16:45 Limerick

Thursday 23 July 2020

All16:4517:1517:4518:1518:4519:1519:4520:15

Well Done To All Frontline Staff From Limerick Racecourse (C & G) Maiden Hurdle (Div 1)

Off time: 16:45 | Winning time: 4m 4.09s

Automatic²⁶⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Rachael Blackmore| T: W J Burke| OR: 104| BF

10/11

Looked to be progressing all the time prior to posting a well below-par effort when last seen in October. Sent off favourite for that race, but can be forgiven and form prior to that clearly makes him the one they all have to beat.

Form: 6055/20-

Ballinruddy

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: L P Dempsey| T: P W Flynn

25/1

Newcomer. Son of Steppe Dancer and is a half-brother to the fairly talented 2m3f-3m1f hurdle winner Who Owns Me. The dam was also placed in a bumper and she is a half-sister to a bumper/hurdle/chase winner. Claims.

Form:

Gondor¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: M P Fogarty| T: Colm Murphy

10/1

Yet to threaten since sent over hurdles and ran in accordance with odds of 100-1 when eighth at Bellewstown (2m; good) recently. This is easier but he will need to improve a bit.

Form: 4/20-08

Gurtnakisteen²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: C A Landers⁽⁵⁾| T: C Byrnes

9/2

Showed more promise than most in this field when sixth in a Kilbeggan (2m4f; good) bumper last month. Now makes hurdles debut back at 2m, and could have a say if progressing. Any market support would be notable from this source.

Form: 6

Lovely Moon²²⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: I J Power| T: Michael Ronayne

125/1

Shown zilch in four career starts (two bumpers/two hurdle races). Step up to 2m5f failed to yield any improvement when he was last seen being well-held at Tramore (2m5f; heavy) in December. Opposed.

Form: U/900-

Rio Storm

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: R P Treacy⁽³⁾| T: Daniel O'leary

66/1

Seven-year-old makes belated racecourse debut. By Captain Rio and cost a mere €5,500 as a three-year-old. Half-brother to four winners including 2m2f hurdle winners Wall Street Wally and Our Brian. Standard is set extremely low on debut.

Form:

Russian Dancer^b1,t1¹⁹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Phillip Enright| T: E J O'Grady

7/1

Regressed since promising debut run two years ago. Only had the one start last season when he was beaten a country mile to finish down the field on hurdles debut at Clonmel (2m4f; heavy). Drops back in trip. Hard to fancy.

Form: 2660/9-

Samsud

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Sean Flanagan| T: Miss E Doyle

9/1

Newcomer who starts out at a very low level on his hurdles bow. By Lord Du Sud. Only cost €7,000 as a yearling. Half-brother to a French 2m1f-2m3f hurdle/chase winner. Betting likely to prove informative.

Form:

The Hunter Hoe⁴⁰²

Age: 6| Weight: 12-0| J: Ricky Doyle⁽³⁾| T: C O'Dwyer| OR: 98

8/1

0-7. Never a factor when last seen finishing sixth at Kilbeggan (2m; good) just over a year ago, but that was an improvement on previous efforts. Has a chance if able to reproduce that effort.

Form: 646/P06-

Tribal Story²⁹⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 12-0| J: Mr L P Gilligan⁽⁷⁾| T: P J Gilligan

125/1

Ran in a couple of soft-ground bumpers last Autumn in which he was tailed-off on each occasion. Impossible to fancy on hurdles/seasonal debut. Look elsewhere for more viable alternatives.

Form: 00-

Whitequarryroad⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 12-0| J: Sean O'Keeffe⁽⁵⁾| T: S J Mahon

50/1

Beaten a long way on seasonal reappearance when ninth at Kilbeggan (2m; good to yielding) last week. Gains handicap mark after this and can only be watched until entering that sphere.

Form: 00-9

Back O' The Net³¹

Age: 4| Weight: 11-8| J: B Browne⁽⁵⁾| T: O McKiernan

50/1

Well-held in C&D bumper last month when unfancied (sent off 33/1). Vastly more needed and a watching brief is advised for now with the yard having a quiet spell.

Form: 0

Mistertommyshelby^p1³

Age: 4| Weight: 11-8| J: A W Short⁽³⁾| T: P Griffin

150/1

Cheekpieces on for the first time. Three duck eggs beside his name after failing to show any promise in short career so far. Readily opposed.

Form: 0-00

Forecasts

Automatic (10/11), Gurtnakisteen (9/2), Russian Dancer (7/1), The Hunter Hoe (8/1), Samsud (9/1), Gondor (10/1), Ballinruddy (25/1), Back O' The Net (50/1), Whitequarryroad (50/1), Rio Storm (66/1), Tribal Story (125/1), Lovely Moon (125/1), Mistertommyshelby (150/1)

The three newcomers Ballinruddy, Rio Storm and Samsud are all worth a mention given they would not have to be special to make an impact first time out. Gurtnakisteen showed some promise when midfield in a bumper last month, and has claims if able to show some improvement for the switch to hurdles. However, the safest option is to stick with AUTOMATIC. The selection holds solid hurdles form and was second to a 120-rated animal on his penultimate start but ran nowhere near that level when last seen. However, he was found to be making an abnormal respiratory noise post-race and so is worth another chance on his return from a 266-day break.