Irish form expert Tony Keenan sifts through today's Naas card and comes down on a bet in the opening handicap novices' chase.
Irish racing tips: Sunday November 8
1pt win Shellrunforbriggs in 12:00 Naas at 11/4 (General)
Naas have been applying plenty of water to their track ahead of this afternoon’s card, the course with a number of social media posts to that effect during the week, and they will be hoping to avoid a repeat of Down Royal last weekend where there was a spate of ground-related non-runners.
Kopek Des Bordes in the 14:39, the Barberstown Castle Chase, is the horse that most are keen to see run, but connections have been non-committal about his participation and want to check the going first. He had a disjointed campaign in 2024/25, showing lots of ability but also a tendency to do things wrong. This looks his race to lose provided calamity can be avoided.
There is another Willie Mullins-trained hotpot in the 1:00, the Overlander Fishery Lane Novice Hurdle. Love Me Tender has also shown to do things wrong though perhaps that is harsh given he has only had one run over hurdles where he won by 20 lengths. The trainer himself described him as ‘rank keen’ afterwards and it was similar when he ran on the flat in the Ebor. Perhaps the presence of another keen-goer, Bunker Buster, in the field is not ideal.
In any case, Bartholomew sets a high form bar and is overpriced. He improved with each run over hurdles, stepping up on a promising debut at Christmas to win by margin at Cork over Easter, the form of that race working out surprisingly well.
Connections made a bold call to run him in a Grade 1 next time, but he excelled himself in finishing second to Saratoga, a horse that looked close to the best juvenile hurdler around by the end of the season. While no match for that one, he kept on well having conceded first run and should still be improving. He has also had a recent run on the flat so there are no fitness concerns.
The feature handicap is the Tote Guarantee, Never Beaten By SP Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle at 14:04 and it looks a particularly difficult puzzle. Fraher Field should be suited by stepping back up in trip and is of mild interest off bottom weight while Tinto De Verano shaped well at the Punchestown Festival and has largely backed it up since. He is another to consider but has an awkward way of racing.
Perhaps the opener, the Mongey Communications Novice Handicap Chase at 12:00, is the most appealing race for a selection where SHELLRUNFORBRIGGS may be able to defy top weight. A course winner over hurdles, she has improved run to run over fences before winning her third chase start at Kilbeggan. That win was impressive in every aspect: she travelled powerfully, jumped well and found plenty in the finish while the time compared favourably with the handicap chase over the same trip won by Littlefoot on the same card.
The form has worked out with the runner-up winning next time and that one has since reached a mark of 120 while Shellrunforbriggs is rated 119 here. She had her first run since at Galway last month in a two mile handicap hurdle where she was weak in the betting finishing second over a trip that seems short of her best. The suspicion is that she is a better chaser, however, and she should strip fitter for that run.
The maiden hurdles on this card are often informative, and that should especially be the case this year as The Mourne Rambler is due to run in the 12:30, the Cavan Developments Supporting St Marys GAA Maiden Hurdle. His trainer has given some mixed reports about his schooling, but he looks to have a big ability edge while Ignite The Moment in the same race is one to consider for down the line. He shaped a lot better than the distance beaten in a Punchestown bumper on debut after making a big mid-race move to the lead.
Published at 08:12 BST on 08/11/26
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