Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Vic-tory is ours
THE inaugural Dublin Racing Festival takes centre stage on the racing front this weekend.
With seven Grade 1 contests it looks set to be a cracking two days of action at Leopardstown and is a welcome addition to the Irish NH calendar.
And few winners will be met with the same applause as
if he comes out on top in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle.
The Willie Mullins-trained ten-year-old provided one of the shocks over Christmas when being pulled up in the Ryanair Hurdle in what was just his second ever defeat.
If that had been his first run back since injury, I would be opposing him at all costs today.
But the fact that he romped to victory in the Morgiana at Punchestown in November suggests that he may just have had an off day.
At odds-against, he is definitely worth another chance in the hope that we see a miniresurrection of ‘The Machine’.
Another enthralling contest is the Unibet Irish Gold Cup tomorrow.
With last year’s winner Sizing John heading straight for Cheltenham, Our Duke is favourite to make it two Irish Gold Cups in a row for Jessica Harrington.
But last year’s Irish National winner has some questions to answer after his disappointing reappearance in November.
The one to be on is
who won his first start in almost two years on New Year’s
Eve.
He returns to the scene of where he pulled off one of the most incredible wins ever seen on a racecourse back in 2016 when he was on his belly after almost falling at the last and still got back up to win.
The clash of Petit Mouchoir and in the Irish Arkle is another intriguing one.
Petit Mouchoir won the battle over hurdles, but the latter looks a much different prospect chasing and my preference is for him.
I expect to extend his unbeaten run in the Tattersalls
Ireland Spring Juvenile
Hurdle tomorrow.
will cruise to victory in the Deloitte
Novice Hurdle and I also like the chances of
in the Flogas.