Fairyhouse – Saturday 27th November

There is nothing quite like knocking on the door of an excellent weekend of racing and hoping that we see some superstars along the way. I am very lucky that I will be in attendance at Fairyhouse tomorrow to see some of the stars in action. I put up two ante-post selections for the Ladbrokes Trophy earlier this week, with one shortening into favoritism and one at a similar price now. Let’s hope that the two of them can run well. Nothing else in Britain fills me with much desire for having a bet, while the Fairyhouse undercard today is stacked with betting opportunities and I’m licking my lips even thinking about them. 

Starting as early as 11.30, which is the 2m5f beginners chase and looks to be a good renewal of the race on paper. Torygraph and Dewcup bring solid form to the table behind French Dynamite last time out. However, I think the Gabynako / Fury Road form line is the one to be on in this race. With that in mind, I like the look of Max Flamingo, who continues to rapidly improve and showed up superbly to only be beaten 3 lengths in that strong beginners last time out. This trip suits him well and he doesn’t seem to have any issues with better ground, as was shown when winning a handicap hurdle at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. We haven’t seen the best of this horse yet and it wouldn’t surprise me to see this horse make up into a stunning handicapper in time. At a best price of 5/1 with Ladbrokes, he is an each way bet. 

The 12.30 race is the feature contest on the card and this 2m handicap chase brings some very exciting horses into the mix. Poseidon did it nicely on handicap debut, while Buddy Rich is an intriguing runner on handicap chase debut. However, it seems to be best to catch Unexcepted fresh, and although he is certainly not the most trustworthy, he is a very good horse on his day. In the last two seasons, he has put up outstanding performances first time out before his seasons taper off. Off a mark of 148, and off top weight, there is not much room for manoeuvre, but I do think that this horse is better than that mark when at his best. At a price of 6/1 with Paddy Power, who pay out 4 places – he is another each way bet. 

The 1.01 race is the first division of a 2m maiden hurdle and sees the eagerly anticipated return of Adamantly Chosen, who boasts some of the best bumper form from last year. His win in the Land Rover Bumper at Punchestown could not have worked out better and he should take some beating. However, he will have to be on his A game to deny Gringo D’Aubrelle, who I think is a bet in this race at the prices given his fine form this season. On seasonal / hurdling debut at Galway, he jumped impeccably to finish second, beaten by future Grade 2 scorer, Blazing Khal. He then went and demolished a bumper field at Navan last time out over 2m. This trip could be on the sharp side, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them make plenty of use of him and use his accurate jumping. At a general price of 5/2, I’m looking for a burn up!

The 1.36 race is the second division of this 2m maiden hurdle and sees the hurdling debut of high class bumper mare, Grangee. I think the favourite will win but she is no sort of price to back on her first start and could find this a little sharp. Not much in behind gives me a great amount of enthusiasm, until getting down to Musta Lovea Lovea, who is a fascinating prospect for the McKiernan team. He fell in his PtP at the last when 10 lengths clear to some half decent horses. He bombed out on bumper debut at Leopardstown before being given some time off by his trainer. He returned at Downpatrick, when getting agonisingly caught on the run-in, despite being the best horse in the race. McKiernan had similar horses such as Meet and Greet and Supreme Jet place in similar contests to this a few weeks ago, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this lad was up to that. At a best price of 20/1 with Ladbrokes, he is an each way shot. 

The 2.11 race is my final bet of the afternoon, and it comes in the 2m4f handicap hurdle for horses rated between 80-130. This looks a typically open contest and plenty of these have a great chance on their best form. I’m quite intrigued by the unexposed Mt Leinster Gold for Colin Bowe and Barry O’Neill. This mare has been a fine winning machine for connections, and ran a superb race in sixth on handicap debut at the Punchestown festival. She is off an unchanged mark from that effort, and that should make her chance worthwhile in this sort of contest. Considering I think she is well handicapped, and she runs very well fresh – I’m surprised you can get as big a price as you can get at the moment. At a best price of 11/1 around the houses, find firms that are paying out 5 places.