The Christmas Hurdle and Savills Chase feature at Leopardstown today - our man in Ireland reckons there could be a small surprise in the former.
Irish racing tips: Sunday December 28
0.5pts win The Yellow Clay in 13:55 Leopardstown at 13/2 (General)
Kempton had its brilliant King George on the 26th, and Leopardstown has its Savills Chase today at 14:30, and while the Irish race may lack the young, improving chasers the King George had, it is nonetheless an intriguing race.
It features the best staying chaser of this generation in Galopin Des Champs who is seven from seven over fences at Leopardstown, but who comes here without a prep run after suffering a setback and with the Willie Mullins runners needing an outing.
His main market rival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Inothewayurthinkin, who was beaten 53 lengths last time when his yard was in a rut. Gavin Cromwell is in better form now, but there is a sense that he is again being trained for March and may need a stiffer test than this race will present.
A surprise winner might not be that much of a surprise, and Affordale Fury seems one of the better contenders for this role. He is fit and in form, and shaped better than the result when second in the Champion Chase at Down Royal, making minor errors at the wrong time before being beaten by a race specialist.
He backed that performance up with a win at Thurles last time, a track that didn’t really suit, and there is a bigger effort in him at a more galloping circuit. Whether that will be big enough to win here remains to be seen, and he would prefer softer ground, but that comments applies to plenty of these.
The other Grade 1 on the card is the Christmas Hurdle at 13:55 where Ballyburn will be looking to prove he stays three miles at a track he runs well. He could, even should, have won the Hatton’s Grace last time though Teahupoo is surer to be suited by this step up in trip.
Teahupoo would not want the drying ground, however, and his connections were unsure about his participation yesterday.
His stablemate THE YELLOW CLAY is an interesting runner, though I am reluctant to suggest him each-way in a race that could be down to seven runners by post-time. He was a close second in what looked the best novice hurdle at Cheltenham last season and while the form has been a little devalued since, he is worth another chance on ground that should be more suitable than he encountered last time.
Gordon Elliott has long been of the view that he prefers a decent surface while his last run at Navan came at a time when some of his trainer’s horses needed the outing, many from the stable finding significant improvement for first to second start this season.
Some of the Willie Mullins novice hurdlers have been disappointing recently, but not so his novice chasers with Kitzbuhel and Kargese among the winners at Christmas already. He will surely win the featured Guinness 00 Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick while Kiss Will should go well in the Ballymaloe Relish Rising Stars Beginners Chase, the 13:20 at Leopardstown.
He was better than the form on chase debut at Fairyhouse, a slight mistake three out causing him to lose position and he was forced to make his challenge out wide where he ran on well without being knocked about.
Shuffle The Deck was better than him over hurdles, however, and might be more overpriced though his price has shortened since declarations. His two best efforts over hurdles came on decent ground, the pick of them an impressive defeat of Casheldale Lad conceding five pounds, and he shaped well chase debut on ground slower than ideal.
The run was presumably needed, and he was not given a hard time late to finish fourth, while the form has worked out well with Kitzbuhel and The Enabler winning since.
Gordon Elliott has already had an excellent Christmas period, and I thought he came into the meeting with some potentially well-treated handicap hurdlers in Timeless Treaty and Son Of Anarchy. The problem is that both have turned up in the same race, the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle Qualifier at 15:05, and both will be trying three miles for the first time while also being well found in the market so they can be passed over for now.
Published at 08:05 GMT on 28/12/25
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