#Maiden Hurdle

Letsbeclearaboutit and Keith Donoghue winning the maiden hurdle Monday: Punchestown Gavin Cromwell enjoyed a productive afternoon as he landed a double on the card, headlined by Letsbeclearaboutit winning the 3m½f maiden hurdle. The eight-year-old justified favouritism under Keith Donoghue, pulling 22 lengths clear of Rowdy Romeo in second, and…

Newsboy has napped Dan Skelton's Protektorat in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham races. The horse is part-owned by Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson PROTEKTORAT is fancied to make light of top weight in the Paddy Power Gold Cup (2.15) at Cheltenham this afternoon. Jumps fans are in for a treat as the two-and-a-half-mile test, viewed…

12:10 - Impaire Et Passe 14:10 - Impervious *All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change Impaire Et Passe is dropping down in trip for the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle on a sharper track might not suit. I think he'll still win but he looks more of a…

It is going to be very good to see Davy Russell back in action at Fairyhouse on Saturday, and racegoers on the day won't have too long to wait, as the three-time champion returns to the saddle on Jazzy Matty in the opening four-year-olds' hurdle. This is a warm contest, with the impressive Cork winner Blood Destiny in opposition, as well as the…

Barra could be the value in a really competitive Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares' Handicap chase on Day Four of the Punchestown Festival today. Gordon Elliott's mare was a progressive handicap hurdler last season. She finished second in the Paddy Mullins mares' handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival at…

Kilmaley native, Richard O'Brien, came in for lavish praise following the success of Paul Nolan's well-fancied newcomer, Cut The Rope (5/1), in the concluding four-year-old bumper at Naas on Sunday. O'Brien is a very successful trainer based in Ballingarry, County Limerick and it was on his advice that the Nolan camp purchased Cut The Rope, before…

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,…

Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden: in remarkable form at present There are three meetings on Tuesday at Doncaster, Exeter and Southwell. Here are statistics from each track which could help your punting. . . The master of big-priced winners at Doncaster is Sean Quinlan, whose 18 per cent strike-rate from 76 rides there in the last five years has…

Recruited by owner/trainer Syd Hosie for £90000 in November after winning a Castletown-Geoghegan point-to-point the previous month, the five-year-old produced an eye-catching display on his Rules bow. Sent off a 66/1 outsider for the Ballymore Maiden Hurdle over an extended two and a half miles, the son of Getaway made a mockery of those long odds…

The BoyleSports Faugheen Novice Chase is the feature contest on a seven-race card at Limerick on St Stephen's Day and Jordan Gainford could steal the limelight on Farouk D'alene. The 3lb claimer enjoyed a breakthrough success at Cheltenham in March when The Shunter won the Paddy Power Plate and now has his first ride in a Grade One, on what is also…

The Ditcheat handler began the afternoon on 97 winners for the campaign and sent a strong team of five runners across Somerset. He was double-handed in the Broadway & Horton Cricket Club Novices' Hurdle, with punters unable to split stablemates Iliko D'Olivate and Pleasant Man, who were the 6/4 joint-favourites. Pleasant Man ran with credit in…

Xcitations jumped with aplomb under Jack Andrews at Sandown to make it four wins from seven over fences. The Pam Sly-trained gelding drew well clear of joint-favourites Corrigeen Rock and Frero Banbou in the Unibet Horserace Betting Operator Of The Year Handicap Chase. Sly's runner had been beaten Elixir De Nutz by a neck on his last run at…

Adam Wedge's mount, who had won a bumper at Ffos Las, beating Tahmuras by a neck on his debut in February, went into the Grade One contest on the back of a maiden hurdle success on the same Welsh track in November. Sent off a 16/1 chance for the two-mile contest, the William and Angela Rucker-owned L'Astroboy stayed on under pressure to take the…

The Henry De Bromhead-trained daughter of Stowaway, winner of the mares' novices' hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2021, hadn't tasted success in any race since that high-profile Grade Two score but had made an encouraging enough start over fences at Thurles last month. She was 5/4 to go one better and ultimately proved six lengths too good for…

