LISTEN & LEARN
Impossible to ignore noise surrounding Dear’s record
LISTEN DEAR should prove hard to catch in the Hollymount Nursing Home Chase, feature of this evening’s eight-race jumps card in Ballinrobe.
An eight-year-old mare, trained for the Supreme Horse Racing Club by Willie Mullins, Listen Dear has won a bumper, three of her four outings over hurdles and is already a four-time winner over the bigger obstacles.
Successful over today’s course and distance on her chasing bow in September 2016, she went on to score in Thurles and Cork (a Grade 3 mares event) later that year.
Fourth behind stable-companion Great Field in the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase at last year’s Punchestown Festival, she scored easily at Limerick four weeks later.
She was then off the course until making her return at the Galway Festival, where she made most of the running in the 16-runner Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase before being collared inside the final furlong and beaten three and a half lengths by Show And Go.
That solid recent form entitles Paul Townend’s mount the vote here against a couple of similarly-rated,
J P Mcmanus-owned runners, Rock The World and
Dont Touch It, both of which need to return to former glories here.
Earlier, Fiesole, successful twice over flights in Down Royal last summer, and victorious off 77 in a recent flat handicap in Tramore, appeals in the Eamon Sheridan Groundworks Handicap Hurdle. Like Listen Dear, he’ll be ridden by Paul Townend.
Elsewhere, Gordon Elliott , inset, continued in good form with a double at Downpatrick’s Bank Holiday meeting yesterday.
Winner of a bumper on this track, Present In Court (Davy Russell) pipped Biddy The Boss (Ger Fox) by a nose in the hannontravel.ie Best Dressed Gentleman Maiden Hurdle.
“He’s a horse to go chasing next year – three miles and fences will be the job for him,” said Elliott. “He was flat-out the whole way and did well to win.”
And the Elliott double was completed when Caltex, runner-up on his second start over fences in Galway, bolted-up in the beginners chase, coasting home 18 lengths clear of Celebrity
Status to justify
8/11 favouritism.
“He’s due to go to the
Doncaster sales, but I’m not sure if he’ll go or not,” said Elliott, “We might hold onto him for another while.”
The other impressive winner on the day was the Mullins-trained Royal Rendezvous, a beaten odds-on favourite on his racecourse debut in Galway, but an effortless winner of the bumper.
Confidently handled by Patrick and always prominent, he cruised clear to slam Whoshotthesheriff by 23 lengths and looks sure to make his mark when he goes jumping hurdles and, ultimately, fences.