THE Dublin Racing Festival was launched at Leopardstown on Tuesday and I was delighted to be a part of it and having it screened live on Racing TV was a great idea.
Our main entries for the weekend are Supasundae for the BHP Insurance Champion Hurdle and Sizing John, who is in both the Unibet Gold Cup and the Grade 1 chase over two miles.
Supasundae has been a real star for us and he won two Grade 1’s last season. He has been second on both his starts this season and I thought he came home very well, when runner up to Sharjah at Leopardstown at Christmas time.
He’s a very stuffy horse and he takes a lot of work and I’d expect him to improve again for that run. It will be a fantastic race with the mares Apples Jade and Laurina expected to run, along with Melon and the likely strong pace will suit Supasundae.
Sizing John remains in great form, but it has been a very frustrating season to date, as I have to yet get a racecourse school into him due to the good ground. I am going to see if I can get him away next week to a racecourse somewhere, so that we can get that school over fences into him.
The weather will determine where he’ll go and I had hoped to get him to Navan, but it’s still good there, so we’ll have to give that a miss. There is every chance that we might start him off at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival – I am not ruling anything in or out at the minute and we’ll know a great deal more about plans for him, if I can get him away next week.
Robert rode him work up The Old Vic at The Curragh on Friday morning and he was very happy with him. We just need to get him away now. But first, my runners this weekend….
Saturday – Ascot
1.50
Magic Of Light – (Robert Power)
She has done very well for us this season, winning a listed mares chase on her latest start at Newbury by fourteen lengths. She hasn’t run over hurdles since 2017, and I’d love to get some more black type for her. Despite the small field, it won’t be easy, but with Robert in Ascot, it makes sense to bring her over. She has improved this season and I have been very happy with her on the lead up to this race, and Ascot will help us determine future plans for her. She is in great form and hopefully she’ll run very well.
Saturday – Navan
12.30
Press Conference (Niall Madden)
He’d need more rain to be a definite runner. It was soft when he won at Limerick and despite it being a small field, it looks a very competitive contest. We’ll see what the ground is like in the morning and the more rain that falls for him the better. Slippers (Niall Madden) won on him at Limerick and he knows him, so he rides him again.
1.00
Discordantly (Paddy Kennedy) and Emily Moon (Sean O’Keeffe)
They both run and it looks an open race. The finished third and fifth in the same race at Cork a few weeks ago and they have both improved since. I have been very happy with them and I think they will run very well. They jump great and I think two and a half miles around Navan will suit them. Maiden hurdles over here are very competitive and this race won’t be easily won – ideally, they would like softer ground.
3.50
Papal Pearl (Sean O’Keeffe)
She is a fine, big mare that we like and being a four-year-old, she gets all the allowances and has a light weight on her back. She has done a few very nice bits of work and I hope that she’ll be very competitive in this and her work at home suggest that she will be. Sean rides very well and is great value for his 7lb claim.
Sunday – Thurles
12.30
The Holy One (Robert Power)
He is rated 123 and this looks a nice opportunity for him. He was third in a good handicap at Christmas time and he’s been placed five times over hurdles and you’d like to think that experience should stand to him, now that he reverts back into a maiden company. We are putting cheek pieces on him and hopefully he’ll gain a deserved success over hurdles.
1.35
Polished Steel (Robert Power)
This is a competitive race and he comes into this in very good form. He was fourth behind two good horses in maidens namely, Daly Tiger and Battleoverdoyen and I think he has a reasonable mark (116). It will be his first handicap and a good gallop will suit him. He has a nice weight on his back and you can ignore his last run at Limerick, as he just got stuck in the mud at Christmas time.
2.10
Jett (Robert Power)
This looks a very competitive race and we are letting Jett take his chance. Off his rating (145), he is a little bit in no man’s land. He’d have a lot of weight if we ran him in a handicap, and in this, he has a good bit to do on ratings to beat the likes of Total Recall, Invitation Only, Tout Est Permis and Sub Lieutenant. But he is in great form and we’ll see how he gets on. He has won two chases before around Thurles and two and a half miles really suits him.
