Gowran Park Thursday Tips and Preview by Dave Stevos
Gowran Park Thursday Racing Tips
We made an atrocious start last Saturday but thankfully it turned out alright in the end. Anythingforlove didn’t jump with fluency and she couldn’t land a blow. Nordano drifted like a barge and ran accordingly. The Mighty Don didn’t enjoy the very testing ground and he’ll be much better in the Spring. Domaine De L’Isle was unable to repeat last year’s heroics and it was left to First Flow to save the day. He put in as good a round of jumping as you’ll see this season and he scooted home for us at 22/1 (returned 14s). The Thyestes Chase is the feature race on Thursday and you can watch the action live on Racing TV or RTE2. Check out Dave Stevos’ Gowran Park Thursday tips below…
1.45: Auction Maiden Hurdle (4yo+)
First up at Gowran Park is this 20.5f maiden hurdle for lady riders only. Fangio De Vassy and Gelee Blanche will likely battle it out for favouritism but neither look bulletproof. Gelee Blanche hasn’t looked like she has been crying out for this sort of trip on her last two starts. However, she did stay on well over 16f at Galway on her hurdling debut. Fangio De Vassy did win his P2P over 3 miles but he didn’t get home over 21f at Leopardstown. If I had to back either one of those horses I would favour the De Bromhead inmate.
One that could go well at a much bigger price is Polla Milano for Liz Lalor. She trains and rides this daughter of Milan who scored by 12L in a 24f P2P last time out on soft/heavy. She was previously 3rd in a similar heat on better ground. The runner up in that race has since placed in a novice hurdle at Kelso. This 6yo is a half-sister to Sizing At Midnight, a 4 time winner for the Tizzards in England. She clearly appreciated the soft/heavy ground last time and at odds of 12/1 Polla Milano is a speculative each way selection.
Gowran Park Thursday Tip: Polla Milano e/w @ 12/1
2.20: Galmoy Hurdle (Grade 2)
The Galmoy Hurdle is the only Graded race on the card at Gowran Park on Thursday. A field of 10 will go to post for the 3 mile heat and the trip will take some getting on this ground. Four of them are trained by Willie Mullins and he won this last year with Benie Des Dieux. Great White Shark, the pick of Paul Townend, heads the market for Mullins at around 11/4.
He won the Cesarewitch at Newmarket (18f sft) on his last outing, following up on his win at Galway over timber (23f sft). However, while he handles soft ground he has run just once on heavy and that was a very poor effort. 4 of his 6 wins have come on ground with good in the description and he could be worth taking on.
Mary Looks Overpriced
One mare who will definitely be doing her best to pick up some black type for Martin Hassett is Mary Frances. With a rating of 136 it looks like a tall order for her. However, she is going to relish the heavy ground. She has had 4 career starts at 23f to 24f on proper heavy ground and they produced form figures of 2111. She destroyed Burrows Saint and Scarpeta at Clonmel on her penultimate outing (24f hvy). The daughter of Well Chosen was poor last time out, admittedly. However, the drop in trip and ground were all wrong for her at Leopardstown.
I am hoping that Robbie Power is able to nick an early lead on Mary Frances as she is best when dictating from the front. She meets Burrows Saint on identical terms as Clonmel and she is 10lb better off with Scarpeta. The former is 9/1, the latter is 12/1 yet Mary Frances can be backed at as big as 33/1! If she is ever going to nick some black type today could be the day and a small e/w interest is advised.
Gowran Park Thursday: Mary Frances e/w @ 33/1 NB
2.50 Gowran Park: Handicap Hurdle (80-123)
10 horses will line up at the start for this 20.5f handicap hurdle. One that looks potentially very well handicapped on his belated first start in this sphere is Someday for Yvonne Latta and Barry Browne. This 9yo son of Black Sam Bellamy has clearly had plenty of issues. He ran a couple of cracking races in hot maiden hurdles back in 2017. He chased home Next Destination on heavy at Naas (19f) and finished 3rd behind Dicey O’Reilly at Leopardstown. This horse was trained by Jessica Harrington back then and it is interesting that he is now owned by her daughter Kate.
Someday was absent for the guts of 3 years after that Leopardstown run and he unseated on his return in a P2P back in October. He ran much better when 3rd in another P2P at Dromahane in December. He now returns to rules to make his handicap debut off a mark of 116. This gelding was finishing in and around horses that went on to achieve ratings in the 140s and 150s in those maiden hurdles in 2017 so his mark looks extremely tempting. Someday is far from a certainty so stakes should be kept small. However, he showed that he retained some sort of ability in that P2P last time and at odds of 25/1 I think he is worthy of a small e/w interest.
Gowran Park Thursday: Someday e/w @ 25/1
3.25: Thyestes Chase (Grade A)
The Thyestes Chase is biggest race run at Gowran Park druring the season. Willie Mullins has an outstanding recent record in this contest. He has saddled 5 of the last 10 winners, including the last 2 in a row. Total Recall hosed up in 2020 for the Slaneyville Syndicate and they are hoping to repeat the trick with Acapella Bourgeois.
He comes into the race carrying top weight and Paul Townend has opted for him out of a total of 5 Mullins runners. Acapella Bourgeois was the 2nd fav for this last year, when Townend also rode, and he could only manage 6th off 152. He is now 4lb higher, a year older at 11 and surely there has to be a better handicapped horse than him in the race.
Alpha Des Obeaux is an interesting contender for Gordon Elliott, who also runs 5. This horse likes it at Gowran Park and he won the Galmoy Hurdle on heavy ground at this meeting back in 2016. He was 4th behind Presenting Percy in the same race in 2018 and he ran a huge race in the 2019 Thyestes for this 7lb claimer off 155 . He was beat just 1.5L by Invitation Only and when you consider that Rob James dropped his whip you could argue he was unlucky not to win.
Fairly Treated
Alpha Des Obeaux has had three runs so far this season, all in Graded races. He ran poorly in them but as a result his handicap mark has dropped to 152. Gordon Elliott’s charge has 15L to find with Acapella Bourgeois on their meeting off level weights at Fairyhouse last February. However, with James’ 7lb claim he is 11lb better off with that rival today so he should close the gap. He had previously finished a fine 3rd off 159 in the Becher at Aintree (26f sft) for Mouse Morris. He is effectively racing off a 14lb lower mark in this contest.
Given his liking for Gowran Park this race has likely been the plan for the son of Saddler Maker. His form figures at this meeting read 142 and he handles heavy ground perfectly well. Rob James is back on board for the first time since his great effort in this contest a couple of years ago and he will appreciate the drop back into handicap company. With 6 places on offer, Alpha Des Obeaux looks well worth chancing each way at odds of 20/1.