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…

Let's start with some detail on our top tips for Sunday's action, you can find a full list of selections for every race across all the tracks at the bottom of the page. Don't forget to check out the racecards, results and live odds in the Planet Sport racing live centre. Lady Adare can defy a lengthy absence and return with a victory in the Stables…

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…

Our Monday tipster Ross Millar picked Glen Cannel (6-1) and Hansard (5-2) last week in a great start to the new year and shares his three best bets for all the action from Taunton. Enjoy every moment live on Racing TV. 1.25 Taunton: Robin's Dream This should be competitive despite just four runners. Cap Du Mathan has winning course form and will…

It may have been a race comprised of old favourites but, in keeping with the theme of late, there was a big-price shock in the Veterans' Final at Sandown on Saturday. Wishing And Hoping, one of four teenagers in the line-up, was a 50/1 shot and a shorter price than only one of his 17 rivals, but he rolled back the years to register a…

Our presenter and Sunday regular Angus McNae put up four winners from five tips last week - including 8-1 Hector Javilex and 11-2 Marie's Rock - and bids t continue his fine start to 2023 with four more tips from Naas. Enjoy an excellent Grade One card live on Racing TV. Four winners and a second last week made it a really good start to the New…

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…

Xcitations jumped with aplomb under Jack Andrews at Sandown to make it four wins from seven over fences. The Pam Sly-trained gelding drew well clear of joint-favourites Corrigeen Rock and Frero Banbou in the Unibet Horserace Betting Operator Of The Year Handicap Chase. Sly's runner had been beaten Elixir De Nutz by a neck on his last run at…

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…

Oliver Greenall: joint-trainer of Rocambolas Rocambolas, who has beaten just one rival on his last four starts, has been backed into 3-1 favouritism with Paddy Power for the At The Races App Form Study Handicap Chase (3.43) having been as big as 33-1 with some firms last night. Trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, the six-year-old was…

13:15 Sandown - CERTAINLY RED 13:30 Wincanton - MESSIRE DES OBEAUX 13:50 Sandown - FRERO BANBOU 14:05 Wincanton - ANOTHER CRICK 14:25 Sandown - AUTHORISED SPEED 15:00 Sandown - SAINT XAVIER 15:15 Wincanton - CHIANTI CLASSICO 15:35 Sandown - LIGHTLY SQUEEZE *All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at…

Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I always forget to say that when I see someone for the first time since the change of the year. The period between Christmas and New Year (I got many an eye roll for calling it Twixmas!) blurs into a succession of days and as I was in bed before 9pm on New Year's Eve, 2022 rolled into 2023 almost…

It's been a good couple of days for me on the track and it was great to win aboard Willie Mullins' James Du Berlais at Fairyhouse after 20 months off in the McInerney Beginners Chase. He jumped well, travelled great, was very fresh and keen, he was keen for the first two miles of that race. I think it was just the excitement of getting out and…

It was another fantastic festive period of equine action as Leopardstown and Limerick took centre stage at the end of December. Not surprisingly, Kilkenny trainer Willie Mullins continued to dominate the training sphere over the days after Christmas as he saddled 16 winners, of which were five Grade 1's. In total Mullins had 73 runners over the…

Only one Irish-trainer winner of this - Yorkhill in 2016 - but fascinating to see Henry De Bromhead pitching his youngster in here after a runaway maiden hurdle win over the odds-on Mercurey at Cork last month. Placed in a three-mile point but he's evidently not short of pace and can't be discounted. Boasted some quality bumper form coming into…

Saint Segal: made it two from two over fences Wednesday: Hereford Jane Williams believed Saint Segal would be a "special horse" from day one and he has proved to be just that and more, with his victory in the 2m novice chase giving the trainer a big lift following a tough few months. Williams' son Chester - who rides and sorts race planning for the…

