Daryl Carter Tips

Daryl Carter's Tips: 9/2 Saturday selection and Dublin Racing Festival discussion

Daryl Carter.
Daryl Carter says back this 9/2 chance for Saturday.

Daryl Carter has no Wednesday selection but looks to the outstanding action at Sandown and Leopardstown on Saturday...


There is no National Hunt racing on Wednesday in the UK or Ireland, and the AW action at Kempton and Dundalk left me feeling rather deflated. Therefore, I've decided to consider Saturday's action at Sandown and Leopardstown.

Sandown's card looks tricky, and there's a real possibility that they switch to an all-chase card with a hurdle track inspection at 8am on Thursday following 18mm of rain and further forecast. One bet stood out and is a must-back before Thursday's declaration stage.


14:00 Sandown - Back Etalon @ 9/25.50 1pt

That wager comes in the 14:00 at Sandown, where market leader Issar d'Airy heads the betting, but like six others - Martator, Sans Bruit, Gunsight Ridge, Dr T J Eckleburg, Solo and Hypotenus - he holds a second option. That only aids the claims of the already fancied Etalon - 9/25.50 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who has this as his sole weekend entry.

He has endured a disappointing season and got no further than the seventh at Windsor 13 days ago before unseating his rider. However, he was travelling with plenty of zest, and that was the second time in two starts that he caught the eye.

The return to Sandown, where he was a dominant wide-margin chase winner at this time last year over Gunsight Ridge, is a big positive, and his latest run at Windsor was the first time he had been given his favoured soft ground since, so it was a shame to see him depart before the race took shape.

It's wise to put a line through his latest run and back him under optimal conditions on Saturday. His record on soft ground before his latest run reads 11141 over obstacles. In the hope that the Skeletons will reapply the tongue-tie on declaration and revert to prominent tactics, he should take some stopping from this rating of 135 in a weak race, and 9/25.50 looks good value.

Skelton has targeted this race in the past, so I have every expectation of him declaring on Thursday. With Sandown potentially moving to an all-chasing card, there's a strong likelihood that this could be cut up into just a handful of runners.

Martator has done all his best work on a sounder surface, so one would suspect he heads north to Musselburgh for the Scottish Champion Chase in search of more suitable conditions. Solo hasn't run over 2m for some time, so his more likely destination would be his second entry in the 2m4f race, and the deep Sandown surface would be a negative for favourite Issar d'Airy, who has been pulled out on heavy before and has something to prove going right-handed (1-7).

Etalon looks like the correct bet under optimum conditions, provided all is well following his sprawl at Windsor. If all falls into place on Saturday, he could easily be a short-priced favourite.


Dublin Racing Festival delight!

The Dublin Racing Festival kicks off at 13:15 at Leopardstown on Saturday, and the Nathaniel Lacy 2m6f Novice Hurdle is set to be a cracker. The Sportsbook go 7/42.75 Final Demand ante-post, which looks short on his achievements. The yard's other runners are interesting, including Supersundae, which was second to The Yellow Clay at Naas last time.

I don't tend to take much away from stable visits. Still, a fascinating note was when someone asked Willie Mullins about Final Demand in this race, and he said quickly, "Is that all we have in that?" before quickly remembering and speaking ", What about Supersundae?". Make of that what you will, but it was interesting that the horse was at the forefront of his mind. Supersundae is 4/15.00, and I hope that holds up.

I couldn't find much early value in the 13:50 Leopardstown Juvenile Hurdle. Betfair goes 7/42.75 Hello Neighbour, 5/23.50 Saint Lucie, and 3/14.00 Lady Vega Allen. It will be interesting to see where Paul Townend sits.

At 14:55 at Leopardstown, Majborough 4/71.57 may prove tough to beat, but this is the first time over fences that he will be asked to go a gallop from start to finish with the presence of Touch Me Not 7/18.00. The JP horse has a bit to do with my speed figures, with Touch Me Not and Firefox ahead of him.

Still, one suspects that a truly run race will only see him in a better light, but his jumping will be tested. Firefox looks the value in the race at the time of writing at 7/18.00. He was ahead of Ile Atlantique over hurdles, and he has now twice not been at his best at Naas, so maybe the profitable angle is through forgiveness. Still, I am happy to sit this one out for now.

The 15:30 Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown sees Galopin Des Champs look to enhance his excellent 6-7 record at this venue. He has been outstanding, although he had control of the Christmas race from the off and showed a smarter turn of foot when the challengers arrived. Connections of Fact To File will try something different on Saturday, according to reports.

There's no bet here, though. I've been stung looking for E/W value in these races in the past, but there's a high reality of playing for one place (third), and I am happy to watch and take notes for March.

Sunday at Leopardstown looks like a much more appealing betting medium and I will touch on that in Thursday's column. Be lucky.


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