IRELAND’S EYE on Thursday
Thursday 15 April IRELAND’S EYE Cheltenham stages its second of its 3 day fixture this evening and provides the only jumps action in England/Ireland today while is the second day of the Craven meeting at Newmarket. In addition Ripon on the turf and Kempton on the all weather later this evening provide the remaining flat action in Britain while Tipperary start a seven race flat card at four in Ireland. We will be taking on a ‘hot’ favourite in a competitive novice hurdle in the Cheltenham opener and later on the same card a course winner is taken to score over an extended three and a quarter miles for the first time in a hunter chase. Our nap was a late defection yesterday but we did not go empty handed as savers Playboy Luke (5/2-2/1) and Cadspeed (5/2-9/4) gave us a brace of winners at Gowran. From Dawn To Dusk (3-11/4) Gates Of Rome (6/4-11/8) were another couple of selections to fill the frame. The Philip Hobbs trained Captain Chris has been making a big name for himself since shaping well in a bumper at Kempton – taking a brace of hurdles on a sound surface in facile style in the last 5 weeks at the same venue. This expensive purchase looks a horse of some potential but the six yesr old may be opposable on his first try on a more testing track today as he lines up in the Class 2 novice hurdle at 2-10 over 2m 1f. The one that can overturn the ‘jolly’ is the three time ex French flat winner Salden Licht from the Alan King yard who opened his hurdle career with two good wins on softer ground at Plumpton and Kempton before running well in defeat in taking third in a decent Grade 2 hurdle on a return to Kempton where he had Frascati Park (ran well in taking runner up in competitive Punchestown last week) just in front where the pair were well beaten by a promising Paul Nicholls hurdler.
