The last real chance for Irish racing trainers with plans for the Cheltenham Festival next month arrives this weekend with the Bobbyjo Chase card at Fairyhouse. The feature race on the day is the Grade 3 contest itself, with eight runners set to take on the three mile and a furlong trip at 3.25, part of an eight-race card at the Meath track. Read below to discover the latest tips and a preview of Fairyhouse’s card on Saturday courtesy of BoyleSports, who will be offering the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup odds at the Festival next month.0
The opening contest on the Fairyhouse card (1.05) is a maiden hurdle over the two mile trip. Meath trainer Gordon Elliott could get his afternoon off to a hot start with Kish Bank, a bumper winner that was second of ten in a Gowran maiden ten days ago to step up appreciably on his debut fifth over obstacles so is taken to go one better here ahead of De Temps En Temps for the Gavin Cromwell team, a winner of a course and distance bumper when last seen.
Race two of the afternoon sees seven runners head to the start for the two-mile handicap hurdle for four-year-old’s (1.40), where the promising Janes Harbour for the Joseph O’Brien team looks the way to go, third in a juvenile hurdle at Down Royal 112 days ago and makes her handicap bow here.
A two and a half mile handicap hurdle marks race three of the Fairyhouse card (2.15) and a decent field of 16 are set to take it on. Elliott could pick up his second winner on the card with Sporting Glory here, a bumper winner that was third in a Thurles novice to follow up. He ran no race in the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Leopardstown earlier this month, a race won by Turners Novices’ Hurdle favourite Final Demand, so that run is best excused and Sporting Glory is back in much calmer waters this weekend.
The vote goes to Warden’s Whisper in race four (2.50) for Philip Rothwell in the big-field two and a half mile handicap hurdle before we get to the feature race of the day.
The Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase is up next at 3.25 and eight five-year-old’s or older are heading to post to battle it out for the €22,500 top prize. I Am Maximus, winner of the Grand National at Aintree and also the reigning champion of this race, lines up again for master trainer Wille Mullins but this time, preference heads to stablemate Nick Rockett, who showed high-class form to defy a whopping mark of 152 to win the Grade 1 Thyestes at Gowran Park last month. Irish Grand National winner Intense Raffles should certainly be on the premises too in what looks a belting renewal in 2025.
After the Lord Mayor’s Show is the three-mile and a furlong novice chase at 4.00, where Jasmin De Cotte is the pick on form off the back of a good third of 17 in a handicap chase at Leopardstown, while the penultimate race of the day (4.35) can go the way of Spindleberry for the Mullins team, just narrowly edging the vote over Bioluminescence, who is up near the top of the betting for the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham for Gavin Cromwell.
Finally, the card comes to a close with a bumper over two miles, with 12 runners set to line up at the start. Preference in the finale heads the way of Eachoftheirown for trainer Barry Connell, second on debut at Navan 35 days ago and splitting a couple of point-to-point winners in the process. Expensive debutant Arslan for the Mullins team has to be of interest too, costing €180,000 as a four-year-old for connections and sent to Closutton.
Fairyhouse selections – Saturday
1.05 – Kish Bank
1.40 – Janes Harbour
2.15 – Sporting Glory
2.50 – Warrens Whisper
3.25 – Nick Rockett
4.00 – Jasmin De Cotte
4.35 – Spindleberry
5.10 – Eachoftheirown
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