PUNCHESTOWN PREVIEW:THE 2008 Cheltenham winner Fiveforthree is due to return to action at Punchestown this afternoon and if the track passes an 8am inspection he could earn a place among Willie Mullins's powerful team for next month's festival in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.
Yesterday’s heavy rain has the Punchestown authorities hoping for some good luck as ground conditions were already heavy ahead of a poor overnight weather forecast.
“We could get lucky, but to be honest we need a bit of luck,” manager Richie Galway said yesterday. “These showers are real deluges and based on the forecast we have to be worried. We could get 10mm to 20mm or we could get lucky and miss these showers.”
Fiveforthree is currently as low as 20 to 1 with the big-race sponsors for the World Hurdle despite not having seen a racecourse in 22 months.
Injury has blighted the grey’s career since his dramatic Cheltenham success three years ago, resulting in him having just 10 career starts to date. Today he is due to line up against five opponents in the two-mile opener and even though they include the former champion chase winner Newmill, Fiveforthree will be the centre of attention.
With less than four weeks to go until Cheltenham, time is running out for horses to earn festival tickets but despite already being a prime candidate to travel, Golden Silver has been handed a Grade Two option at Naas this Sunday.
The ultra-consistent gelding who lowered the colours of Big Zeb at Fairyhouse last month is one of seven remaining in the Paddy Power Chase over two miles, where he is joined by his stable companion Scotsirish.
“I’ve made the entry but it’s still early in the week and I need to look at the race,” Willie Mullins said yesterday.
Golden Silver is a 6-to-1 shot for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham but is also as low as 8 to 1 for the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Archie O’Leary, husband of Golden Silver’s owner, Violet O’Leary, said yesterday: “He’s not a definite and a lot will depend on a high performance in training on Thursday for his confirmation. Willie thinks he has had a lot of races but he seems to thrive on them.
“He’s been a good servant and I hope it continues. Last time at the start of the race he was terrible but he has a very good jockey in Paul Townend and he gets on terribly well with him.
“The horse is entered in the Champion Chase and the Ryanair. For the moment there is no decision as to which one he’ll go for.”
The champion trainer has left four in the Grade Two novice hurdle on Saturday including Day Of A Lifetime and the maiden Earlson Gray who ran Gagewell Flyer close in a similar graded event at Punchestown a fortnight ago. Sunday’s bumper has thrown up two subsequent Cheltenham winners in Hairy Molly (2006) and Pizarro (2002) and this weekend’s entry has a trio of Mullins entries including the Michael O’Leary owned Lovethehigherlaw, an impressive debut winner who is a 14-to-1 shot in some ante-post lists in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.
The third Grade Two on Sunday is the Woodlands Park Nas Na Riogh Chase where the O’Leary colours could be carried by either Roi Du Mee or Tharawaat.
Ground conditions at Naas were officially soft to heavy yesterday.
If today’s meeting goes ahead, Martin Scruff can make it two from two since being transferred to Ireland in the handicap hurdle. The ex-English runner won impressively at Thurles last week and has just a four-pound penalty.
Clonmel subject to inspection
AN EARLY 9am inspection will take place at Clonmel this morning ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled race meeting, writes Brian O’Connor.
The track was waterlogged and unraceable yesterday and a limit of 14 runners per race has already been put in place should it go ahead.
In other news, the Curragh has unveiled an incentive for owners hoping to run in this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
The owners of horses entered at the first or second entry stage will get a €12,500 refund if their horses win any Group or Listed race in Ireland, or any Group race in Europe, and then go on to run in the Curragh classic.
The incentive does not apply to supplementary entries.
“We have been working closely with Horse Racing Ireland to consider a variety of options to encourage owners to run their horses in this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and compete for the €1.25 million on offer with prize money available all the way down to 8th place,” the Curragh manager Paul Hensey said yesterday.
“We hope that any owners and trainers who missed the initial entry stage will now enter at the second entry stage, which closes on 23rd February, to avail of this special incentive.
