Ahead of John Durkan Day, this weekend’s selections have provided some nice profit for the column.
Winners with Aucunrisque (11/1), Trelawne (3/1), and Royale Pagaille (4/1) put us in a nice position ahead of a good renewal of the John Durkan today.
So, let’s dive in.
12:15 Uttoxeter – Farland @ 7/4 with Bet365 – 2pt Win
Firstly, although he is only five, Farland is becoming an expensive horse to follow for me.
Paul Nicholls and the team at Ditcheat think plenty of the horse, but he’s quirky which has counted against him so far this season.
His run at Chepstow was his seasonal reappearance, though Harry Cobden gave him plenty to do at Ffos Las 14 days ago.
Although this effort was disappointing, the winner (Crest Of Fortune) is a smart horse for Anthony Honeyball and today looks like an easier race.
Furthermore, Jay Tidball takes five pounds off his back today which is always handy.
He’s a winner on soft ground, so today’s cut in the surface should help and I’ll keep him on side today.
12:40 Punchestown – Riviere d’Etel @ 9/2 with Bet365 – 1pt Win
Riviere D’Etel is a cliff horse of mine, and she is a tricky horse to catch, but when she’s right, she’s right.
Of her five successes, she has winning distances of 12, 11, 21, 12, and 33 lengths next to her name, and some of the horses that have beaten her in the past include Ferny Hollow, Blue Lord, Captain Guinness, and Allegorie De Vassy.
In my mind, she’s the classiest horse here and she gets weight from Risk Belle while also carrying the same weight as her nearest market rivals.
So why the switch to hurdles?
She was never the tidiest chaser, and she has to go right-handed because of her jumping, but even I’m surprised by this new move from connections.
She took to the smaller obstacles well on her seasonal reappearance last month when fourth to Jetara and the softer the ground, the better her chance gets.
I like this horse, and this looks like a winnable race.
2:25 Punchestown – Fastorslow @ 5/2 with William Hill – 2pt Win
The John Durkan is a great race, and although this isn’t revolutionary news, I think Fastorslow has the most upsides.
Right, here is how I see his rivals.
Fact To File has to prove himself in open company and is his form all there? Spillane’s Tower falls into this category as well, while I do think Inothewayurthinkin is better than his 25/1 price suggests.
Galopin Des Champs comes on for his first runs and Willie Mullins admitted recently that he missed a few weeks of work, so I’ll leave this legend alone for now.
Grangeclere West has great form from Leopardstown, but this being his first run for 331 days after a few setbacks is a worry.
The rest need to prove themselves at this level, so it all points back to Fastorslow.
He won this race last year on his first run of the season, and he continued to show his good form for the rest of the season.
When beaten by Galopin Des Champs in the Irish Gold Cup, he was coming off a break, and he then finished the season by beating the two-time Gold Cup winner at Punchestown.
Inothewayurthinkin is on the shortlist, but Gavin Cromwell’s slightly windy pre-race comments have put me off and I think he will have bigger targets later this year.
So, my vote for the John Durkan falls on Fastorslow, and it wouldn’t shock me to see his name in the Kempton Park racecard on Boxing Day later this year.
3:10 Uttoxeter – Ballybeg @ 11/2 with William Hill – 1pt Win
Royale Pagaille’s course specialism for Haydock was part of the reason behind backing him yesterday, and the love Ballybeg has for Uttoxeter is duly noted.
His two victories and one second at the track shows he likes the course, and his mark of 121 is workable.
His last winning mark was 119, but his previous successful ratings came off 125 and 129 and two of those three handicap victories occurred on ground softer than soft.
Furthermore, Freddie Gordon takes the ride and his valuable claim of five pounds brings him down to an effective mark of 116.
He has a race under his belt and he drops into Class 4 company for the first time since he beat the subsequent two-time winner Malaita.
Hopefully, today is his day.
