Sunday Irish Preview: Leinster National at Naas

The majority of racing focus this weekend will obviously be on next week’s Cheltenham Festival, but there’s the Imperial Cup at Sandown on Saturday and the Leinster National at Naas on Sunday, with a Grade 3 and a listed race also taking place on the Irish card.

Naturally, with 17 runners declared, the Leinster National is competitive, but Rightdownthemiddle is Timeform top-rated by 2 lb and also one of just two horses in the race with a ‘p’ (capable of better) attached to their master chase figure. He needs to prove himself over three miles but he caught the eye when staying on strongly in a 21-furlong handicap chase at Leopardstown in January and fared even better when second over hurdles, albeit 15 lengths behind the winner. Oh, and he’s had just two starts for Gordon Elliott.

Elliott doesn’t just have one string to his bow, though, as Ucello Conti and Space Cadet are also in the race, with the former second on the weight-adjusted ratings. Ucello Conti got back to form when seven and a half lengths second of 18 to Champagne West in the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran last time and is clearly very interesting, however it’s pretty clear that his big target this season is the Grand National in which he was sixth last year. Coincidentally, Space Cadet was also second on his most recent start, in a novice handicap over two and a half miles at this course a fortnight ago.

Thunder And Roses has plenty of experience of big-field staying chases, including winning the Irish Grand National in 2015. He’s another who filled the runner-up spot on his latest outing, when half a length behind Pleasant Company in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase. That was actually his best effort yet, at the age of nine, giving best only to an up-and-coming sort that came in for a much more patient ride, and he’s another who is probably using this race as a stepping stone to the Grand National.

Seven-year-old mare Bonny Kate has barely put a foot wrong when completing a race, winning six times (including three over fences) and finishing third in handicaps on her last three starts, including in the Troytown and Thyestes. She’s a strong stayer over this trip, as are Troytown second Abolitionist and Sizing Coal. The J. P. McManus-owned Vent de la Cote (the other horse with a ‘p’), however, is unproven beyond 17 furlongs.

All things considered, the best bet in the Leinster National is Rightdownthemiddle in the hands of excellent young jockey Jack Kennedy.

The Grade 3 novice chase over two and a half miles features a small but select field. Heading the ratings is Alamein, who is also the only horse in the field with a ‘p’. The new challenge of chasing made a big difference to Alamein at Fairyhouse last time, he looked a natural and was full value for his improvement even though he wasn't tested by anything else on the day, especially with Blackmail departing at the fifth. The problem with Alamein, however, is that he’s spent the vast majority of his career over two miles and found little when fourth over two and a half miles last March.

Ball d’Arc, rated just 1 lb behind Alamein, has also spent most of his life over the minimum trip, but he proved he stays this distance when second in a big-field handicap chase at Navan in December.

As is becoming customary in Irish chases, Gigginstown also have a number of other runners in the race, four of the five in fact, with the odd one out being J. P. McManus’s Oscar Knight. He has a similar profile to Ball d’Arc as a novice chaser with plenty of experience of racing over the larger obstacles, finishing third in the three-mile Paddy Power Handicap at Leopardstown just after Christmas, and is arguably the most solid contender in the race.

The other runners are Gangster and Prince of Scars.  

The opening listed novice hurdle is competitive, with the top three on the ratings, Outspoken, Minella Till Dawn and Bleu Berry all still with a ‘p’ attached to their figures. Outspoken (closely related to the moody but smart hurdler/chaser Sadler's Risk) and Blue Berry both showed plenty of speed when winning over this trip of two miles last time, whereas Minella Till Dawn was strong in the finish when scoring over four furlongs further. Narrow preference is for Joseph O’Brien’s runner in a race won by the likes of Empire of Dirt and Sutton Manor in recent seasons.