EVERYONE here is looking forward to next week’s Punchestown Festival and I plan to run whatever I can. I have lots of entries made and we’ll make final plans for them over the next day or so.
You might keep an eye on the @UnibetRacing twitter account, as we have some video footage of the horses cantering here earlier in the week. I chat about our main contenders, which include Supasunadae, who runs in the Champion Hurdle on Friday.
He seems to be in great form and he looks great and he thrives at this time of the year. He won the Champion Hurdle at last years festival and he is a triple Grade 1 winner and he seems to be as good, over two and two and a half miles. They will go a good gallop and that is what he wants.
There is rain due over the weekend and it remains to be seen how much we get, but in fairness to Punchestown, they always do a great job watering and the ground is always very safe there.
We have just the two runners this weekend, both of which run at Sligo on Sunday.
Sligo
3.55pm
Hotel Du Nord (Robert Power)
He has a high rating and I just hope that I’ve found him a race that he can win. He has been a bit frustrating and he has plenty of ability, but he just hasn’t had his ground and I hope they get plenty of rain. The more rain that falls, the better for him and he’s rated 124 and if he runs to that, you’d like to think that he has a great chance of gaining a deserved success over hurdles.
4.30pm
Whydah (Robert Power)
He hasn’t run for a while, but he has been pleasing me at home and he is another that will appreciate a good dig in the ground. He ran well in a maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse earlier in the season and if he came back to that type of form, he’d have his chance. He jumps and he stays and the stiff two and a half miles around Sligo should be fine for him, so we’ll give it a go and see how he gets on.
