Punters can raise a glass to Flooring Porter at Punchestown
With 14 of the 20 runners in the Troytown Chase last week, including eventual winner Coko Beach, Gordon Elliott gave a robust defence of his blanket approach afterwards as questions were raised about the dominance of his yard, and that of Willie Mullins, in Irish National Hunt racing.
They do wield a lot of power, but it’s a good job they put entries forward for this afternoon’s Unibet Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown (2.35), as the feature would be blank otherwise, with two of the four runners trained by Mullins, and the other two by Elliott.
In fairness to other trainers, it’s not quite as simple as that, and some will have been scared off by the prospect of facing last year’s winner, State Man.
That’s understandable considering his only defeat in his last eight races was at the hands of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Echoes In Rain, Pied Piper and Fils D’oudairies look set to battle it out for minor honours and bookmakers are not going to take any chances here, with State Man trading around 1/3 at the time of writing, which makes this a race one to be enjoyed without a bet.
With 11 wins in the last 12 renewals, Mullins has an incredible record in the Morgiana, the blip in that series being, you guessed it, Elliott in 2020.
If eight runners remain in the Ryans Cleaning Handicap Chase (1.58), Coqolino is worth a punt each-way at around 14/1 under Mark Walsh, or even a win-only bet depending on prices, if there are any non-runners.
With Jack Kennedy opting for Mars Harper, this one is considered Elliott’s second-string entry, and although his latest form over fences, including a fall on his handicap debut last time out, doesn’t look great on paper, his rating of 129 gets him in at the bottom of the weighs. He’s worth a second chance as he’s the type his trainer can usually get some improvement out of.
Regular readers will know Flooring Porter is one of my favourite horses in training, so I’m trying to look at the Grade Two Liam & Valerie Brennan Florida Pearl Novice Chase (1.23) objectively, but I still think the 15/8 about the gelding is a decent price.
We all know he was a very good hurdler in his time, winning a number of Grade Ones, but he shaped well in a novice chase at Cheltenham recently on his first start over the bigger obstacles and should continue to improve in that sphere as he gains experience.
The Colm Quinn BMW Novice Handicap Hurdle (3.08) is a tricky enough puzzle, but Ciarán Murphy’s Walhaan might be the answer, and early odds of 5/1 seem like a decent enough offer.
A dual Flat and hurdles gelding, he was last seen 15 days ago at Dundalk, winning a handicap, and that sets him up nicely for this off a mark of 119 having finished third in a novice race over timber at Galway in October.
Racing continues at Punchestown tomorrow, and I’ll take a watching brief in the Grade One John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase (2.30) with Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs priced as low as 4/9 against seven rivals, the best of which is Fastorslow.
In the Grade Two BetVictor Craddockstown Novice Chase (1.55), Elliott’s Imagine is tipped under Jack Kennedy, priced in the region of 11/8. A useful enough hurdler, he beat a few promising rivals on his first start over fences at Fairyhouse earlier this month and is one to keep on side for now.
Finally, I was really saddened to hear of the death of David Hyland, a legend in the betting rings of Ireland.
I knew David from my home town of Ballybrack, but it was when I got a bit older and began taking betting seriously, I found out just what a character he was; highly intelligent, opinionated and never afraid to take a big bet. He’d put the so-called layers in the corporate firms these days to shame.
Dave was a fearless, brilliant man, who would take a view on a race. With the industry changed utterly, we can say with certainty that we’ll never see the likes again. May he rest in peace.
