The Betway ambassador runs through his rides on a strong Easter Sunday card at Fairhouse and discusses a couple of tricky decisions over which horses to ride.
A busy Easter Sunday for us at Fairyhouse with 19 runners across the card. I have five good rides, but as you’d expect with so many runners, there were a few headaches over which horses to ride. Hopefully, I’ve picked the right ones, and hopefully the whole team will have plenty of success on the day.
I kick off with Leader d’Allier / in the first of the Grade 2 novice hurdles (14:40), and I was gutted when he was taken out of the Supreme after taking a lame step because I thought he was set to run a big race at Cheltenham. He trotted up that morning absolutely fine, and his work has been very good since, so it was just a lame step, and we’ll be hoping everything goes to plan for him this weekend. His form in France prior to joining us was very good, and we were a little disappointed when he got beaten at Leopardstown over Christmas, but he took a big step forward when winning at Punchestown the following month, and there should be even more to come from him. There are a few nice types in here, but this is certainly nowhere near as tough as the Supreme would have been, and he’s a horse we think a lot of, so I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t able to go close in this.
He’s On Fire / then goes for the novice race over two and a half miles (15:15), and he’s a very interesting horse. He absolutely bolted up at Carlisle last time, and while he was probably entitled to win that race, the runner‑up has since come out and won well at Market Rasen, so there’s nothing wrong with that form. This will obviously be much tougher, but he’s the highest‑rated of those with a mark, and he’s done everything we’ve asked of him at home, so I think he’s quite a nice horse. Willie runs six in the race, and most of them have some sort of chance, but I just felt He’s On Fire was probably the one with the most scope to improve further, so hopefully I’m on the right one.
Next up, it’s the Honeysuckle Mares’ Novices (15:50), and we wouldn’t mind if one of ours in here turned out to be as good as she was! Again, plenty of runners for Willie, but again I just felt Charme De Faust / was the one open to the most improvement, so I’ve opted to ride her. I don’t think many four‑year‑olds have tried to win this race, but she’s a hardy filly, and I think the experience she gained at Cheltenham will stand her in really good stead here, taking on the older mares. The extra couple of furlongs should help her too, and in receipt of plenty of weight from the rest, I think she could run a big race. Oldschool Outlaw will probably take some beating for Gordon – she’s done nothing wrong all season and was probably just a bit unlucky at Cheltenham – but hopefully we can give her something to think about.
Karamoja / finally put it together last time at Thurles after two poor runs prior to that, so I’m hoping she can continue in that sort of form in the novice handicap (16:25). She will probably need to improve again to win this, but her mark of 132 is probably fair on the very best of her form; it’s just a question of whether she can back that run up here. There are some nice types in this, though, and Break My Soul ran a cracker in the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival, so although she’s got plenty of weight, she could be a tough nut to crack if turning up this weekend in similar form.
I finish the day with Predators Gold / in the WillowWarm Gold Cup (17:00), and this was a real headache because Kappa Jy Pyke would probably have been the obvious one. I just thought Danny was very good on Kappa Jy Pyke last time at Punchestown, but he might have just picked up the pieces that day, and Predators Gold is a horse I’ve always had a soft spot for, so I’m just hoping I don’t look stupid come Sunday afternoon. Predators Gold has returned to the track after a long absence with two really good runs, so it’s always pleasing when they come back and prove they retain their ability, and hopefully there’ll be even more to come from him going forward.
Jimmy Du Seuil is probably a bit of a forgotten horse in here off the back of a poor run when he fell last time, but maybe there was something amiss with him that day. I actually schooled him the other day, and he felt grand, so I wouldn’t rule him out either. It was a very difficult decision between the three of Willie’s, but as I say, I’m just praying I’m on the right one.
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