To get my excuses in first, Newbury on New Year's Eve provided just about the worst possible conditions for anyone trying to glean meaningful observations from the paddock. Rain that was supposed to be off and on was never off, the wind was blowing and the horses were well rugged up until as late as possible. Just keeping my notes from being soggy…

A common gripe is that there is no value in ante-post markets anymore, but with so much action over the Christmas period there is always the possibility a few performances have fallen through the cracks. If it's value you're looking for then you have to be prepared to look outside the box and beyond the common line of thinking, and a few horses…

Picking up from my last column to cover the remainder of the holiday program (December 28 to January 1) in what was the busiest post-Boxing Day period for some time, the narrative seemed to me more of the same - some horses enhanced their reputations, a bigger number diminished theirs, and a standout performance to breathe new life into some…

KILLER CLOWN can scare a few better-fancied rivals in the Jewson Monet's Garden Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase (GBB Race) (3pm) as racing returns to Aintree Racecourse on Sunday afternoon. Emma Lavelle's seven-year-old may just come out on top for a slight shock win in the Grade Two feature at the home of the Randox Grand National. Last year's…

Willie Mullins has farmed the New Year's Day feature in winning eight of the last 10 runnings, but Minella Indo's battling display in the hands of Rachael Blackmore ended the Closutton handler's five-year stranglehold on the Grade Three contest and gave Henry de Bromhead his second win in the race after Champagne West's success in 2017. Winner of…

The high-class James Du Berlais made no mistake as 1/4 favourite on his debut over fences and first run for 612 days in the McInerney Beginners' Chase. Willie Mullins' charge has always held a lofty reputation since arriving as an experienced hurdler from France, so much so he made his belated first start for the yard in the 2021 Unibet Champion…

Jet Powered was beaten at prohibitive odds at Newbury - but there appeared to be no fluke about the 66-1 success of Gary Moore's Jupiter Du Gite. Nicky Henderson's Jet Powered was sent off the 2-7 favourite having been hugely impressive on his first outing and was prominent in the ante-post betting for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Everything…

Reverting to hurdles having been highly tried as a novice chaser last season, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was soon in an early advantage and it was one he would not relinquish. A trait of his time over fences was that he raced keenly, sometimes too keenly for his own good, and while he was racing enthusiastically for Paul Townend, the…

Hermes Allen was a very easy winner of the Coral Challow Novices' Hurdle at Newbury, to give Paul Nicholls a third successive victory in the Grade One feature. Following on from Bravemansgame and Stage Star, Hermes Allen had to prove he could handle deep ground on this occasion. On paper at least, this year's renewal looked as strong as any in…

After a feast of festival horse racing action, there is much to take stock of for punters ahead of the big spring festivals. Even at this early stage, there are many hot favourites for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. Constitution Hill has looked freakish and may even scare off two-time champion Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle, while Galopin Des…

Only Money has a fine strike-rate for Chris Gordon in two-mile handicap chases over the last couple of seasons and he began the latest campaign with another couple of wins at Plumpton and Worcester under regular jockey Tom Cannon. He's been beaten off higher marks in better races since at Aintree and Newbury but he looks potentially well…

Our regular columnist and website tipster Ross Millar has three tips from Wincanton and Southwell on Monday - but shares his thoughts and highlights from the Cheltenham Festival first. And - just like that - it's over. Four days of top-class action were enjoyed by a vocal crowd and if - after the 24 months we've all endured - you find that some…

Handicap Chase (Class 3) - 2m½f Gamaret 1pt Win @ 3/1 singleSelection Still completely unexposed as a Horse let alone over fences, I think Gamaret is absolutely chucked in on his Chase debut - and this doesn't seem like a race which will require much winning. A good Bumper winner on his debut under rules in a Bumper at Ffos Las last October when…

Emerging forces and established stars of the Irish National Hunt scene are set to come out and play at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. The four-day racing bonanza takes place between Monday, December 26 and Thursday, December 29 and it is set to offer plenty of clues ahead of the big spring meetings. We're sponsoring all seven races on the…

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…