Here goes nothing
12.25 Never really liked this race so not even going to waste my time delving into it.
12.55 Sophocles' run the last day doesn't look that bad at all in the context of Shazand but I'm beginning to wonder how trustworthy he is. Then again, the horses who raced in behind him the last day have done ok. Without any rain, Chateau D'Eau will enjoy the ground. Not sure if there's a great amount of strength in depth beyond the front two...again another watching brief perhaps. The O'Brien horse should be ok although he is coming out again very quickly after a disappointing run last time.
1.30: Good race...hard to assess now as we don't know whether Nickname runs. If he does, he'll be very difficult to beat although that's presuming conditions suit him and it's not too lively. I'd be inclined to think that Schindlers Hunt ran a better race than the formbook suggests last time. A race to watch again.....do you see a trend!
2.00: This is a very good renewal. Think Cork All Star will have benefitted from the experience the last day and remains the one to beat. Ground will not inconvenience him and should again have the beating of Whatuthink [probably wants easier ground] while the Meade duo wouldn't be as good as Muirhead.
Aranleigh has yet to convince so the main opponent of interest is Majestic Concorde. Has clearly improved and matured from this time last year when he was stuffed in the opener. Yet I would be surprised if he has improved beyond
Cork All Star.
The outside bet here is
Forpadydeplasterer. Never mind the fact that Mick The Dog was second the last time, it was a good race he won because there were some nice types in behind who have run well since. The Murphy yoke who finished sixth is very well regarded while O'Grady's who finished seventh won comfortably last week. With Russell on board, he's got a fair chance of running into the money.
2.35: A nice handy race, as always
I'm disappointed that Teeming Rain hasn't developed over fences like I thought he might considering he was smart enough to beat Sweet Kiln and others over hurdles and maybe he doesn't want an all out bog. Always wary of what Tyner brings to the table so those runners merit respect. You would have expected
Merdeka and O'Muircheartaigh to be plying their trade at higher plains when they were youngsters and their profiles have to be respected here. The ex-Paul Webber trained No Full ran a very nice race behind Aranleigh and Woodbine Willie over hurdles last time as a prep run and that merits respect. I can't figure out what they're doing with Point Barrow this year either but on his best he's potentially very nicely treated.
My main bet - albeit at small stakes - will be
Baily Breeze. It would concern me that he hasn't exactly ran well around here before but he is versatile enough to have won on both good to firm ground and heavy, has some form in his book which would suggest he has a touch of class and gets in off a reasonable weight of 10.12. Admittedly he will have to improve from his run in the Troytown but I think he can come on for the better ground and can hopefully get a bit of daylight from a prominent position.
3.10 As I've discussed at the first page of this thread, I can't get away from
Offshore Account but it hardly required the dexterity of Hetty Wainthrop to sort this one out from the crowd. The Racing Post has him in as the clear favourite and understandably so. If Foley has got Royal Paradise back to his best then he's an obvious each way bet.
3.40: I tend to leave such races to An Capall but I'd be thinking that Shakervilz will not at all be too inconvenienced by the conditions.
LIMERICK
1:10: Very nice race and you can take your pick of four. Larkwing handled tough conditions last time but it will be interesting to see how Alexander Taipan performs as he's surely using this as a prep to one of the bigger handicap chases in the New Year.
2.20: Flat enthusiasts will note the presence of Zalongo in a 74-102 rated handicap hurdle
2.50: Royal Heritage would have to go close here and if O'Muircheartaigh runs well or wins the Paddy Power then best to take the winnings and put it on this. However, a long outsider in this is
That's My Idea who has won in both his previous outings at Limerick and may not have been 'off' in his two runs this season.
3.20: Sure to be plenty of drama here....best way to approach a Limerick novice betting wise is to lay the leader coming into the straight...I find anyway. It extends to a lot of races at the track. Anyway, that aside, Derek O'Connor knows his way around here and so does the horse so
The Bosses Nephew gets a tentative vote
