Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Tips

Steve Mullington’s Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Tips

After Constitution Hill, Nicky Henderson’s Luccia has been marked down by many punters and pundits alike as their “reserve” banker of the meeting.  Given that Henderson had even contemplated running her in the Supreme Novices Hurdle, he must really think she is something special and she must have a real favourite’s chance in this 2m1f Jack De Bromhead Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

After romping to victory in the Listed Novices’ Hurdle at Exeter to make it two from two this season, the five-year-old mare really does look like a horse going places and she could easily prove to be too powerful for her female comtempories in this.

Those looking for a horse to cause an upset should side with Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well. She recently scored in the Grade 2 Jayne Seymour Mares’ hurdle and has the best form of any of the others.

Having put up my first selection for the Cheltenham Festival of 2022 very recently on this page, I felt it was only a matter of time before I would be releasing the second as well, and this mare is another horse who I believe may well be overpriced for their respective race come March. It’s not as easy as it used to be to find good value in these ante-post markets, as bookmakers rarely take any chances with certain types of horses, so therefore you have to squint to see the light at times.

This time around, I will be taking on the Mares Novice Hurdle, which again wouldn’t be known as one of the biggest races for ante-post angles. It is especially hard to work out given the fact that Willie Mullins holds a lot of dominance in this division, but is also likely to turn up with four or five runners in this race on the day. Therefore, you have to try and pick apart the likely Mullins squad, and see whether there is one that might be lurking down the market in comparison to those that have been well found such as Glens of Antrim and Grangee.

I feel I have found a mare that might be overpriced at a price of 25/1 generally, and that’s the well thought of Brandy Love, who will be looking to get her career back on track after a stumble at the Dublin Racing Festival last year. Having won her Point to Point very impressively when trained by Colin Bowe, Brandy Love arrived at the Mullins yard with a big reputation and was bought for big money by the Grech family. Starting off her career in a bumper at Fairyhouse, she duly dotted up in impressive fashion, beating PresentingNewYork for Gavin Cromwell. She didn’t have to come off the bridle that day and it earned her lofty quotes from her trainer, alongside a few people looking at her as an outside contender for the Champion Bumper.

She wasn’t seen again until the Grade 2 Mares Bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival, where she was sent off an odds on favourite and was the selection of Patrick Mullins. Despite travelling into the race like a good horse, she was unable to quicken up when the taps were turned, and finished third. The form of that race has been decent, with Grangee and Party Central both adding Graded honours to their CVs since that race. Party Central has also added a hurdling victory already this year, so the form looks robust.

Brandy Love might just be escaping the thoughts of many due to the fact that we haven’t seen her since that performance, but she obviously comes very highly regarded. At a price of 25/1, you’re able to take a chance that she might still be able to develop into a graded mare this year over hurdles. If doing so, she could well contract in price as the season goes on. As a result, I am backing her at 25/1 each way