Heart Wood can honour memory of Down Royal legend Envoi Allen in style
FESTIVAL FEVER: Heart Wood wins the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last March. Picture: Healy Racing
The Henry de Bromhead-trained Heart Wood can run out a fitting winner of the BetVictor, Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.
A year on from Envoi Allen winning the first Grade One of the season for a record third time, Heart Wood can honour the memory of his former stablemate who sadly died after collapsing following his final career start in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last March by landing the spoils.
Heart Wood has already followed in Envoi Allen’s hoofprints once this year, producing a career-best effort to win the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in fine style.
He wasn’t as good at Aintree when third in the Melling Chase on his final start of the season but that laboured run was understandable given how much he put into his Cheltenham success.
His tendency to go well fresh is a further positive and a bold bid seems certain.
Banbridge was no match for Heart Wood when a distant third in the Ryanair Chase but he might prove his biggest danger over this longer trip.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained 10-year-old is a serious operator on his day, as proven by his 2024 King George victory, a big-race triumph he came within a nose of repeating at Kempton last Christmas.
A recent successful Flat debut at Gowran should have him spot-on for this assignment and he ought to go close but Heart Wood is preferred.
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De Bromhead should also win the race that follows the main event, the Grade Two Racing Post Chase, courtesy of the exciting Koktail Divin.
The marathon test that is the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase proved beyond the six-year-old at Cheltenham but he bounced back when dropped in trip in an Aintree Grade One on his final start of the season.
This looks the perfect starting point for the new campaign and he can take this en route to better things.
Ben Hur can provide Noel Meade with his 3,000th career success by winning the Kildress Plumbing Handicap Hurdle.
A dual-purpose horse, Ben Hur has run with credit on all three starts this year, finishing third on the Flat at the Galway festival at the end of July before winning at Leopardstown on the level a month later.
He maintained his good form when runner-up to Game Point back over hurdles in a listed contest at Listowel last month.
Should he run to the level he has consistently run this year, he can give his decorated trainer a landmark success.
The jumps focus turns to Cork on Sunday where the Cork Grand National is one of seven races on the Paddy Power-sponsored card.
And, coming just days after connections confirmed the retirement of 2024 Champion Hurdle hero State Man, Fou De Toi would be a popular winner of the marathon contest.
An eight-length winner at Kilbeggan in September, Fou De Toi was an even more emphatic victor at Gowran Park last time out and the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old can defy his youth to complete the hat-trick here.
In terms of prizemoney, the Grade Three Paddy Power Betting Shops Irish EBF Novice Chase is the Mallow feature and the Mullins-trained Love Me Tender, the French version as opposed to the German-bred one of the same name, can get the better of the hat-trick seeking Frankie John.
Mullins can also have the last word on the final race day of the 2026 Flat season where Thread Of Gold can give Billy Lee victory in the listed QuinnBet Finale Stakes at the Curragh on the day the Limerick man is deservedly crowned champion jockey for the first time.
The Group 3 Loughbrown Stakes, the feature contest on the eight-race card, was won last year by Chally Chute and the Ross O’Sullivan-trained eight-year-old may be able to repeat the feat.
1.00 Kenough
1.30 Young Rebel
2.05 Ben Hur (NB)
2.38 Dinoland
3.15 Heart Wood (Nap)
3.50 Koktail Divin
4.20 Uncle Pad
1.00 Cite Florale
1.30 Skerry Hill
2.05 Mino Des Mottes
2.38 Ladies Well
3.15 Banbridge
3.50 Jacob's Ladder
4.20 Bravemans Call
12.17 Choctaw Nation
12.52 Stag Night
1.27 Unique Journey
2.02 Spacebound
2.37 Chally Chute
3.12 Hellorhighwater
3.47 Joe Cool
4.20 Thread Of Gold (NB)
12.17 Book Of Kells
12.52 Gerrit's Gem
1.27 Hazdann
2.02 San Aer
2.37 Abbotsford
3.12 Majestic King
3.47 Purple Bandit
4.20 Together Now
12.30 Marco Du Seuil
1.05 Lennon Grove
1.40 In For The Night
2.15 Roc Dino
2.50 Love Me Tender
3.25 Fou De Toi (Nap)
4.00 Nukie's Artic
12.30 Mailloche
1.05 Cornelienne
1.40 Who's Da Goose
2.15 Minella Emperor
2.50 Frankie John
3.25 Quantum Quest
4.00 Theanniversary Man
