Tony McFadden highlights races on Boxing Day that certain trainers seem to target and in which have compiled notably good records.
Nicky Henderson tends to target a smart sort at the two-mile novice hurdle (12:10) that kicks off Kempton's Boxing Day card and he has won the prize five times in the last ten years, most notably in 2015 with Altior who memorably went on to win a red-hot running of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Henderson had Mares' Novices' Hurdle runner-up Ahorsewithnoname entered here and she would probably have been a strong favourite based on the strength of that Cheltenham form. However, Henderson has elected to send her to Wincanton - where she will be very hard to beat in mares' maiden company - and he instead relies on Iberico Lord.
French bumper winner Iberico Lord was ultimately a well-beaten sixth on his hurdling debut and first start in the JP McManus silks at Cheltenham last month, but the fact he was thrown straight into Grade 2 company and sent off at only 7/2 suggests he is held in high regard by his powerful connections.
Some encouragement can be taken from his performance at Cheltenham and he left the impression that he would be sharper for the experience.
Another trainer with a notable record in a contest on Boxing Day is Tony Martin in the novice handicap hurdle (13:45) at Leopardstown. On the face of it, two wins in the last ten editions may not leap off the page, but the race is often extremely competitive and it's worth noting that Martin has also had seven runners placed in that time. In fact 2019 was the only year in the last ten runnings that Martin didn't have one at least placed in this event.
This time around Martin is represented by Brookie who got off the mark in maiden company at Limerick last month.
Prior to that he had shaped with encouragement when a staying-on fourth on his handicap debut at Tipperary. He looks to be on a handy mark off only 1 lb higher here and, given his lightly raced profile, he remains open to improvement. He's a half-brother to the very smart Captain Guinness.
Noel Meade will be bidding to make it three successive victories in the conditions hurdle (13:33) at Limerick. The two-and-a-half-mile event, open to horses that have not won more than once over hurdles, was won by Diol Ker in 2020 and Daly Tiger last year.
This time around Meade saddles the most likely winner in Pinkerton, a lightly-raced six-year-old who has run well to finish placed in a couple of competitive handicaps this season.
He may well have won had he jumped the last better at Down Royal on his reappearance - he was ultimately collared close home and finished a close-up third - and he then bumped into a similarly unexposed sort when runner-up in a valuable event at Fairyhouse earlier this month. He steps up in trip here, but those pieces of form mark him out as the one to beat.
Last year Pinkerton won the bumper on Down Royal's card (15:08) and that is another race in which Meade has a good record.
Pinkerton was Meade's third winner of that contest in the last five runnings - Brace Yourself (2017) and Valdieu (2018) were also successful - and he will be bidding to enhance his fine record with Faulty, who made a pleasing bumper debut at the course last month when runner-up behind King of Kingsfield, one of the market leaders for the the Champion Bumper.
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