RACING:THE FAMOUS purple colours of Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown Stud look set to make an indelible mark on the St Stephen's Day action throughout Ireland but principally with the exciting novice Bog Warrior in Leopardstown's Grade One feature.
A total of nine runners line up for the €85,000 Racing Post Novice Chase, the first of five top-flight races throughout the four-day holiday festival at Leopardstown which has a total of €830,000 in prize-money up for grabs.
Ireland’s Christmas prize fund reaches well over the €1 million mark when taking into account the four days of Limerick and the St Stephen’s Day meeting at Down Royal.
And that could have a significant bearing on the duel between O’Leary and JP McManus at the top of the owner’s championship.
Bog Warrior is joined in Leopardstown’s feature by Gift Of Dgab while O’Leary has half of the field in Limerick’s featured Grade Two Greenmount Park Chase.
Other winning chances are speckled throughout the meetings but in terms of long-term significance the Gigginstown focus will definitely be on Bog Warrior.
The lightly-raced seven-year-old secured a first top-flight prize for his trainer Tony Martin when destroying the Drinmore Chase opposition at Fairyhouse earlier this month.
Gigginstown’s number one rider Davy Russell got it wrong that day when opting to ride First Lieutenant instead but he is back in the saddle this time and does so knowing the sky could be the limit for Bog Warrior on his favoured soft ground.
Conditions might become an issue come Cheltenham time in March but they won’t be an issue this time when testing going will be to the horse’s liking and will help him cope with the drop in trip from the Drinmore’s two and a half miles.
Up against him are a range of home opposition that hasn’t achieved anything like what Bog Warrior has over fences. But the intriguing element to this race is the appearance of David Pipe’s Notus De La Tour.
Normally Christmas traffic across the Irish Sea consists of Irish hopes heading to Kempton’s King George fixture. But this time there is no Irish runner at Kempton and instead Pipe is targeting Leopardstown’s enticing prize-money with a runner lined up for Tuesday’s Paddy Power Chase too.
Notus De La Tour, however, will provide an valuable early-season cross-channel form link between the novices as after a couple of easy wins over fences he ran a decent third to Walkon and Zaynar at Exeter on his last start.
He too is taking a drop in trip but that shouldn’t be an issue. Running into Bog Warrior though very much will be.
