17:20 Down Royal

Tuesday 17 March 2020

All13:5014:2515:0015:3516:1016:4517:20

Johnston Houston Mares Flat Race

Off time: 17:20 | Winning time: 4m 44.1s

Beth Horan⁶²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr P J Vaughan⁽⁷⁾| T: G Elliott

2/1

Appears to be improving with every run and posted a career best effort to finish second of 10 beaten ¾L in a Punchestown bumper on her fourth start since her debut in October.

Form: 3-3632

Delvino³⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr M J O'Hare| T: D A McLoughlin

4/5

Dylan Thomas mare; showed plenty of promise on bumper debut at Navan in February only headed inside the final furlong; will be better for that run and can run a big race.

Form: 2

Doyen Mckay⁵¹³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr R McLeigh⁽⁷⁾| T: J G Cosgrave

125/1

Eighth foal; closely related to the 2m-2m2f hurdle/chase winner Kilmurry; tailed off on only bumper start to date at Sedgefield in October; unlikely winner unless recent change of stables has helped.

Form: 6-

Hollow Moon⁹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr N McParlan⁽⁵⁾| T: B R Hamilton

25/1

Half-sister to Emily Moon who won a bumper on debut for Jessica Harrington; pleasing fourth on debut at Downpatrick last June but disappointed when last seen at Fairyhouse in December; needs to bounce back.

Form: 48

La Mystere¹⁰⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr B G Crawford⁽⁷⁾| T: S R B Crawford

8/1

Daughter of Jeremy out of a Supreme Leader mare; half-sister to Grand Theatre who stayed 3m; needs to improve plenty from debut run at Fairyhouse in December and others preferred.

Form: 0

Lucy Van Pelt

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr P A King⁽⁷⁾| T: P Maher

50/1

€9.000 buy in 2018; half-sister to the National runner up The Last Samuri so clearly makes appeal on pedigree but may struggle against some race-fit opponents.

Form:

Silvertone

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr J C Barry⁽⁵⁾| T: G A Kingston

33/1

First foal but comes from a good National Hunt family related to plenty of winners; it will be interesting to see the level of market support on her debut.

Form:

Sit Down Lucy

Age: 6| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr B O'Neill| T: Peter Fahey

18/1

Sister to 2m4f hurdle winner Lunch In Adare and half-sister to bumper winner Big Meadow; plenty to like about the pedigree though perhaps only the betting market will give a clue to her chances.

Form:

Wildflower Girl^t1⁸²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-9| J: Mr P Power⁽⁷⁾| T: P E Collins

25/1

Daughter of Mahler out of a Pistolet Bleu mare. Half-sister to bumper winner Mount Pelier, winner over hurdles at 2m3f; no real show on debut on Boxing Day; needs to improve in first time tougue-tie.

Form: 7

Roxanya

Age: 4| Weight: 10-11| J: Jordan Gainford⁽⁷⁾| T: S R B Crawford

28/1

Unsold at 7,000 euros as a three-year-old; fairly solid National Hunt pedigree and trainer does well in these contests; interesting contender.

Form:

Non-Runners

Imperial Allure²⁶

Weight: 11-9| Age: 5

T: G Elliott J: Ms L O'Neill

Nommy

Weight: 11-9| Age: 5

T: Peter Fahey J: Mr S Perry

Forecasts

Delvino (4/5), Beth Horan (2/1), Imperial Allure (6/1), La Mystere (8/1), Nommy (14/1), Sit Down Lucy (18/1), Hollow Moon (25/1), Wildflower Girl (25/1), Roxanya (28/1), Silvertone (33/1), Lucy Van Pelt (50/1), Doyen Mckay (125/1)

No real stand out performers so it may be worth studying some of the unraced contestants more closely. Of those with form the most likely winner could be BETH HORAN who has been showing some progression with each run and was only just beaten on her latest run at Punchestown. If repeating that effort she could be the one they have to beat. Delvino is another who was only narrowly beaten last time out and with that experience under her belt she may be able to make more improvement. Hollow Moon was not so great on her latest outing but if she can go on from her pleasing introduction at Downpatrick then she should run well.