It will be a day shy of being a perfect birthday present, and Texas Jack's Hennessy shot is a long one, but Paul Carberry can still secure a notable Grade One victory on his return to action on board Apache Stronghold at Leopardstown this Sunday.
The veteran jockey will be 41 on Monday and the ability to keep bouncing back from the sort of fall that saw him damage ribs at the Dublin track three weeks ago, has characterised his long career as much as supreme talent.
A single ride on Aengus at Naas today should be enough for Carberry to get his eye in ahead of tomorrow’s prestigious Hennessy card worth almost €500,000 and containing four Grade One prizes.
Carberry has twice won the Hennessy with Florida Pearl (2000) and Beef Or Salmon (2006) but it is the Flogas Novice Chase that looks to present him with his best top-flight chance this time.
Perfect
The two mile-five-furlong trip looks perfect for A
pache Stronghold
who chased home Valseur Lido in the Drinmore in November before finding Don Poli too good over three miles here at Christmas.
The suspicion is that tackling Valseur Lido again might be preferable to facing the potentially exceptional Don Poli, especially since that Drinmore form looked to come on the back of what looked a comparatively laboured performance by Noel Meade’s horse.
A peak-form Apache Stronghold can reverse that around here on quicker ground conditions.
Carberry’s contemporary Tony McCoy will get a first feel of the hugely exciting Alvisio Ville in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle which will be a stern test of how on-the-ball a midweek gamble on the JP McManus-owned horse for Cheltenham’s Neptune has been.
The French recruit could hardly have been more visually impressive on his Irish debut at Christmas but the bare form is hardly brilliant, although both Aengus and Baily Cloud have an opportunity to boost it at Naas.
Alvisio Ville's reputation is such that a trio of other Willie Mullins hopefuls, including proven Grade One winners, McKinley and Nichols Canyon, are firmly in the shadows ahead of a race that has produced the last two Supreme winners at Cheltenham.
Doubly represented
Dermot Weld
will be doubly represented by the Dr Ronan Lambe pair Silver Concorde and Windsor Park and
Davy Russell
has thrown a minor curve-ball by siding with the latter.
It will be interesting to see how Silver Concorde goes now he will be reunited with Robbie McNamara who rode him to win last season’s Cheltenham bumper.
Silver Concorde flopped on his jumping debut but Blair Perrone is no mug and the quicker going can make a big difference to the Weld horse.
Vercingetorix is bred to relish those conditions too in the Gala Juvenile Hurdle and can step up on his impressive Limerick debut while Prince de Beauchene has looked transformed and up to beating stalwart hunters, On The Fringe and Salsify.
