Naas – Sunday 17th October

Now that Champions Day is done and dusted, you would think we can crack on with the jumps season proper, but the flat game won’t go quietly as Doncaster’s Vertem Futurity Trophy two-day card looms large this weekend.

Also looming large at the end of the week is the return of racing to Cheltenham on Friday and Saturday, while Aintree’s Old Roan Chase card on Sunday even further heightens the anticipation for the weekend.

With all that to look forward to, and a WhichBookie sponsored card at Fontwell Park on Wednesday, I fear you may be hearing from me quite a bit over the next week! Let’s hope there’s a few winners mixed in there…

For today however, I will leave you with a lovely big priced each-way fancy in one of the feature races at Naas. The Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final at 2.15 is a very valuable event for horses who were sold at public auction as a yearling or two-year-old for under a certain price, thus allowing the middle and lower ground to reap some decent prize money rewards.

Since it’s inception in 2015, it has been won by six different trainers, and I’m hoping that a seventh will add their name to the list. Michael Mulvany is often a trainer to be respected at this time of year, when the ground starts to turn soft.

In fact, Mulvany saddled 50/1 shot The Blue Panther to fill the runner-up spot in this race last year, and his charge Seeingisbelieving can outrun his odds of 20/1 with Betfair Sportsbook, who offer 4 places each-way.

The head of the market for the race is less than convincing with most drawn wide, and with Seeingisbelieving’s form looking as strong generally as most of them, 20/1 is way too big.

With a decent draw in stall 2, Gary Carroll can obtain a prominent pitch before the turn into the home straight. The earlier two races are over 6f and so hopefully there will be decent idea of where you need to then angle towards in the straight before the 2.15, as often this can change on soft ground at Naas.

Seeingisbelieving’s debut effort at Galway was in a very strong maiden event, in which he mixed it very creditably with yesterday’s Group 3 third I Am Magic, the impressive recent Thurles nursery winner Anchorage, Duke De Sessa (who was thought good enough to contest the Group 1 National Stakes,) while Mctigue won his next start, and Adonis has gone close on two subsequent starts.

With this run fresh in the memory, Mulvany then took Seeeingisbelieving to Listowel, and despite drifting markedly before the off, he ran a cracker to be within a length of Aikhal, who has since finished within hailing distance of the monster that is Native Trail at Newmarket.

Sent off 6/4 favourite just four days later on account of this, the race was a qualifier for this valuable Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final at 2.15 at Naas, and it smacked of an effort to qualify him for it.

Seeingisbelieving wasn’t given a hard time that day, and was on the unfavoured centre of the track anyhow, and it was a case of job done.

Freshened up since then, with a good draw, and his form looking very strong, at 20/1 with Betfair Sportsbook for 4 places each-way, Seeeingisbelieving is, by some way, the bet of the day.