#Royal Bond

Okay, it wouldn't be quite as dramatic as Lester Piggott at the 1990 Breeders' Cup. "I have decided to come out of retirement and ride for the short period while Jack [Kennedy] is on the sidelines," Russell said in his statement. But, with Kennedy breaking his leg for a fifth time at Naas on Sunday, the Cheltenham Festival, just two months away,…

The week just gone over jumps was a welcome pause after the unrelenting Christmas and New Year action, but it has nevertheless thrown up several Festival clues in the last few years. The feature event at Sandown, the Unibet Tolworth Hurdle, has gone to subsequent Sky Bet Supreme winners Constitution Hill and Summerville Boy in recent seasons, while…

Not without late support but sent off at 100/30 as the Willie Mullins second-string behind stablemate Grangeclare West, Champ Kiely set off in front and barely saw another rival en route to winning Sunday's two and a half-mile feature. The seven-year-old son of Ocavango, who disappointed when only fourth as the odds-on jolly in the Royal Bond over…

Champ Kiely led from pillar-to-post to provide Willie Mullins with a ninth victory in the Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle. The seven-year-old was one of two runners for the champion trainer in the Grade One contest, with the previously unbeaten Grangeclare West the apparent first string as the 15-8 favourite. Champ Kiely won a Limerick bumper, a…

2m4f Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase (5yo+) Instit - 1pt Win - 2/1 (General) singleSelection My first two selections today come in the opening race at Naas. Willie Mullins was quite open ahead of Instit's seasonal reappearance that she would come on for the run and they would find a more suitable race for her over the Christmas/New…

We use the Timeform filter to pick out our two most interesting bets on today's racing. Our Filter tool lets you create your own list of horses to bet on based on the criteria you judge to be most important. Irish Point - 14:20 Naas ✔ Irish jumps racing ✔ Horse is open to improvement ✔ Horse is suited by the ground ✔ Horse is top-rated Irish…

The last seven favourites have been successful in this Grade 1, including Envoi Allen and Bob Olinger who went on to win the Ballymore, and Grangeclare West will be the one trying to continue that sequence. Willie Mullins has won this race eight times and had the option of running Boodles runner-up Gaelic Warrior, who won at Tramore by 86 lengths…

The Naas Novice Hurdle (14:20) on Sunday is available as a free Race Pass, which means logged-in customers can view all our premium comments and ratings. There are several promising types among the nine runners declared for the Grade 1 Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle (14:20) which has been won by Gordon Elliott in four of the last six years. The…

Jet Powered, second in the ante-post lists for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle in March, continues his education at Newbury on Saturday. Nicky Henderson is keen not to ask too many questions too early of the Joe Donnelly-owned five-year-old, who was a very impressive 11-length winner on his hurdling debut at Newbury in November. He faces 10…

State Man continued his march towards a likely clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival in March with a comprehensive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on…

Ruby Walsh has offered his expert insight into the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with the legendary jockey expecting another thrilling week of action in England. Walsh is no stranger to Cheltenham having been the leading jockey 11 times at the Festival, nabbing 59 winners and twice racing to Gold Cup glory. And previewing the races, Walsh is backing…

Shewearsitwell provided Willie Mullins with a sixth victory in the last seven runnings of the BeattheBank.ie Irish EBF Mares Hurdle at Leopardstown. Two subsequent Cheltenham Festival heroines in Let's Dance and Concertista are among the champion trainer's recent winners of the Grade Three contest and Shewearsitwell was actually sent off favourite…

Brazil: produced a smart performance to beat Fil Dor in Grade 3 company at Naas A race that at its entry stage had the likes of Vauban, Pied Piper, Gaelic Warrior, Icare Allen and Irish Point has ended up in an unexpected match - the first two-horse race at declaration stage in Ireland for a decade. There have been nine match races across the last…

They say that no success or defeat is necessarily final, but Honeysuckle needed to send a message to the precocious young pretender on her traditional Fairyhouse reappearance, and for the first time in her glorious career she was found wanting. Bidding for what would have been a historic fourth Bar One Hatton's Grace Hurdle, she led two out and…

Only one of Willie Mullins' seven Supreme Novices' Hurdle winners have won this Grade 1 contest en route. That was Appreciate It in 2020, who was sent off 8-11 favourite for the festival opener and Facile Vega is likely to go off at even skimpier odds in March should he make it six from six in impressive fashion here. The five-year-old has been…

A scroll through Twitter on the evening of December 26 in recent years has tended to reveal Paul Nicholls celebrating King George success with a McDonald's on the way back from Kempton. The Ditcheat maestro, who is seeking a record-extending 13th win in the race, could well be lovin' it again on Monday with Bravemansgame and Hitman among the main…

Barry Connell's yellow colours are not new, they will be very familiar to most of you. What is new is the trainer the leading owner is using of late. Himself. It takes a lot of time, energy, motivation and money to go out on your own these days, but it will have been worth every cent and bead of sweat as he watched Marine Nationale surge late to…

If it is to be the beginning of the end for Honeysuckle, Sunday was a day to remember for hugely promising rider Michael O'Sullivan, who showed calmness beyond his years to get Marine Nationale home in front and claim a first Grade One win in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle - typically one of the most informative novice events in…

Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have won the last eight runnings of the Royal Bond between them. Incidentally, the last trainer other than them to get in on the act was Philip Fenton in 2013 with The Tullow Tank, owned by none other than Barry Connell. Nine years later and Connell is trying to win the race as a trainer with the unbeaten and…

THE racing world will be focused on Fairyhouse on Sunday as super mare Honeysuckle, the dual Champion Hurdle winner who remains unbeaten in her 16-race career, makes her seasonal reappearance in the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle, in which she is bidding for a record fourth victory. And it also at the Co. Meath track where Newsboy's nap…

Fascinating insight from Barry Connell on Marine Nationale ahead of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival Owner-trainer Barry Connell is optimistic Marine Nationale can see off the powerful team of Willie Mullins in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday. The champion trainer has saddled a record nine previous winners of the…

Honeysuckle: heads a quality field as she bids for a fourth consecutive Hatton's Grace Hurdle Honeysuckle will face seven opponents when she bids to eclipse Limestone Lad, Apple's Jade and Solerina to become the first four-time winner of the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (2.30) at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Henry de Bromhead's star mare will make…

Greaneteen: won the Haldon Gold Cup but can he strike once again in the Tingle Creek? Monday With the exception of Wolverhampton's Saturday evening card, which was restricted to riders who rode fewer than 30 winners in 2021, there had been an absence of all-weather racing in Britain for just over a week as the season took a short break. However,…

The Pointers duo will now also be providing weekend Members Extra selections - together with Sky Bet Price Boosts - exclusively for logged-in readers via this link. Article updated at 11am every Saturday and Sunday. 1pt win Reilly in 3.15 Warwick at 9/2 (Bet365, min 4/1) 1pt win Will Sting in 2.40 Warwick at 7/1 (general, take no lower) 1pt e/w…

Galvin repeated last season's success in the Irish Daily Star - Best For Racing Coverage Chase with ease at Punchestown. Having conceded 8lb to take the Grade Three prize last season, Gordon Elliott's crack staying chaser made light work of his four rivals under a 12lb and more disadvantage this time. Having stalked the decent pace set by…

THE 2022 Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching and we are starting to get a feel for how the markets for the meeting's top races may shake up. Some feel like unattractive punting propositions already - anyone want to take on odds-on favourite Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle? That said, there is plenty of value to be found elsewhere and it's…