14:45 Punchestown

Tuesday 18 February 2020

All13:4514:1514:4515:2015:5016:2016:2516:5016:55

BoyleSports Grand National Trial Handicap Chase (Grade B)

Off time: 14:45 | Winning time: 8m 8.3s

Roaring Bull^b²⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-9| J: Sean O'Keeffe⁽⁵⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 142| C

12/1

Bounced back to form with a win at Leopardstown in December but struggled off revised mark at Gowran Park in desperate conditions next time out; could still be worth another chance off current mark.

Form: 36-3015

Spider Web³⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 11-2| J: L P Dempsey| T: T Mullins| OR: 135

20/1

Rarely out the front two when finishing his chase races but his poor completion rate makes him a difficult betting proposition; warmed up for this with recent fair spin over hurdles.

Form: P3-P2P3

Agusta Gold³⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-1| J: Danny Mullins| T: Ms M Mullins| OR: 134

8/1

Rarely out the front two when finishing his chase races but his poor completion rate makes him a difficult betting proposition; warmed up for this with recent fair spin over hurdles.

Form: 312223

Killer Miller^p1³⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 11-0| J: J M Moore| T: N Meade| OR: 133

20/1

Has been let down by his jumping in the past but has reasonable overall form; won well over 3m5f here in December at Fairyhouse before running no sort of race last twice including here; may struggle once again in current mood.

Form: 3U-41P8

The Gatechecker^b⁴⁵

Age: 10| Weight: 10-13| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: M Hourigan| OR: 132| D

25/1

Won for the third time over fences when landing a Cork handicap over 3m4f on soft ground in November in a 16-runner contest by over 7L; life more difficult off a 8lb higher mark but showed well being with fair recent run over hurdles.

Form: 70P1P3

General Principle^b,t²⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 10-12| J: R M Power| T: G Elliott| OR: 131| C

14/1

Former Irish National hero who has not been running well enough of late to merit serious consideration as a betting proposition though is starting to look well handicapped.

Form: PFP-PP8

Forever Gold^p³⁸

Age: 13| Weight: 10-11| J: A W Short⁽³⁾| T: E Cawley| OR: 130

50/1

Gallant veteran; well beaten over hurdles and the larger obstacles in a number of starts in the last 12 months; hard to see where improvement is coming from at his age.

Form: 07P-P69

Minella Till Dawn^b⁴⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 10-11| J: Mark Walsh| T: G Elliott| OR: 130

12/1

Benefited from first-time blinkers to score well at Cork last time out and likely to be well supported in this contest given the manner of that win; much more on his plate at the weights but still looks on the upgrade.

Form: U88/3F1

Out Sam^t,v²⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 10-11| J: D N Russell| T: G Elliott| OR: 130| D

12/1

Stays well (won up to 3m4f) and fair a ran race in a Cross Country event at Cheltenham (3m6f, good to soft) in December. Ran poorly in the Thyestes (3m1f, soft) last time and hard to fancy from a handicapping perspective.

Form: 52FP30

Rocky's Silver^p³⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 10-11| J: C J Orr⁽⁵⁾| T: J Dullea| OR: 130| C

7/1

Has won his last two starts over fences in November and January; took a step up in trip in his stride last time and no reason why extra distance will be a problem here; leading contender.

Form: 7-85161

Gun Digger^t,v⁵³

Age: 8| Weight: 10-10| J: M A Enright| T: G Elliott| OR: 129

25/1

Won a maiden chase at Leopardstown in 2018 but has a very poor completion rate since then; did manage to finish last time but plenty more improvement needed to get serious in this tough contest.

Form: P-3PPP0

Call The Taxie³⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 10-9| J: H Morgan⁽⁷⁾| T: P J Rothwell| OR: 128

25/1

Ran well on his return from a significant absence at Thurles last time out; starts out for a new yard from a handy mark and a fascinating contender in here.

Form: FP223/5

Space Cadet⁵³

Age: 10| Weight: 10-9| J: D J McInerney| T: G O'Loughlin| OR: 128

25/1

Won two point-to-points from two starts late last year but struggled to translate that form under rules; pulled up last time at Chepstow and needs to really bounce back to get involved.

Form: 0P-114P

Mon Lino^b⁵²

Age: 8| Weight: 10-7| J: N P Madden| T: P Nolan| OR: 126

14/1

Mixed form over hurdles and fences but was second in a valuable handicap chase at Fairyhouse at the start of December; couldn't follow that up next time at Leopardstown over hurdles and this looks tough on all known form.

Form: 4-07020

Prince Of Scars^p³¹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-6| J: D F O'Regan| T: G Elliott| OR: 125

14/1

Has been mixing up chasing and hurdling and certainly a better hurdler; has shown bits and pieces of promise over fences but others look a better betting proposition.

Form: P3/6-965

Cheb De Kerviniou³⁷

Age: 10| Weight: 10-5| J: Rachael Blackmore| T: G Elliott| OR: 124| BF

6/1

Had a fair level of form in France and showed a good attitude when finishing second of 11 at Fairyhouse last month; one paced when sent off short-price favourite last time at this track; potentially good enough but hard to back with confidence.

Form: 32-8423

Stones And Roses²³

Age: 6| Weight: 10-4| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| OR: 123

20/1

Off the mark at just his second start over fences at Cork over 2m5f on soft ground in November. Pulled up as the beaten favourite when never recovering from a mistake four out at Limerick over Christmas and last of 10 last time out.

Form: 2-521P0

Ifyoucatchmenow³¹

Age: 7| Weight: 10-0| J: C P McNamara⁽⁵⁾| T: W P Mullins| OR: 119

14/1

Showed some fairly useful form over hurdles, where she won a mares' maiden at Fairyhouse last January, and stayed 3m. Didn't nail the jumping department on any chase outing since but respected if able to iron out errors.

Form: 142-548

Cle En Main^t⁴⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 9-10| J: Phillip Enright| T: A J Martin| OR: 115| BF

6/1

Promise when second on chase debut at Gowran last March, but has not repeated that form though better effort last time out at Fairyhouse; more needed especially from out of the handicap.

Form: 12-0073

Forecasts

Cheb De Kerviniou (6/1), Cle En Main (6/1), Rocky's Silver (7/1), Agusta Gold (8/1), Out Sam (12/1), Minella Till Dawn (12/1), Roaring Bull (12/1), Ifyoucatchmenow (14/1), General Principle (14/1), Prince Of Scars (14/1), Mon Lino (14/1), Killer Miller (20/1), Spider Web (20/1), Stones And Roses (20/1), The Gatechecker (25/1), Gun Digger (25/1), Call The Taxie (25/1), Space Cadet (25/1), Forever Gold (50/1)

MINELLA TILL DAWN came good last time at Cork and despite a large rise in the weights, could be in the mood to follow up. A big galloping type, this extra trip should be no problem though his jumping is not the best. Rocky's Silver steps up in trip looking for his hat-trick over fences and should give another good account. Call The Taxie is a fascinating contender after his promising run last time.