DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
MONDAY APRIL 6
2.35 PLUMPTON
EDWARDSTONE has been an unbelievable servant to connections over the years, dining at the very highest level for the majority, and even though he is the veteran of today’s field by some margin, he still has enough class to show the younger brigade who is boss.
The victim of his own success in recent times, he has become a very difficult horse to place, and it has meant Alan King’s inmate has had to settle for minor honours up against genuine Grade 1 horses such as Jonbon, Djelo, L’Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps.
However, present him with a slight ease in class, he is more than a capable of taking advantage, as he proved when he captured the Grade 2 Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton two starts ago.
A winner of eight of his 28 starts over fences, only once before has he run in a handicap when he finished a respectable runner-up at Kempton off a mark of 163 and now down to 151 just over a year later, the evergreen 12-year-old will almost not know what to do with himself running in a much lower gear throughout.
EDWARDSTONE – 1-point win@7-2
3.45 PLUMPTON
A competitive handicap with quite a few arriving here in decent shape and of those in that category, MOUNT ANGLESBY makes plenty of appeal at his morning price as a solid each-way proposition.
Alistair Ralph’s gelding was coming off the back of a 79-day break at Warwick last time out but despite giving away a fitness advantage to many, he found the necessary reserves to carve out a victory late on.
Prior to that notable success, the seven-year-old had enjoyed a good run of results until finding bad ground at Ascot tripping him up but with his best speed figure coming in a strongly run race over 2m4f on good ground, it is hard to get your head around why he has been chalked up as one of the rank outsiders.
MOUNT ANGLESBY – ½ point each-way@18-1 (four places)
3.50 FAIRYHOUSE
A race where many of the participants have questions to ask in terms of current form or effectiveness over the trip but the same cannot be said about KAWABOOMGA and he rates a strong choice to make up for lost time.
A very promising novice last season, he proved too strong for subsequent Supreme runner-up, William Munny, in a fast time over today’s course 14 months ago and following that highly encouraging display, he was chalked up as one of the favourites to land the Turners Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Unfortunately, Willie Mullins’ inmate failed to make the gig due to an injury he picked up at home, and we didn’t see him until he made his belated return to action at Gowran a month ago.
Even though the ground was testing at the Kenny venue, two miles against specialists over that trip looked as though it might catch him out and so it proved, with the six-year-old just keeping on at the same pace in the closing stages having got done for tactical speed after two out.
Shaping as though he would be all the better for the run 51 days ago, the son of Tunis should be much more at fever pitch at this stage of the season than one or two of his rivals who have plenty of dust-ups during the campaign and with a profile to suggest today’s trip will see him in a more favourable light, he has the all the right qualities to take this prize before going on to much better things.
KAWABOOMGA – 2-point win@2-1
5.00 FAIRYHOUSE
A typically complex Irish National in store with several to catch the eye, none more so than SHOWURAPPRECIATION who arrives here in the form of his life and very much suggesting he has even more improvement to offer over this sort of trip.
Improving through the novice ranks, the culmination of his recent endeavours came when he landed the hat trick in the final of the EBF Novice Chase Series at Navan and given how well he hit the line, three miles looked like the bottom end of his stamina spectrum.
Clearly that was the plan and today is an afterthought of sorts, but he must have bounced of his latest exploits licking his bowl every day since for connections to even contemplate running in a race of this nature and the hint deserves noting.
Of the other lightly raced novices – a group that often do well in this race down the years – SOLDIER IN MILAN comes across as a horse who could go well in this stamina test, and he deserves a small interest to shine on handicap debut.
Given a positive ride when making virtually all at Punchestown two starts ago, it was slightly strange to see him dropped right out at Thurles last time out but may be there were other forces at play and connections didn’t want to blow his rating of 142 out of the water.
Whether that theory is a case of putting two and two together and coming up with five is up for debate but either way, Emmet Mullins and Paul Byrne know the price of fish, and it will come as little surprise if the deadly duo pull off yet another master stroke, especially if he reverts to positive tactics (six of the last ten winners of Irish National have either made all or raced handy).
SHOWURAPPRECIATION – 1-point win@10-1
SOLDIER IN MILAN – 1-point win@15-2