Tramore – Saturday 4th June

It was a nice way to start the month yesterday with a convincing winner up in Down Royal with The Grey Lad being very well backed to go and score impressively to shed his maiden tag over hurdles. However, time waits for no man and the action comes thick and fast today. Many eyes will be on the Derby, and rightly so, but I will be heading back to Tramore for a second slice of the pie this weekend, with some good jump racing to get stuck into. 

The first race I will be having a look at is the 2.25 race, which is a 2m5f handicap hurdle for horses rated between 80-109. I am going to be siding on this occasion with the consistent mare, Kingston Retreat – who has been in solid nick over her last two hurdle starts and now appears here with Danny Mullins on board. That is an eye-catching jockey booking in a race like this and I am hopeful she can improve on her two latest fourth placed efforts by pouncing off this mark. She seems well suited by this ground and this trip probably suits her best, and a track like Tramore promises to play into her strengths, given she has won at Downpatrick before, which is also undulating. In an open race, a price of 7/1 with Bet365, who are offering 4 places, seems a good each way option. 

The 3.00 race is the next on the agenda and this Mares Beginners Chase over just short of 2 miles does not look like one of the strongest heats we will ever see. With that in mind, I feel it would be prudent to stay with those at the top of the betting, and Mighty Meggsie should take all the beating in this race if replicating some of her hurdling form, and also a very good chasing debut at Killarney. She ended up being well beaten that day, but she shaped with considerable promise and this is nowhere near as deep a race. She seems to be versatile in terms of how she can be ridden, and she won twice last summer which is a good omen for a good performance. At a best price of 2/1 with Bet365, she is a short price but should be going very close. 

The 3.35 race is the 2m5f handicap chase and this is the final race I’ll be covering for today’s racing. Again, I quite like the angle of decent Downpatrick performers having a decent chance at succeeding at this track, and the well handicapped Grangeclare Native might be the steer in this competitive race. He showed up very well at Downpatrick last time out, when just fading out of contention late on to finish third on handicap debut, but that was his first run in a long time and he was entitled to need it. He should be all the better for that experience, and that was a step in the right direction over fences, with his jumping being decent throughout the race. If improving for that effort, he could play a hand in the finish here. At a price of 10/1 with Paddy Power, who are paying out 4 places, he should be backed each way.