Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 29 August 2008 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Wayne Bailey looks at this evening's mixed flat and jumps card...

It's back to the so-called 'Sunny South-East' today, and after a small break in the bad weather yesterday, it looks like the going will be good, or good to yielding at the least. The quality of racing may not be out of this world, but there's one or two competitive races tucked in which should prove interesting to watch. With nearly every race containing the maximum number of runners, it's not a day for staking big.

4:30 - Mount Leinster Maiden (3-4yo)

The basic form figures for Via Galilei look pretty poor at first glance, but if you consider the opposition he faced in his previous races (New Approach, Curtain Call, Casual Conquest etc.) we can forgive him this time. It's a big drop back down from Group racing to trying to win a maiden, and experience at top level may prove the trick today.
Advice: Back Via Galilei


5:00 - Tara Hill Handicap (3yo, 50-80)

Elas Child is the obvious choice and she's finally come good after a disappointing start to her career. She raced here earlier this month, and showed that she's not afraid of a fight as she battled back to claim first prize at the expense of Charleville - also a runner here. The Weld/Smullen duo is a formidable one, so I'll be keeping Woodland Beauty on my side in the place market.
Advice: Back Elas Child to win, back Woodland Beauty to place, and lay Charleville to place.


5:30 - Vinegar Hill Handicap (4yo+, 50-70)
Dani California is a versatile horse, and I reckon her good recent form on the jumps can transfer over to the flat. If so, 9st 9lbs should be no problem at all. Charlie Swan's Sagarich is usually in contention, so I'm surprised to see her priced quite high in the early markets.
Advice: Back Dani California to win, back Sagarich to place.


6:05 - Blackstairs Maiden Hurdle (6yo+)

Not very original, but it's hard to get away from Meadow Vale. He wasn't disgraced at Galway, and he's had a couple of promising runs on the flat which went reasonably well. He'll be a short price, but I don't see much point opposing him. In the place markets, The Boxer Coffee is an interesting entry as Mullins teams up with Davy Condon once again - He definitely looks the best of the rest.
Advice: Back Meadow Vale to win, back The Boxer Coffee to place.


6:35 - Sliabh Coilte Maiden Hurdle (4-5yo)

Sixteen horses go to post, but you could draw a line through most of them as few have a realistic chance of winning. King Ralph showed a liking for hurdles when coming second last time out at Galway, and if he's come on for that run, he'll take all the beating.
Advice: Back King Ralph


7:05 - Three Rocks Handicap Hurdle (4yo+,81-116)

A tricky handicap to say the least. Then again, Irish handicaps usually are. My first choice for this was Fortune Seeker, a mare that's come on in leaps and bounds this year. Whatever Moran has been doing, it's working and she may well hack up here. However, Colm Murphy's Lady Steppes is also a serious animal, and may well have won last time out if she hadn't blundered at the last. Call me a chicken, but I'm going to have both horses running for me today.
Advice: Dutch Fortune Seeker and Lady Steppes.


7:35 - Lacken Hill INH Flat Race (4-7yo)

The last race of the day is a bit of a minefield and I'm going to sit this one out. I'm interested to see how well Major Decision runs - a reasonable performer on the point to point scene, although that was a number of months ago now. My money will stay in my account for this one.

Advice: No Bet.