Listowel & Perth – Thursday 23rd September

It has been a case of knocking on the door with nobody home this month, as I have found it very hard to find any type of rhythm or consistency. It can often be a tricky time of the year with the majority of jumps horses having their first run of the year, paired with flat horses approaching the back end of busy campaigns. With good cards at Listowel and Perth today, we have a nice mixture of both.

Starting at Listowel and with the 2.15 race, which is a 1m handicap for horses rated 45-70. As is often the case with these sorts of races, they are always very tricky to assess and plenty of these are in with chances. The horse that I think has a good chance in this is Take My Hand, who is a typically durable horse for Mick Mulvaney. This horse has been heavily campaigned throughout the summer months, and his win at Naas in July over 1m was his best performance so far this year. He has been knocking on the door in other races of similar quality, and has dropped two pounds for unseating coming out of the stalls last time. He is a type that will go forward from his draw of 13, which seemed to suit on Tuesday when they ran on the flat at Listowel and could take some stopping. At an each way price of 8/1 with Paddy Power, who offer 4 places, I’ll be backing him.

The 4.35 at Listowel is the feature on the card and this 1m4f premier handicap has plenty of unexposed types vying for favoritism and all with some good chances. However, I like two in this race back down the market and at bigger prices. Firstly is the returning, Yafordadoe, who is a horse I have always liked for Gavin Cromwell and is certainly not unfeasibly handicapped on his return. The concern for this horse is his absence since January, but the only previous time in his career that he had more than 150 days off, he returned with a win – so I wouldn’t be too concerned. Ben Coen takes the ride and despite coming from a wide draw, I would be hopeful that he is near the prominent few and runs well. At a price of 14/1 with Paddy Power, who offer 5 places, he is an each way bet.

The other selection for the feature race is Rebellito, for Willie Mullins and Ronan Whelan – who certainly looks down the order in terms of pricing for today’s contest, but I believe he has more of a chance than his price would suggest. Having ran well in a few competitive handicaps over 10 and 14 furlongs, Rebellito was mid division in the big Petingo handicap on Irish Champions Weekend. This is nowhere near as competitive as that and he has been dropped a pound also. He’s 20/1 with Paddy Power, and I’ll also play him each way.

The final selection from Listowel comes in the 5.10 race, which is a 1m4f maiden. As a rule, I don’t like the angle of bumper and jumping horses returning to the flat, which rules a couple out in this contest. Instead, I’ll be siding with the progressive Rekero – for the in-form Joseph O’Brien stable. He looked like a maiden win would be well within his remit with his first two runs, registering encouraging RPRs of 82 on both occasions. Those two runs were over shorter distances than this, which could eek out more improvement. I’m surprised one can procure an each way price about this horse, but at 6/1 with Bet365 – I’ll be playing him each way.

Moving towards Perth and the 2.30 race, which I think will be a fascinating contest and once again will prove how tough it is to pick between horses that have race fitness over potential smart recruits. I, for one, am a huge fan of Pay The Piper, and I think that a fence being put in front of him could be the making of this horse. Having won his PtP in Ireland, he was three from four over hurdles last year – including taking some very notable scalps in the process. He steps up in trip for his chase debut under rules, which should help his jumping and he can hopefully run well. I don’t want to be too bullish but I really like this horse and hope he can progress into a serious type this season for Ann Hamilton. At a price of 11/4 with SkyBet, I’ll be keeping the fingers crossed.

And the final race to cover today is the 4.15 at Perth, over 2 miles which sees a field of nine go to post. I like the look of Laskadine in this race for the combination of Ben Haslam and JP McManus, and this mare has been a good money spinner for these connections in the last 18 months. In an ideal world, the ground would be slightly on the slower side, but she should be able to equip herself well enough on this ground to run a decent race. I have backed Go Fox a few times of late, and despite doing it nicely last time out, I wouldn’t have him down as perhaps the most trustworthy to back that effort up. Laskadine is 7/1 with SkyBet, who bizarrely are paying out 4 places – she should run well.