005 Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 06 August 2008 / Leave a Comment

Wayne Bailey previews the first day of Sligo's two-day meeting.

Sligo has got to be one of the more beautiful tracks in the country with Benbulben keeping a sharp eye on proceedings as always. Indeed, the journey to the track can be nearly as enjoyable as the racing itself! Today's card is a mixture of flat and jumps, the highlight being the competitive Guinness Sligo Handicap Hurdle...

5:15 - Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Auction Maiden (2yo) £7,113.24 - 6f110y

Lista Lightning can get the meeting off to a good start. Showing improvement with each race, Prendergast's young gelding now has the experience to finally land first prize, although I'm slightly concerned about the drop back to six furlongs after performing well over the mile distance. Still, a price of 3.5 or higher would be fair, and I can't see many of these giving too much trouble.

Advice: Back Lista Lightning if priced 3.5 or higher

5:45 - info@countysligoraces.com Claiming Race (2yo) £4,318.75 - 6f110y

I'm surprised to see Moving Ice's price so high in the early markets, and if it stays high, I think this could be a value bet. Ok, there's not a lot to go on here, but I'd be certainly wary of backing any of the others in a claimer with little or no form. On her bare form figures, Moving Ice may not stand out - however her three runs to date were against stronger opposition, and this race is within her grasp.

Advice: Back Moving Ice to win and place

6:15 - Foley's Bar & Off Licence Handicap (3yo+,60-90) £8,129.41 - 6f110y

Just like coming home from the pub on a skateboard, this seems like a tricky prospect. Stakes will be kept to a minimum here in what looks like a wide-open contest. CD winner Incline gets a token vote to place despite the burden of topweight. He's better than his Galway performance suggests and Impossible Dream should give him the most to do.

Advice: Back Incline in the place market (small stakes)

6:45 - Guinness Sligo Handicap Hurdle (4yo+, 88-130) £14,360.29 - 2m

Guinness sponsor the main race of the evening, and I'm hoping that Bambootcha will pay for a few pints of same, with Colm Murphy taking no chances by booking Ruby Walsh to do the steering. A Grade C winner at Punchestown, she's had a good year so far, and this level of race should be right up her street. Top Of The Charts may attract money as it's from the Tony Martin yard, but I think he's inconsistent, and 11st 12lbs should keep him at bay.

Advice: Back Bambootcha to win, and lay Top Of The Charts in the place market

7:15 - Sligo Champion Maiden Hurdle (5yo+) £4,826.84 - 2m

It's been over a year since Haiban found himself in the winners' enclosure, but I think that Lamb has finally found a race that should suit. He had a good start to last season, but his form went awry as time went on. This year, his two runs to date have looked promising and I'm hoping he'll return to some sort of form today.

Advice: Back Haiban

7:45 - Martinstown Opportunity Maiden Hurdle (4-5yo) £5,588.97 - 2m4f

Auenschutze looks a class apart from these and can knock up his second win in a lightly raced career. His price may be restrictive, and I won't take anything below 2.20.

Advice: Back Auenschutze if priced 2.20 or less

8:15 - www.TheTote.com Handicap Hurdle (Div I) (4yo+,77-90) £4,826.84 - 2m4f

Fingers were burned when some big bets on Honky Tonk Woman went wrong three weeks ago at Cartmel, but she can return some of that money today to her followers. She's shown this season that she's a good battler, and seems nicely slotted in at these weights. A Thiarna Eistlinn, (meaning 'Lord Hear Us' in Irish!) hasn't done much wrong recently and can take some place money.

Advice: Back Honky Tonk Woman to win, and A Thiarna Eistlinn to place

8:45 - www.TheTote.com Handicap Hurdle (Div II) (4yo+,77-90) £4,826.84 - 2m4f

The second division of this handicap looks a lot more daunting than the first, and I'm going to keep my money safely in the Betfair account for this one.

Advice: No Bet

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