12:35 Leopardstown

Monday 26 December 2022

All12:0012:3513:1013:4514:2014:5515:30

Thorntons Recycling Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 12:36 | Winning time: 4m 10.1s

Anstand³⁰

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: D A Jacob| T: P Nolan

150/1

Twice-raced maiden. 66/1, ninth of 17 in novice hurdle at Gowran (16f, heavy) 30 days ago, unable to sustain effort.

Form: 89

Clonshire River²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: M J M O'Sullivan⁽⁵⁾| T: E & P Harty

16/1

Promising type. Fourth of 20 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.3f, good to soft, 22/1) on NH debut 27 days ago, having run of race. Likely to improve.

Form: 1-4

Cozone²⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: J B Foley| T: M J Smith| D

40/1

Twice-raced maiden over hurdles. Fairly useful winner at 16f on Flat. 11/2, fourth of 9 in handicap at Dundalk (12f) 24 days ago, unsuited by drop in trip. Switches from Flat to hurdles.

Form: 05

Dark Raven⁶³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| CD

1/1

Won 12-runner bumper (4/7) at Fairyhouse (16f, good to soft), forging clear. Off 21 months. Makes hurdles debut. Potentially smart.

Form: 11/

Doctor Bravo²³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Jack Kennedy| T: G Elliott| D

5/1

Once-raced winner in bumpers. Fairly useful winner at 16f in bumpers. 15/2, won 11-runner bumper at Fairyhouse (16f, soft) on NH debut 23 days ago, well on top finish. Makes hurdles debut.

Form: 1

Don'tstopthemusic

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: J J Slevin| T: M Brassil

33/1

€75,000 3-y-o, Kayf Tara gelding. Closely related to bumper winner/fairly useful hurdler Tucanae, stays 2½m,. Dam unraced.

Form:

Houlanbatordechais^h²⁶¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Danny Mullins| T: W P Mullins| D

13/2

8/1 and hooded for 1st time, 19¾ lengths eleventh of 18 to Lookaway in Gr 2 bumper at Aintree (17f, good to soft). Off 8 months. Makes hurdles debut. Paul Townend prefers Dark Raven.

Form: 1100-

Kitsilano²⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: I J Power| T: J J Murphy

50/1

Once-raced maiden. 9/1, last of 5 in bumper at Gowran (18f, heavy) on NH debut. Off 9 months. Makes hurdles debut.

Form: 415-31

Magnetic North²⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Shane Fitzgerald⁽³⁾| T: A McGuinness| C

80/1

Fair Flat winner, making GB/IRE jumps debut. 16/1, tenth of 14 in handicap at Dundalk (12f) 26 days ago.

Form:

Moulane West⁹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: C G O'Dwyer⁽⁷⁾| T: R A Foley| OR: 106

80/1

Fair hurdler. Remains a maiden after 10 hurdle runs. Ninth of 12 in minor event (50/1) at Listowel (14f, good) on flat debut. Switches from Flat to hurdles. Respectable on last hurdle run.

Form: 325669

Papa Barns²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: P J Carberry| T: J T R Dreaper

200/1

Twice-raced maiden. 250/1, unseated rider in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.3f, good to soft) 27 days ago.

Form: 0U

Ringsend John⁵⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Donagh Meyler| T: T Cooper

66/1

Lightly-raced maiden under Rules. Eighth of 10 in bumper at Wexford (16.4f, heavy, 10/1) 56 days ago. Switches from bumpers to hurdles.

Form: 9-238

Sand Castle¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Eoin G Kelly⁽⁷⁾| T: A Murray

125/1

Modest Flat winner. Twice-raced maiden over hurdles. Won 14-runner handicap (4/1) at Dundalk (12f) 17 days ago, always holding on. Switches from Flat to hurdles. Poor on last hurdle outing.

Form: F/0

Skip Mahler^h1²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: T Joseph Kelly⁽⁷⁾| T: L Fowler

125/1

Promising type. 28/1, seventh of 21 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.3f, good to soft) on hurdles bow 27 days ago. Hooded for 1st time. Should improve.

Form: 37

So Des Flos

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: D F O'Regan| T: G Elliott

25/1

Joshua Tree gelding. Half-brother to smart hurdler/useful chaser Vision des Flos and bumper winner/fairly useful hurdler Umndeni. Yard having good spell.

Form:

Takeachancejimmy²³

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: L P Dempsey| T: N Slevin

200/1

Fairly useful Flat winner. Twice-raced maiden over hurdles. Fifteenth of 16 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, soft, 100/1) 23 days ago.

Form: 00

Top Speed³⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: H De Bromhead

25/1

Promising individual. Eighth of 13 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (21.4f, good to soft, 12/1) on hurdles bow 36 days ago. Down in trip. Should have more to offer.

Form: 13-8

Victory Star²⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Simon Torrens| T: J J Hanlon

200/1

Fair Flat winner. Once-raced maiden over hurdles. Last of 20 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.3f, good to soft, 100/1) on NH debut 27 days ago.

Form: 0

Viva Devito^h²³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Keith Donoghue| T: W P Mullins| BF| D

3/1

Promising type. Second of 18 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, soft, 85/40) on hurdles bow 23 days ago, going with enthusiasm. Stable having good spell. Hard to beat.

Form: 4/104-2

Elsannah³⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: E O'Connell⁽⁵⁾| T: S Crawley

125/1

Twice-raced maiden. 100/1, fourth of 14 in novice hurdle at Limerick (16f, heavy) 34 days ago.

Form: 04

Littletwinklestar^h1²¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: N T Prendergast⁽⁷⁾| T: M Magnussen

200/1

Jet Away mare. Dam, pulled up sole start in points, half-sister to fairly useful hurdler/smart chaser (stayed 2¾m) Cloud Creeper. Wears hood.

Form: F-P

Non-Runners

Coeur d'Or⁷⁹

Weight: 11-12| Age: 6

T: D K Weld J: Mark Walsh

Hamartia²⁵

Weight: 11-5| Age: 5

T: Colm Murphy J: Sarah Kavanagh

Forecasts

Dark Raven (1/1), Viva Devito (3/1), Doctor Bravo (5/1), Houlanbatordechais (13/2), Clonshire River (16/1), Coeur d'Or (16/1), So Des Flos (25/1), Top Speed (25/1), Don'tstopthemusic (33/1), Cozone (40/1), Kitsilano (50/1), Hamartia (50/1), Ringsend John (66/1), Moulane West (80/1), Magnetic North (80/1), Skip Mahler (125/1), Sand Castle (125/1), Elsannah (125/1), Anstand (150/1), Littletwinklestar (200/1), Papa Barns (200/1), Victory Star (200/1), Takeachancejimmy (200/1)

This maiden has been won by some smart types over the years and DARK RAVEN, who represents the yard responsible for 3 of the last half-a-dozen winners, is of strong interest judged on what he showed in bumpers a couple of seasons back. He is unlikely to be found wanting fitness-wise, despite a 21-month absence, and gets the nod ahead of stablemate Viva Devito and Doctor Bravo. Clonshire River shaped well on his hurdling bow at Punchestown and he is not without each-way hope.