2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15 Tips – DS
2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15
It’s that time of year again. Forget King Wenceslas and Santa Claus, the King George and the Savills Chase will be on the minds of the horse racing public as Christmas closes in. With so much quality fare on the menu, it is surely worth going for a biggie with a 2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15 (and four small e/w singles also recommended). After Fiercely Proud on Saturday, Dave Stevos’ confidence is high (famous last words). Check out his tips below.
1.10 Leopardstown – Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 2)
Last year, I put up a William Durkan horse for this race. Eagle Fang wasn’t suited by the yielding ground but I think Durkan’s £105k purchase Star Runner might run better than his odds suggest on ground that is likely to be good to yielding if the weather forecast is correct.
This horse first came to my attention when I was previewing a 3yo hurdle race in Cork for my other gig. He was formerly trained by Andrew Balding in the UK and while he failed to win a flat race for him, he was only beaten a short head in a handicap on his last start for him over 10f off 75 at Windsor (good to firm).
He was 1.75l in front of the then 73 rated Prometeo and he is now rated 86 after winning his next three starts. The ground was good for the son of Zoustar’s hurdling debut at Cork in October and he ran a huge race, beaten by a head by Cruden. Back in fourth was Action Plan, since a winner of a 3yo hurdle at Punchestown.
On his next start at Navan I’m not sure this horse was in love with the yielding ground. He was bang there as they were coming to the last but his effort petered out on the stiff uphill finish. The drying ground at Leopardstown should be in his favour and he has already shown an aptitude for hurdling. No doubt he’ll probably bump into a couple of machines from bigger yards but at odds of 100/1, I can’t resist having a few quid e/w on Star Runner.
2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Star Runner e/w @ 100/1
1.45 Leopardstown – Novice Handicap Hurdle (123=11st 12)
Last year we landed a lovely touch in this race with King Eddie Cawley’s Ataboycharlie. Unfortunately, Cawley hasn’t got any entries this time but I think the Colm Murphy trained Depalma is worth a second look at tasty odds.
This 5yo son of Ocovango gets in here off a mark of 101. He’ll be carrying bottom weight and even better, with Charlie O’Dwyer’s 5lb claim he’ll be effectively running off 96. This horse has shown a decent level of ability on three of his last four starts. He wasn’t disgraced at Galway on his handicap debut and seasonal return in October and he followed that with the run that makes him of real interest here.
Solid Wexford Form
At Wexford (16.5f sft), back in maiden company, Depalma was narrowly defeated by One Big Boum. The winner was giving him 5lb but he was rated 107 and he went on to win a Cork handicap easily off that mark on his next start and he is now rated 115. The third, Stoneyford Lady, was 13l behind and she ran a decent enough race to finish fourth on her handicap debut off 102 on her next start.
Depalma admittedly ran poorly on his latest start back in a handicap at Punchestown at the end of last month but the 19f trip on testing ground probably proved too much of a stamina test. The drop back to 2m1f should suit, he ran well on good ground in a maiden at Kilbeggan back in May and if he repeats the form he showed at Wexford, hopefully Depalma can hit the frame at odds of 25/1.
2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Depalma e/w @ 25/1 (5 places)
2.30 Kempton – King George VI Chase (Grade 1)
Spillane’s Tower is the current 7/2 favourite for the 2024 King George on the back of his superb effort in the John Durkan. Jimmy Mangan’s up and coming 6yo son of Walk In The Park does have plenty going for him, especially his liking for going right handed, but the forecast good ground is a bit of a worry. He was a non-runner on the only occasion he was declared on ground with good in the description so he might need a bit of rain to fall to produce his best.
Banbridge will appreciate the nice ground but he has to prove his stamina for this trip. There’s question marks around the well-being of the French raider Il Est Francais and like Spillane’s Tower, ground with good in the description may not be ideal for Grey Dawning. So, with all that in mind, it might be worth taking a chance on one at a price.
Reigning Champ
We backed Hewick in this race last year and I was planning on doing the same again. However, he heads to Leopardstown so instead, I am going to take a punt on one of the other French raiders, Juntos Ganamos. Trained by ex-jockey David Cottin, he’ll be ridden by Felix De Giles and he has raced exclusively at Auteuil during his fourteen race career.
This son of Martaline has an excellent strike rate over fences at up to 22f. He has won seven of his nine chase starts over 17f to 22f and in his two defeats, he unseated in one and fell in the other. His last two runs in Grade 1 company have come over 3m6f (unseated) and over 27.5f when he was beaten 11l into third.
Untried on Good Ground
He has yet to race over 24f or on good ground and there is every chance he could relish this trip and the underfoot conditions. His sire, Martaline, has a winner to runner win percentage of 39% on good ground and he is bred along similar lines to Vanillier, who produced his career best performance when winning the Albert Bartlett on good to soft in 2021.
Another possible plus for this fella is his running style. He likes to lead or be close to the pace and he has a similar sort of profile to First Gold, who won this race on his first visit to the UK back in 2000. Hes only a five year old, so there could be plenty of improvement to come from him and at odds of 25/1, Juntos Ganamos is the e/w selection.
2024 Boxing Day E/W Lucky 15 Tip: Juntus Ganamos e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)
2.55 Leopardstown – Handicap Chase (140 = 11st 12)
Our final St Stephen’s Day selection goes in this 2m1f handicap chase. Broomfield Bijou may have run a disappointing race on her handicap chase debut at Fairyhouse but I am not sure the 2m4f trip was ideal for her and she suffered a fair bit of interference on the home turn too.
Previous to that run, this mare ran a cracker behind Jasko Des Dames in a novice chase at Punchestown (16.5f, good). Back in October at the same track she finished an 8l third in a Grade 3 novice over 2m2f, not quite seeing out the trip.
Her sole win over fences came at Wexford in July when she beat the 116 rated Costanuci by 6l. She has also won a couple of races over timber, so she does know how to get her head in front and Philip Dempsey won this race back in 2012 with Jacksonslady. At odds of 20/1, Broomfield Bijou is worth backing e/w.
