16:00 Thurles

Friday 10 January 2020

All12:4013:1513:5014:2515:0015:3016:00

Holy Cross Flat Race

Off time: 16:00 | Winning time: 4m 1.7s

Barrow Bounty³²¹

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr P T Foley⁽⁷⁾| T: T Foley

66/1

Gold Well gelding out of dam who won under both codes. Didn't show a great deal on debut when distant sixth of 9 at Fairyhouse and may need more time before we see the best of him.

Form: 6-

Energumene⁶¹

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr P W Mullins| T: W P Mullins

8/11

French bred €50,000 Denham Red gelding won only point-to-point prior to joining top yard. Promising third of 16 in November Navan bumper, tiring late on and should strip fitter for that outing. Looks one for the short list.

Form: 1/3

Eye Van²⁸⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr E P O'Brien⁽⁷⁾| T: M A Gunn

50/1

Fourth of 14 in Monksgrange maiden point in March and makes Rules debut here. Half-brother won 3m hurdle so every chance he'll need further over timber before fulfilling his potential.

Form: 4-

Tango Echo Charlie³³

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Jordan Gainford⁽⁷⁾| T: R Tector

33/1

Modest form in four starts between the flags although did rather better last time when fourth of 18 in Boulta maiden last month. This is much tougher and faces a stiff task.

Form: 7P-P4

Wings Of Destiny¹⁷⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr P J Vaughan⁽⁷⁾| T: G Elliott| BF

20/1

Shirocco gelding out of sprint bred dam. Sales price fell from £43,000 to £600 at Ascot last March. Fair third in Bellewstown bumper on debut in July but well beaten when odds-on soon after at Killarney. Not seen since and has questions to answer.

Form: 35

Bloodstone²⁸⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr B O'Neill| T: H De Bromhead

5/1

€120,000 Court Cave gelding out of smart Tote Trophy winner Spirit Leader. Runner-up in both point-to-points last season and is very interesting on Rules bow. Well worth a check for market support as looks a contender.

Form: 22-

Blue Ribbon

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr J C Barry⁽⁵⁾| T: E Doyle

66/1

Zayif gelding cost €6,000. Half-brother to two wining 2m hurdlers, and dam won over 1m1f. Racecourse bow and will need to be fairly useful to make a winning debut.

Form:

Curlew Hill¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr R W Barron⁽⁷⁾| T: R O'Brien

12/1

Carlotamix gelding who wasn't disgraced on racecourse bow at Leopardstown over Christmas but didn't show enough to suggest he's likely to be in the shake-up just yet.

Form: 7

Frontal Assault²⁹²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Ms L O'Neill| T: G Elliott

8/1

Stable companion of Wings Of Destiny. Cost €50,000 as a three-year-old but has shown only modest form so far in two point-to-points. Faces a new challenge now and would only be of interest if market speaks in his favour. Good jockey on board though.

Form: P4-

Mr Lombardi^h1³³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr M J Sweeney⁽⁷⁾| T: M F Morris

80/1

Milan gelding who has shown poor form in two 2m hurdles so far and is very hard to enthuse over on what we've seen so far. Wears a first-time hood.

Form: 0P

Pipers Meadow²⁴³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr D Skehan⁽⁷⁾| T: S Ryan

10/1

12-length second in Ballinrobe bumper on debut in April then beaten just a length-and-a-half when second at Killarney in May. Not seen since but has shown enough to suggest he can figure if fit and well.

Form: 2-2

Drumbaragh^t²⁵⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: Mr D G Lavery⁽³⁾| T: N Carolan

50/1

Mainly poor form from four starts but broke the sequence when as shock 100/1 second in Tramore bumper in April last year. That was probably a flash in the pan and faces a stiff task here on balance.

Form: 872-7

Jeremy's Dancer

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: Mr F Maguire⁽³⁾| T: Miss E Doyle

20/1

Home bred mare out of successful jumps sire Jeremy. Makes racecourse bow here and will have to be fairly talented if she's to make it a winning debut.

Form:

Aodhan May

Age: 4| Weight: 10-5| J: Mr P Byrnes⁽⁷⁾| T: C Byrnes

25/1

Vinnie Roe filly out of dam who won a point and a 2m6f hurdle. Plenty of stamina in pedigree and will be a big surprise if speedy enough to get involved on this first appearance.

Form:

Non-Runners

Battle Of Actium⁵⁴

Weight: 11-12| Age: 5

T: J P O'Brien J: Mr T Hamilton

Forecasts

Energumene (8/11), Bloodstone (5/1), Battle Of Actium (7/1), Frontal Assault (8/1), Pipers Meadow (10/1), Curlew Hill (12/1), Wings Of Destiny (20/1), Jeremy's Dancer (20/1), Aodhan May (25/1), Tango Echo Charlie (33/1), Eye Van (50/1), Drumbaragh (50/1), Barrow Bounty (66/1), Blue Ribbon (66/1), Mr Lombardi (80/1)

ENERGUMENE showed enough in his first bumper to suggest he can take this. The son of Denham Red shaped well until getting tired late on and should have learned plenty from that first effort under Rules. Both Bloodstone and Battle Of Actium showed ability in point-to-points so it will come as no surprise to see them very much involved as they represents strong connections, while Pipers Meadow has been second in both bumpers so far, although this looks a better race and he's been off for a while. Frontal Assault and Wings Of Destiny are both worth monitoring for market confidence as they hil from last year's wining yard that continues in fine for.