Petit Mouchoir can finally get back on track at Fairyhouse

RED MILLS trial day at Gowran fell foul of the weather, but the Grade Three Red Mills Trial Hurdle has been saved and takes place at Fairyhouse this afternoon (1.45).

That might be good news for Petit Mouchoir, which is decent value around 2/1 for the yard of Gordon Elliott (right) ahead of a possible tilt at the County Hurdle at Cheltenham.

He’s been frustrating to follow and has now gone 18 races without success, the majority for Henry de Bromhead, but he’s mostly been racing at Grade One level so a drop in class and a weight allowance can see him get his career back on track.

On the same card, the Grade Three Bobbyjo Chase (2.52) can go to Willie Mullins’ team with Acapella Bourgeois, which was trading around 5/2 yesterday. A winner of this race last year, he’s been seen just twice since, when runner up in a Grade Three at Tramore on New Year’s Day, and later that month when finishing fifth in the Thyestes Handicap at Gowran.

That Thyestes run was not too disappointing considering he finished sixth in it last year before winning this race, and he won’t be far off.

Stablemate Burrows Saint is worth a mention back over fences, but he has an eye on the Grand National and this race allows him to qualify, so this might be more of a stepping stone rather than a betting opportunity.

We’ve a couple of decent races at Naas tomorrow, a track once known as the punters’ graveyard, as it had a reputation for losing favourites. That’s not really justified anymore with Naas in the top half of the table for Irish winning favourites, and one of those jollies I’m happy to back is Streets Of Doyen, which has a great chance of landing the Grade Two Paddy Power Betting Shop Novice Hurdle (3.0), priced at 5/4.

Trained by John McConnell, his main target is the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham and while today’s race is a shorter trip, the ground is soft to heavy so it’s a good way to ease him back into racing, having completed a four-timer in various races between September and October.

Henry de Bromhead’s Fully Charged ticks the right boxes at 4/1 or thereabouts in the seven-runner Paddy Power ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ Podcast Novice Handicap Chase (2.30). He’d been doing well without winning in some novice chases in December and January, but handicapping might be his thing for now – and he traded as low as 1/3 in-running off 4lbs lower than today’s rating of 129 when runner-up in a handicap here last month.

Finally, consider backing Perry Owens, which looks a bit of value around 6/1 in the Paddy Power Road To Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle (3.30). Noel Meade’s four-year-old is a decent sort on the Flat, and won a juvenile maiden hurdle at Galway back in October.

His latest race when 12th of 16 in a handicap here last month is overlooked as he couldn’t stay the distance on heavy ground, but he’s back down in trip here and also down 1lb in the weights, so should be thereabouts.