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Irish newcomers are well worth a punt
 The
Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday is the traditional curtain raiser
to the jumps season and a genuine racing superstar in Denman will be looking
to put down a marker for the rest of the racing season.
But his first run of the new season will be no easy task as he faces several
worthy opponents, including one horse who has already run this season
and so will be very fit for the race.
That horse is Abrogante and he is tipped to upset the odds and defeat
Denman.
Abrogante’s regular jockey is Timmy Murphy who will be suspended
for the race and it is a sign of the seriousness with which trainer David
Pipe is treating this contest that he moved two weeks ago to book top
Irish-based jockey Paul Carberry to take the ride on Saturday.
Denman is a genuine racing superstar, winner of the Queen Mother Champion
Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and will have a much more memorable racing
career than Abrogante but Saturday could be all about the David Pipe horse.
Punters looking for an each way screamer in the race should consider State
Of Play.
Trained by Evan Williams, this gelding has won a string of nice prizes
in recent months and will be as fit as a fiddle. He represents an in-form
yard and will be a worthwhile price.
The main Irish challenger in the field could be Mossbank, trained by Micheal
Hourigan. He is a tough and ultra-consistent performer but looks as though
he could be out of his depth in this race.
The younger breed of jump jockeys in Ireland are starting to make their
presence felt in the sport, with two of the brighter talents in the Irish
weighing room, Tommy Ryan and Andrew McNamara, having secured prestigious
jobs for the season ahead.
It was initially thought likely that Ryan would, along with several of
his contemporaries, head for a top racing job in England but he changed
his mind at the last moment and opted instead to link up with the Gold
Cup-winning Co. Kildare trainer Tom Taaffe.
McNamara has been based in Ireland throughout his career but only this
season has he made a major breakthrough, securing the top job at the prestigious
Edward O’Grady stable.
Both riders have enjoyed a successful start to their new careers and could
make a major impact on Irish racing this year. And because they are relatively
new names on the scene, their horses will be longer odds than if they
were ridden by racing superstars, so there are plenty of punting opportunities
as well.
Happy Punting!
This week’s horses to watch…
Thursday: 1pm Uttoxeter
TIP: Bremen
Three second places from three runs shows this horse to have plenty of
ability. He needs a victory to confirm that promise though and this might
be the race in which he gets it.
Thursday: 1.30pm Uttoxeter
TIP: Notabotheronme
This horse looked very promising on his initial run and if he gets off
the mark here he could go on to run up a sequence of victories. Definitely
a horse to follow in the coming months.
Thursday: 2.05pm Uttoxeter
TIP: Almier
Micheal Hourigan doesn’t send too many horses over from Ireland
so when he does it’s worth taking note. This gelding doesn’t
have the greatest form in the world but on a day when there are likely
to be plenty of short-priced favourites he is worth taking a chance on.
Friday: 12.20pm Musselburgh
TIP: Dolly Dagger
Gordon Elliot is starting to show that his success in training the Grand
National winner last year was no fluke and he can continue his good recent
run with this horse who has done nothing wrong on any of his runs to date
and should record a victory here.
Friday: 1.20pm Musselburgh
TIP: Mendosino
Venetia Williams’ horses are starting to hit top form and she is
worth backing blind at the moment. This horse has a nice weight and some
consistent form so is definitely worth a punt.
Friday: 1.50pm Musselburgh
TIP: Delightfully
Two good runs from Len Lungo’s horse haven’t crippled him
in the eyes of the handicapper so he looks like the bet-of-the-week in
this race with everything in his favour. |
