

KILLARNEY (Saturday)

Tommy Lyons

1:25 Onameridance

2:00 So Fascinating

2:35 Get Noticed

3:10 High Altitude

3:45 Siofra

4:20 Happywifehappylife (nb)

4:55 Crassus

Next best

1:25 Sun King

2:00 San Aer

2:35 Sincerest

3:10 Turbulence

3:45 Powerful Aggie

4:20 Truce

4:55 Ivy Avenue

TIPPERARY (Sunday)

Tommy Lyons

1:00 Annie G

1:30 Saldier (nap)

2:05 Pythion

2:40 She’stherightone

3:15 Time And Times

3:45 Busselton (nb)

4:20 Silver Star

4:55 Raynedanse

Next best

1:00 The Names Jock

1:30 Jason The Militant

2:05 Hallowed Star

2:40 Game Catch

3:15 Glenquin Castle

3:45 Gin On Lime

4:20 She Tops The Lot

4:55 Downtown Queen

KILLARNEY (Sunday)

Tommy Lyons

1:10 Robyndeglory

1:45 More Than A Prince

2:20 Sit Down Lucy

2:55 Oskar High

3:30 Buddy Rich

4:05 Ricky Langford

4:40 Seanbhothar

5:15 Stealthy Tom

Next best

1:10 Derrinlaur Bill

1:45 General Clermont

2:20 Fangio De Vassy

2:55 Farrawaybay

3:30 West Cork Wildway

4:05 Trees Valley

4:40 Wa Wa

5:15 Lessofdnegativity