The meetings at both Thurles and Musselburgh, survived their early morning inspections and go ahead as planned…
Neither meeting is outstanding, though the presence of 2011 Champion hurdle runner up, Peddlers Cross, should see a few extra hundred on the attendance at the Scottish track.
He is very much on the comeback trail but a comfortable victory for him today, should see him confirmed as a runner for the Stayers hurdle at the festival…
Interesting though that race will be to watch – it is not one for tipping in. Instead, I’ve gone for the handicap chase at 2:40 – and another Ferdy Murphy runner…
2:40
Those of you who are on the ball, will have noticed that I’ve latched on to a few of Ferdy’s runners recently.
I tipped Samson Collonge last week – and got pretty close to tipping Charingworth yesterday (and what a sickener that might have been, with the horse finishing second at 28/1 !).
The fact of the matter is, Ferdys horses just don’t seem to perform in the first half of the year – but once Christmas has passed, they gradually get into gear – and from February onwards, you ignore them at you peril !
Part of the reason for that, is that by that point, quite a few of them are well handicapped !
That is certainly the case with The Hollinwell, who won a jumpers bumper race at Southwell almost exactly a year ago today – and then followed that up by running in Kim Muir chase at the festival, off a mark of 134.
That is certainly the case with The Hollinwell, who won a jumpers bumper race at Southwell almost exactly a year ago today – and then followed that up by running in Kim Muir chase at the festival, off a mark of 134.
Today, The Hollinwell gets to run off a mark of 107 – which is bordering on the ridiculous !
In fairness, he has put in some poor runs in the meantime, but he has also run well on a couple of occasions; most notably, last June, when finishing third in the Perth Gold Cup.
In fairness, he has put in some poor runs in the meantime, but he has also run well on a couple of occasions; most notably, last June, when finishing third in the Perth Gold Cup.
The Holinwell hadn’t shown much in his five races so far this season – until his latest outing…
That might sound an odd thing to say, considering he finished last of 6, beaten 16 lengths – however, he was still there with every chance jumping the third last fence…
A further 4lb fall in the handicap as a result of that run, might just be sufficient to see him bounce back to form today…
I must admit to having some slight reservations about the trip and ground today: 2m4f on quick ground might not be ideal. Also, the removal of the eye shield and blinkers combination, is not necessarily a good thing…
However, the Hollinwell has won over this trip in the past and run well on quick ground – in addition all of his victories have been when he’s not been wearing head gear – so the messages are mixed to say the least !
What isn’t uncertain however, is that he is a very well handicapped horse today – and one that I believe could be just about to run into serious form…
0.5pt win The Hollinwell 14/1 (8/1 after R4)
Here’s hoping for a great day ahead !
TVB.
TVB.
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