Munster National Tips 2023: The Goffer to hand Elliott Limerick win
A hugely competitive field will line up for the 2023 Munster National at Limerick on Sunday afternoon and Gordon Elliott will saddle a whopping eight of the 13 runners in the 3m contest that can throw up a potential Grand National contender. Our man Steve Chambers previews the staying handicap chase and has picked out his selection for the contest which is trained at Elliott's Cullentra House base...
With so many Gordon Elliott-trained runners it's hard to look away from his string and he certainly holds sway towards the head of the betting and the first two to catch the eye are Frontal Assault and Run Wild Fred. The former has found life difficult of late and has been winless for over a year, but he's dropped down to a mark of 140 for this contest and that could see him feature prominently. Second in the 2022 National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, Run Wild Fred is a former winner of a Troytown at Navan, but he's still 4lbs higher than that winning mark and he's not been seen on the track for a year, so it's going to be a tough ask for him to prevail on his seasonal reappearance here.
One of Elliott's raiders that does stand a notable chance is THE GOFFER, who put up arguably a career best in the 2022 Ultima Handicap Chase when finishing fourth and off a 4lbs lower mark he has to be considered a huge contender for this prize. Relatively consistent, he was a decent fourth in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park at the end of the campaign last year, while he failed to really figure in the Galway Plate. Given a break, he returned in the Kerry National last month and was an eye-catching fifth in that competitive event. He lines up off the same mark here and is sure to improve for that seasonal comeback and at the odds looks the most likely Elliott winner.
Gevrey has been earmarked as a potential Grand National contender and he will be another shot fired by the Elliott team and he certainly seems to be one that will target these three-mile chases this season, but he disappointed when pulling up in the Kerry National in September and he's on a bit of a retrieval mission in this contest.
Mars Harper is the form Elliott-trained runner lining up in this year's Munster National and having won a beginners chase at Galway, the seven-year-old then went and won at Listowel last month to make it two wins in a row. He has been handed a significant 8lbs hike by the handicapper for that success, so this will be a much toughest task in a harder race, but he's going the right way and could be a solid each-way selection for punters.
Away from the Elliott battalion, Joseph O'Brien's A Wave Of The Sea is another that is a regular in these sort of events and he was a fine ninth in the 2023 Grand National at Aintree back in April. Fourth in the Galway Plate two starts ago, he failed to figure at all in the Kerry National a few weeks ago, so will need to bounce back here. He's been dropped 2lbs by the handicapper for that run, so off 141 is of interest, but he can often find a few too good on the big stage and will have to settle for minor honours again.
Of the others, Henry De Bromhead's Walk Away sneaks in towards the bottom of the handicap, but the ten-year-old has had some notable injury issues and has only been seen on the track since 2021. He returned after a lengthy layoff at Tipperary in May and finished second, but this a big ask for a horse that hasn't had much racing.
It's a fascinating renewal and it is arguably about which Gordon Elliott contender will be flying the flag for Cullentra House, and in my mind it's The Goffer, who can finally get his day in the limelight and grab success here!
