Irish Horseracing: The betting highlights from forthcoming action at Punchestown and Tramore

005 Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 29 May 2008 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Bailey has some carefully selected bets from Thursday, Friday and Saturday's racing across the Irish Sea

There's some decent action in the Emerald Isle over the next few days, kicking off with Punchestown this evening. That is followed by Tramore, which hosts some good jumps racing on Friday evening, then switches to flat for Saturday's daytime card...

Thursday, 5.20 Punchestown
Tom Mullins' son Emmett is turning out to be a fine jockey, and he might be able to put an end to his recent string of poor results on board Mullica Lad, in the opening race of the evening. This horse has had a career of mixed fortune, only managing two wins from 32 races to date. I was starting to feel that his best days were in the past, but he managed to get his old spark back when finishing third at Kilbeggan earlier this month and may be improving once again. Mona Ri is the obvious danger, but I'm not keen on siding with a topweight that has no previous experience in handicap chases.

Thursday, 8.55 Punchestown
A friend of mine is an on-course bookie, and he's had a few queries throughout the week asking what price he would lay Tart Mor at in tonight's bumper. One of those queries was from a fairly big gambler, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. Her debut race just over a week ago was nothing to write home about, but there's good vibes coming from county Louth, and it will be interesting to see if there is any significant market support. The race looks quite open, and Grand Chris must also have a big chance after her promising point-to-point win last time out earlier this month.

Friday, 6.15 Tramore
Ok, I risk looking like a complete fool here, as I'm going to flag up a horse that came 14th in a 15 runner race last time out - and whose form figures are not a pretty sight. However, if he wins or places at a massive price I'll be kicking myself for not posting it up. Sometimes you've gotta stick the head on block and take a chance, so here goes: Celtic Bolt is worth a (very) small bet in the win and place markets in a race where half the field can be ruled out almost immediately. It's true to say that he's been very poor to date, but I feel that his opposition thus far has been too competitive and Charles Byrnes may have now found a race where he has at least half a chance. Indeed, Byrnes has a great record of picking good races for his horses at Tramore, and often ends up in the winners' enclosure with nags that went off at double figure prices.

Friday, 8.45 Tramore
Anthony Mullins has two entries in the bumper, but Corporal looks like the most interesting from a betting point of view. His fourth place in a similar contest last week probably doesn't do his excellent run justice. He looked the likely winner two furlongs out before being caught in the final stages, and definitely has potential. The biggest threat comes from Anthony's brother Willie, in the guise of Watchurhouse, who certainly didn't disgrace himself with second place on his debut.

Saturday, Tramore
I haven't listed any races in particular, but any horse trained by John Oxx here deserves serious consideration. With a win rate of 44%, his record at Tramore speaks for itself. Had you stuck a tenner on each, you'd be £80 better off today, but this figure can be improved upon by simple form study and careful selection.

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