RAIDERS AIM FOR RARE WIN

ENGLISH success in the Festival’s showpiece events, the Plate and Hurdle have been rare.

But raiders will feature in both races this week, with Harry Fry and John Quinn hoping to have big-race runners for leading owner J P Mcmanus.

The Quinn-trained Project Bluebook, sixth to Tigris River last year, is on course for the Guinness Galway Hurdle, but needs three horses to come out of the race to be guaranteed a place in the line-up.

And Harry Fry has confirmed Drumcliff, successful at Uttoxeter last time, is on course for the Plate, but needing one defection to make the ‘cut’.

In addition to the Mcmanus influence, Neil Mulholland has Kalondra in the Plate while Dr Richard Newland intends sending 140-rated Leoncavallo, a winner at Ludlow in May, for the Guinness Galway Hurdle.

And Ian Jardine will carry the hopes of Scotland when he saddles 144-rated Bedrock, busy on the flat this summer, in the Thursday highlight.

Only Rushmoor (1986), Sagaman (1991) and, most recently, Overturn, ridden by local hero Graham Lee in 2010, above, have successfully plundered the Hurdle prize.

And the Plate has only gone for export twice – Amlah proved the first British-trained winner of the Plate, for Philip Hobbs and Brendan Powell in 1998 while Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh struck with Oslot 10 years later, in 2008.