Sunday Naas Racing Preview and Tips – DS
Sunday Naas Racing Tips and Preview
We had a pretty profitable day on Saturday. Fast Response won at 18s and Precisely (NB) placed from our UK preview. We also landed a string of very nice places at the Breeders’ Cup. Let’s hope the good spell continues this afternoon, check out Dave’s Sunday Naas racing tips below.
12.40 – Birdcatcher Nursery Handicap (Premier)
The one I’m backing in this end of season handicap is Marco Monaco. Trained by Sheila Lavery, this horse has been improving gradually with every run. His best effort in maidens was his last one at Navan, his first ever run on bottomless ground. Robbie Colgan held him up close to the rear throughout the early stages on the far side of the track.
The winner and the runner up made their moves up the near side and maybe that was the place to be that day. Marco Monaco was travelling as well as anything 2f out as he moved through the field but the two leaders had flown. It was almost as if Colgan was waiting for those two to pull away before he got serious with his mount but once he did, the son of Camacho stayed on very nicely and he ran through the line strong to get 3rd.
Mud Lover
That Navan run showed this horse had a liking for bad ground. His dam liked it good but Camacho’s have been known to enjoy it when the mud is flying. The runner up from Navan, Ardad’s Great, is rated 87 and she had previously placed in Listed company. Lavery’s charge was 4L behind her and was conceding 3lbs so a mark of 78 looks more than fair. There are ground concerns for a few of these today but Marco Monaco should relish the conditions and at 18/1, he is the e/w selection.
Sunday Naas Racing Tips: Marco Monaco e/w @ 18/1 NAP
2.57 – Finale Stakes (Listed)
To be honest, the top two in the betting here look pretty solid. Duke De Sessa and Yaxeni will both stay, they’ll both handle the ground and they are both proven in stakes company. Thanks to those two the rest of the 14 runners are all priced up pretty generously, including my e/w selection, Lakewood.
With a rating of just 80, Michael O’Callaghan’s 3yo daughter of Mastercraftsman should have no chance. However, she produced a career best over this C&D in the Listed race won by Yaxeni las time out. Declan McDonogh rode that day (12f sft) and he dropped his filly out in rear. Around the 3.5f mark McDonogh began to row away on his charge and she began to make some ground up the inner.
Momentum Lost
However, he had to snatch up and switch Lakewood off the inside around 1.5f out and that cost her momentum. She did stay on well late to get up for 7th, 12L behind Yaxeni. Now, I’m not saying Lakewood would have won or placed with a clear run but I do think she’d have possibly got to within 7L of the winner. The horse that finished 4th, Sensai, was 6.25L behind Yaxeni and she is rated 102.
Lakewood finished a nose behind the 90 rated Willesee and 0.75L in front of the 98 rated The Blue Brilliant. Her two best runs have come on soft and I think this bottomless ground could suit even better. Declan McDonogh keeps the ride and the fact she is having another crack in this company suggests he saw something in her last time that suggested she might be up to nicking some black type because otherwise, surely she’d be running in handicaps. This is one for small stakes only but with 4 places on offer, Lakewood is a speculative e/w selection at 100/1 (half stakes).
Sunday Naas Racing Tips: Lakewood e/w @ 100/1 (4 places) Half stakes
3.27 – November Handicap (Premier)
Two miles on heavy ground at Naas will be a gruelling test this afternoon. I was at the Curragh 11 days ago when Joupe won over 14f on ground equally as testing as it will be today. The 5yo son of Lope De Vega produced a career best to score by a nose and while this is a harder race, I really liked how he travelled into that contest.
2f out Daniel King was still sitting motionlessly on Joupe and he showed real guts to prevail over Advantage Point in the closing stages. He has now run well on his last three starts, winning over 12f at Dundalk off 68 and then adding that Curragh race off 72. The handicapper gave him a 7lb hike for that last win and he is now off a career high mark of 79.
Sean Bowen takes off a handy 7lbs so Joupe will be carrying just 8 stone this afternoon. We know he’ll handle heavy and there is a chance this extra 2 furlongs could eke out a little bit more improvement. Joupe is unexposed on heavy ground, unexposed over 2 miles and at odds of 50/1, hopefully he can run into the first 6.
