16:35 Punchestown

Tuesday 15 October 2019

All13:5514:2515:0015:3016:0516:3517:10

Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle (80-102)

Off time: 16:39 | Winning time: 5m 8.70s

Nameloc¹²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: C Brassil⁽⁵⁾| T: P A Fahy| OR: 102

20/1

Nine-race maiden who has struggled on his last two starts after showing some good recent promise at Clonmel in a maiden hurdle; best watched at present until returning to better form.

Form: 6/502P7

Emily Square⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: M P Fogarty| T: T Mullins| OR: 100| D

5/1

Has struggled off around her current mark since winning comfortably at Fairyhouse last February; showed little on a recent spin on the Flat and hard to see her getting competitive based on recent evidence.

Form: 90U150-

Oskar High^p¹²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-10| J: Simon Torrens⁽⁷⁾| T: N Lee| OR: 100| D

16/1

Running some solid races in the spring including a win in a Ballinrobe handicap 3m1f in May off a 6lb lower mark; a bit disappointing last time at Clonmel but hard to easily dismiss.

Form: 3-42195

Blue Empyrean²⁴¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-8| J: Darragh O'Keeffe⁽³⁾| T: R K Watson| OR: 98| D

12/1

Best days seem to be behind this gelding who has failed to make the frame since completing a quickfire double over fences in January 2018; finished 18th of 19 when last seen in February; unlikely winner.

Form: 6FP800-

Fu's Island¹¹

Age: 9| Weight: 11-7| J: J M Moore| T: P Meany| OR: 97| D

14/1

Has been super consistent since winning at Tramore in August and showed her well being when finishing a useful third at Gowran Park earlier this month; suspicion is she may be vulnerable to better handicapped rivals but should run her race.

Form: 2-58163

Premier D'troice^p¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: Liam Quinlan⁽⁷⁾| T: S Doyle| OR: 97

7/2

Point-to-point winner recorded his best effort under Rules when finishing ½L second over an extended 2m5f at Downpatrick (good) in August. Worth a check in the market on handicap debut.

Form: 5-1U723

Kilmurry²¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: N P Madden| T: N Madden| OR: 92

11/2

Took a while to come to hand and best effort came on his final start in March at Wexford; still this looks a tall order on his handicap debut but worth a note of what the market is saying about his chances.

Form: 0603-

Mickey Shea⁵³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-0| J: Ricky Doyle⁽³⁾| T: D Cullen| OR: 90

8/1

Failed to follow up a decent effort at Ballinrobe in July when below par next time out at Killarney; obviously has talent but this looks tough coming off a long break but hard to discount totally.

Form: 080/028

Burlesque Queen¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 10-13| J: J P O'Sullivan⁽⁷⁾| T: Miss E Doyle| OR: 89| D

5/1

Looked easy to oppose last time out at Clonmel but put all known form behind her to score easily(albeit in a poor race); will find things much tougher at the revised weights but is unexposed and could produce again.

Form: 006971

Lough Gur¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 10-12| J: J S McGarvey| T: N Madden| OR: 88

25/1

Has had a very disappointing career so far, generally finishing in the bottom half of contests or falling; hard to make a case for.

Form: 000F-0

Beechmount Maisie¹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 10-8| J: Kevin Sexton| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 84

33/1

Never finished closer than 25L behind the winner in any of her five hurdle starts; takes a huge leap of faith to think she can suddenly get competitive.

Form: 95990

Mosstown Miller⁶⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 10-6| J: J J Slevin| T: P J F Hassett| OR: 82

16/1

Without a win in nine starts over hurdles and first time cheekpieces failed to bring about the required amount of improvement last time; easily dismissed.

Form: 589/058

Megara^p,t¹⁰³

Age: 7| Weight: 10-5| J: H Morgan⁽⁷⁾| T: P J Rothwell| OR: 81

50/1

Pulled on only recent start in July after a two year absence; has minor bits of form in the past and will probably not finish last but no real chance of winning.

Form: 98439/P

Divin Desir^p1⁴⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-4| J: A W Short⁽³⁾| T: I Madden| OR: 80

16/1

One of the more consistent runners, though rarely threatens to win; fair race to finish 4th last time out at Ballinrobe and a repeat of that effort could see him challenging for minor honours.

Form: 004654

Baronial Hall^p,t⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 10-3| J: L P Dempsey| T: D E Fitzgerald| OR: 84

33/1

Six-race maiden who has failed to get competitive on any occasion; unseated rider on penultimate start and well beaten last time out; hard to see him getting competitive.

Form: 9065U8

Forecasts

Premier D'troice (7/2), Burlesque Queen (5/1), Emily Square (5/1), Kilmurry (11/2), Mickey Shea (8/1), Blue Empyrean (12/1), Fu's Island (14/1), Oskar High (16/1), Mosstown Miller (16/1), Divin Desir (16/1), Nameloc (20/1), Lough Gur (25/1), Baronial Hall (33/1), Beechmount Maisie (33/1), Megara (50/1)

A difficult race to pick a winner given uncertainties about many of the runners and a slight preference is given to FU'S ISLAND who has some of the best recent form and a certain level of consistency. She showed her well being with a decent third place finish at Gowran Park and if reproducing that here should go close. Mickey Shea has shown he has ability over hurdles and his chances will depend on how fit he is after a long absence. He is certainly capable of winning off his current mark. Should Divin Desir take to first time cheekpieces then his overall consistency suggests he could land a place at the very least.