2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas Meeting Tips – DS
2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas Meeting Tips
We had to be satisfied with just the one place on Stephens’ Day. Risk Belle ran best of JP’s as hoped but of course finished 4th. Rock Ya Boy Ya tried to make all but didn’t get home on the ground. Espion Du Chenet jumped into 3rd at the final fence but his effort petered out. At least Visionarian ran a massive race at 28s, although it is a pity he didn’t win. We go again today, 2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas meeting tips are below.
1.10 – Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase (Grade 1)
It isn’t a great day for betting at Leopardstown considering the reputation of the meeting. There’s only 7 runners in this first Grade 1 (and just 6 in the second one). Track specialist Chacun Pour Soi has won his last four starts over C&D and bids to make it five in a row today. However, he is now almost an 11yo and he was well beaten first time up last season. That was at Sandown admittedly but he might be worth taking on, even on his favourite stomping ground.
The bookies make Blue Lord the most likely to topple Chacun. Another Willie Mullins inmate, he beat King George winner Tornado Flyer by a head last time at Clonmel (20f hvy). The son of Blue Bresil is effective at this trip too and he won a C&D G1 Novice here back in February. He has won five of his six chase starts and the 7yo could be a force to be reckoned with this season. Soft ground is fine, he’s fit and 11/4 looks a very fair price.
Track Concerns
Captain Guinness beat Andy Dufresne at Navan last time out. He was giving him 6lbs and was nearly 4L ahead of him so he should be well able to uphold that form. Can he win? I’m not too sure. He was well beaten on his last visit to this track and on his only other run here he fell. It isn’t often he puts back to back good runs together either so odds of 11/2 don’t make any appeal.
Andy Dufresne is a solid horse and he has won two chases, including a G3 Novice. However, he has twice finished behind Captain Guinness over fences when getting weight. Gentleman Du Mee beat Edwardstone at Aintree, serious form on paper. However, the King horse was probably over the top after a tough season and the Tingle Creek is probably a more accurate reflection of Gentleman du Mee’s ability.
Rain A Worry
The forecast rain might scupper Jeremy’s Flame’s chance. He has won on soft but at this level you’d prefer him to have his optimal conditions. That leaves the enigmatic Coeur Sublime. He was only a head behind Blue Lord on his penultimate start at Punchestown. Last time he was going best in the race won by Jeremy’s Flame before falling at the last.
The issue with this horse is that he seems best going right handed. To be fair, he was the most likely winner when falling at Naas, a left handed track, but all but one of his wins have come going the other way. Rachael Blackmore prefers Captain Guinness but Bryan Cooper is an able deputy and he has 20 wins and 56 Top 4 finishes when riding for De Bromhead. He’ll handle the ground, that Blue Lord form is solid and even though going left handed is a worry, odds of 20/1 are big enough to warrant a modest e/w bet.
2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas Tips: Coeur Sublime e/w @ 20/1
1.45 – Future Champions Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)
This looks another penalty kick for the exciting Facile Vega. He won his bumper at this meeting last season and hasn’t looked back since. Four more wins followed, including two G1 bumpers, and he hacked up on his hurdles bow in a Fairyhouse maiden. All ground comes alike to the son of Walk In The Park and it would be a big shock if he can’t take this step up in grade in his considerable stride.
Willie Mullins supplies four of the six runners and he’ll likely be taking home most of the prize money. I was at Punchestown the day Intranet won and he is a very nice type. He is a former French bumper winner who is 2/2 now in his short career.
It looked like he might stay a bit further than this at Punchestown but on this likely softer ground, 16f should be fine for him today. Belle The Lioness was 2.5L behind him last time and she subsequently finished 2nd in a Listed heat. Facile Vega is the most likely winner but 12/1 about Intranet is a pretty decent price and with two places on offer, he is the e/w selection.
2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas Tips: Intranet e/w @ 12/1
2.20 – Handicap Hurdle (0-145)
Off a mark of 122 with an in-form, talented claimer taking off another 7lbs, Global Export surely shouldn’t be 33/1 here. By Golden Horn, Gavin Cromwell’s 4yo was beat a length by subsequent Fred Winter 4th (off 128) HMS Seahorse in a maiden at Fairyhouse last February. He then made all to land a weak Navan maiden by 5L on good.
Connections opted to give him a break for a summer campaign and he mixed hurdling with the flat to no avail. That maiden win probably made them think he wanted better ground but his two best runs on the flat came on soft and heavy. His first handicap hurdle run came at Listowel but he unseated early doors. That was a big pot and on his next handicap start in a much less valuable race at Navan I’m not sure he was there to win.
In a first time hood he shaped much better in a Novice hurdle at Fairyhouse three weeks ago. Again, he wasn’t exactly given a hard race and the handicapper obliged by giving him another pound back. The £17k first prize here could well spark a return to top form and Patrick O’Brien rode a winner at Down Royal on Monday. He had a sighter on Global Export at Fairyhouse, hopefully he gets a good tune out of him here at odds of 33/1.
2022 Tuesday Leopardstown Xmas Tips: Global Export e/w @ 33/1 (4 places) NB
3.00 – Paddy Power Chase (Grade B)
There’s still some 25/1 about for my initial selection for this race, Take All. Read why I like him here. My confidence in him hasn’t waned, especially now that there is rain forecast. He’ll need luck in running though so we may as well fire another bullet with so many runners and extra places available. I think it could be pretty testing by the time this race starts and with that in mind, Western Zara might be worth a couple of quid e/w at the odds.
By Westerner, this 6yo mare ran really well in the Porterstown off 130 last time. She finished 6L behind Punitive at Fairyhouse, keeping on very well. This race is 5 furlongs shorter but if the ground deteriorates, it could turn into a real stamina test. That would be ideal for this mare because it looks like all she does is stay.
She won a handicap hurdle on decent ground at Fairyhouse in January before hacking up on heavy in a mares’ chase at Clonmel (20f). It was some run last time considering it was her first handicap chase and while it wasn’t a massive field, she should have learned plenty from the experience. She has never gone left handed, a slight worry, but she jumped left a couple of times at Conmel on her seasonal return so hopefully, she’ll be fine. At odds of 33/1, she is worth chancing each way.
