In Navan's Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase (3:55), Sandra Hughes looks to be holding the aces for this, courtesy of THUNDER AND ROSES and APACHE JACK.
The former ran a brilliant chase debut behind recent Grade 1 winner Apache Stronghold and has since notched up his first success over the larger obstacles when sluicing up at Fairyhouse. Another reason as to why he has a big chance is that he looks to have the beating of market favourite (at the time of writing) Noble Emperor. First of all, he gave him a seven and a half length beating in one novice chase. Then, Thunder and Roses was in the process of running an almighty race two outings ago before falling two out. Noble Emperor was the eventual second that day but you would have fancied the Gigginstown runner to have got the upper hand again if he'd have stayed on his feet. These two races, together with the Apache Stronghold form, give him bold claims here.
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| Thunder And Roses (left) |
Apache Jack too has strong form, but in bigger races. A second behind Briar Hill, a third in the Albert Bartlett and a fourth in the wake of Beat That and Don Poli at Punchestown, all of which were over hurdles, are evidence of his class. He'll have to step up a lot on his best chase form but Barry Geraghty in the saddle plus first time cheekpieces have to make him of interest.
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| Apache Jack (far left) coming third behind Very Wood (purple) in last year's Albert Bartlett. They re-oppose in this. |
Very Wood beat Apache Jack in that Albert Bartlett but his form has curtailed completely (pulling up on his last two runs) so it's difficult to be confident about his chances. Urano has only had one chase start so it's hard to know how good he is and The Crafty Butcher looks as though he'll come up a little short in this.
In the bumper (5:00), a lot of it depends on how good Champion bumper fancy Au Quart De Tour really is. If his reputation is anything to go by, both TUZO and COGRYHILL would have a big chance in this. They came second and third respectively behind Au Quart De Tour in a Fairyhouse bumper. Tuzo looked like improvement was very likely whilst Cogryhill is trained by Gordon Elliott, who has an incredible record in races of this nature.
Some Mullins bumper favourites do the business, some fail to live up to the hype. I've a feeling Arkwrisht will fall into the latter's company.
3:00 Ffos Las- Although he's thirteen years old, JADANLI is now well handicapped on his best form. His official rating of 120 is the lowest he's ever had, which is four pounds lower than his last winning mark (in the 2013 Thyestes Chase). Admittedly, there's a reason for the massive tumble in the weights; his performances have been woeful this season. But, I'm always respectful of horses that come from Ireland to England in small scale races and the change of scenery may see him recapture some of his old form.
4:50 Market Rasen- SAKHEES CITY may well struggle to beat Robins Reef and Lincoln County but he has fairly useful form in two Northern bumpers, placing on both occasions. He could well be the one to capture glory should the top two in the market fail to fire.
Enjoy your Sunday
Happy Punting!
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