Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TIME TO PARTY
Take a handicap gamble on de Bromhead’s star Poker
POKER Party could be the horse to side with in the €50,000 TRI Equestrian Handicap Chase at Leopardstown this afternoon.
The Henry de Bromhead inmate comes into this race at the peak of his powers unlike most of today’s rivals.
Poker Party ran a superb race last time out to finish fourth to Roaring Bull in the Paddy Power Chase at Christmas.
Prior to that he turned in another high class handicap display to land the Kerry National at Listowel in September.
This progressive gelding could yet have more to offer over fences and he will cope with the drop back to this trip which makes him a likely winner.
He might have most to fear from the top weight Anibale Fly who has been badly out of sorts this season.
Anibale Fly was second in last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup so he isn’t one to give up on and this race represents a huge drop in class. Earlier on the card Mengli Khan (inset) is put forward to win the conditions hurdle where he looks well treated at the weights.
This gelding should have won more races than he has and he isn’t the easiest to predict.
However, he comes into this race off a couple of respectable runs in graded company and repeat of those runs might well be good enough.
His trainer Gordon
Elliott might also land the concluding bumper with
Homme D’un Soir.
This gelding was very impressive in landing a four-year-old bumper at
Gowran in January and could well have improved for that first run.
He has to give weight all round as a result of having to carry a winner’s penalty but he looks equal to the task at hand.
In the opening mares novice hurdle Barrington Court is put forward to follow up a maiden hurdle success from Punchestown last week. That recent success was this mare’s first run since September so she should be all the better for that run.
The step up to this trip can help her and she should be able to see off Mrs Milner who has a better chance than her last two efforts suggest.
A bad mistake at the first flight cost her any chance of getting involved in a valuable handicap here at the start of last month but she wasn’t disgraced in finishing tenth.
In the maiden hurdle Jon Snow has been found a good opportunity to open his account over timber. He has run to quite a good standard on his three outings so far and a repeat of his placed runs behind Front View or The Bosses Oscar should be good enough.
Spruced Up showed up well in a good race last time out when fourth to Black Tears. A repeat of that run could see her land the handicap hurdle.