Fairyhouse – Saturday 29th January

As we are coming to the close of January, it is not quite yet a time to reflect, as the racing continues to come at us thick and fast, with racing at Fairyhouse the main priority for us Irish punters on this occasion. You might take a glance at the Lucky 15 selections later in the morning, which could well feature some interest from Cheltenham – so keep the eyes peeled. However, like you can come to expect, racing at the weekend is reserved to Irish tracks. 

Starting bright and early with the 12.00 race, which is the beginners chase over 2m5f. It is often told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That can somewhat be said for the selection of Grand Paradis, who I still believe has more than enough ability to put it together over fences, despite not quite showing us that thus far. His jumping has been clumsy and he hasn’t seemed to quite recover from his fall on chase debut yet. However, connections are persisting with him over the big sticks and Jack Kennedy is in the saddle to try and get his jumping to straighten up. Given there are small doubts about the Mullins duo, he can be backed at 11/2 with Paddy Power, and is an each way bet. 

The 1.05 race looks like a wide open handicap chase over the extended trip of 3m1f. I think there might be a flyer in this race at a big price, in the shape of Exciting Oscar for the Denis Ahern team, with Danny Mullins a very eye-catching jockey booking. Mullins won on this horse over hurdles last term and he has shown enough in some of his races over fences thus far to suggest that he could win a handicap off this rating. He does need an extreme test, which he will get with this distance, however, he might ideally want the ground to be a bit softer on this occasion. He was very well backed last time out, when getting an awful trip in running and never landing a blow. This might be easier to get into rhythm, and Mullins on board is a massive plus. At a price of 18/1 with Bet365, who offer 5 places – he is an each way bet. 

The 2.50 race is the second division of the maiden hurdle and those that know me closely will know that I am a massive fan of Flame Bearer, and I’m excited to see what he can do on his third start over hurdles, where he should be winning very soon. He was very well backed last time out at Naas, when being unfortunate to come third having suffered some very bad hampering down the straight, and provided he gets a better trip this time around, he should be more than capable of landing a big blow in this race. Micro Manage is a very respected rival, and he will have to go some to get him beat – but I think it is possible. At 7/4 with Bet365, he is short but should be bang there. 

The final selection of the day comes in the 4.00 race, which is a 2m7f handicap hurdle and this conditional jockeys race sees some horses arrive in good form. That can certainly be said for Paddys Planet, who is looking to bring up a third win on the trot. However, it’s the chances of the well handicapped Western Zara that appeal most, with this good looking gray mare poised to strike with this step up on trip looking a promising move. She has shaped well in her last two starts, and is unmoved off a mark of 102. Richie Deegan won on this mare last year, and she looks a likely type to be involved this time around.  A price of 5/1 with Paddy Power, who offers 5 places, she is another each way bet.