15:40 Punchestown

Wednesday 26 April 2023

All15:4016:1516:4517:2017:5518:3019:0519:45

Adare Manor Opportunity Series Final Handicap Hurdle (95-123)

Off time: 15:40 | Winning time: 5m 4.4s

Eclair De Beaufeu²⁵⁸

Age: 9| Weight: 12-0| J: Niall Moore⁽⁴⁾| T: P Fenton| OR: 123

66/1

Twenty runs since last win in 2020. Fell in handicap hurdle (11/2) at Tramore (16f, good to firm) in August. Has work to do on return from 8 months off/starting out for new yard.

Form: 92943F

La Malmason⁸⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-13| J: Kieren Buckley| T: G P Cromwell| OR: 122| D

5/1

Thrice-raced winner over hurdles. 7/2, second of 9 in novice hurdle at this course (20.3f, heavy) 86 days ago, clear of rest. Makes handicap hurdle debut.

Form: 152

Sam's Choice^b¹⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-13| J: C McGivern⁽⁴⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 122| D

40/1

Latest win in hurdle at Leopardstown in December. Ninth of 12 in handicap hurdle (50/1) at Fairyhouse (24.5f, soft) 18 days ago. Others more persuasive.

Form: 325109

The Gradual Slope¹⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-11| J: M M McDonagh⁽²⁾| T: S O O'Brien| OR: 120

22/1

Latest win in hurdle at Down Royal in January. Below form seventh of 12 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (24.5f, soft, 18/1) 18 days ago. Others more persuasive.

Form: 6146P7

Bread And Butter^t¹⁰⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-10| J: L Stones⁽²⁾| T: O Murphy| OR: 119| BF| D

9/1

5/2, sixth of 8 in handicap chase at Cork (20f, heavy) 109 days ago. Worth noting he ran well when third in a C&D handicap hurdle at this meeting 12 months ago and a subsequent yard switch may have perked him up. One to note.

Form: 003566

Level Neverending^b⁴¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-10| J: Danny Gilligan⁽⁴⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 119

8/1

Unreliable type who (blinkered) finished tenth of 23 in Pertemps handicap hurdle at Cheltenham (3m) 6 weeks ago, despite hanging left. Drops back in trip now and he's an each-way player.

Form: 134230

Gold Speed^h⁶⁰

Age: 10| Weight: 11-7| J: B W Harvey⁽²⁾| T: A Murray| OR: 116| CD

9/1

C&D winner. Respectable seventh of 14 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (20.1f, good to soft, 14/1) 60 days ago.

Form: F/U-2457

Ideal Pal^p,t²⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-7| J: Shane Fitzgerald| T: C Collins| OR: 116

40/1

9/2 and cheekpieces on for 1st time, second of 4 in handicap hurdle at Warwick (16f, heavy) 27 days ago. Back up in trip. Others more persuasive.

Form: 10-P3F2

Privilege⁸⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-7| J: P J O'Hanlon| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 116

50/1

Fairly useful winner at 1m over hurdles. Lightly-raced maiden over hurdles. Below form ninth of 22 in novice hurdle at this course (2m, heavy, 22/1) 86 days ago. Makes handicap hurdle debut and betting should guide.

Form: 72-09

Sam Magee¹⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: C Brassil| T: H De Bromhead| OR: 116

40/1

Thrice-raced maiden. 8/1, sixteenth of 21 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, good to soft) 17 days ago. Feasible to think he can get back on track switched to handicaps/returned to further.

Form: P1-350

Unanswered^t¹⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: L A McKenna⁽²⁾| T: A J Martin| OR: 116| C

7/2

Course winner. 2 wins from 5 runs this season. Creditable third of 19 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (21.7f, soft, 7/1) 16 days ago. Has to be taken seriously.

Form: 0-11033

Cillians Charm^h⁷⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-6| J: Mike O'Connor| T: A McCann| OR: 115

25/1

Winner in hurdle at Clonmel (16.7f) in January. Third of 5 in minor event hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, good to soft, 15/8) 77 days ago. Makes handicap hurdle debut and this longer trip promises to unlock further improvement.

Form: 423513

Rock On Seamie¹⁷⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 11-6| J: T N Brett⁽⁴⁾| T: R Hackett| OR: 115

40/1

Seventeenth of 18 in handicap (16/1) at Galway (11.8f, heavy), very slowly away. Switches from Flat to hurdles. Back up in trip. Fairly useful hurdler and worth noting he has gone well fresh previously.

Form: 503385

Teescomponentsyess^p,t⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-6| J: Shane Fenelon⁽⁴⁾| T: J J Hanlon| OR: 115| D

50/1

Eighth of 11 in handicap hurdle (18/1) at Tramore (20.6f, good to soft) 9 days ago. Can give a good account without posing serious threat to principals.

Form: 47-02U8

Ballybawn Belter¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: C G O'Dwyer⁽⁴⁾| T: Miss E Doyle| OR: 114

17/2

Latest win in hurdle at Leopardstown (17.7f) in February. Below form eighth of 16 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (16.4f, soft, 8/1) 18 days ago. Back up in trip.

Form: 257518

Big Debates²⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 11-5| J: D King⁽²⁾| T: R Tyner| OR: 114

10/1

2 wins from 5 runs this season. Creditable third of 7 in handicap chase (7/1) at Wexford (19.8f, heavy) 26 days ago. Switches from chase to hurdles. Not taken lightly.

Form: P-116F3

Mr Saxobeat¹⁸

Age: 7| Weight: 11-5| J: E Walsh| T: T Gibney| OR: 114

28/1

Twelve runs since last win in 2021. 16/1, eighth of 12 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (24.5f, soft) 18 days ago, ridden home turn and unable to land a blow. Needs to step up on recent efforts if he's to figure here.

Form: U273P8

Bold Approach¹⁶⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: Richard Condon⁽²⁾| T: B W Duke| OR: 113

80/1

50/1, last of 14 in handicap at Dundalk (12f). Switches from Flat to hurdles. Back up in trip. Fairly useful hurdler, below form on last hurdle outing. Others have achieved more.

Form: 40-F313

Butterflyvespiere²⁰

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: E A Fitzgerald⁽⁴⁾| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 113| D

25/1

9/1, fifth of 10 in novice chase at Clonmel (19.9f, heavy) 20 days ago, not knocked about. Profile over hurdles back in 2021 was very much a positive one and she's one to keep an eye on for shrewd stable returned to this sphere.

Form: 1431-65

Camino Rock^t¹¹⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Gavin Brouder⁽²⁾| T: M F Morris| OR: 113

20/1

8/1, respectable sixth of 18 in handicap hurdle at Limerick (24f, heavy) 119 days ago. Others more persuasive.

Form: 56-4536

Doctor Churchill¹⁰²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: Philip Donovan⁽²⁾| T: C W J Farrell| OR: 113

80/1

Pulled up in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (24f, heavy, 66/1) 102 days ago, pulled up before last. First run for yard after leaving Gordon Elliott. Others more persuasive.

Form: 0-905PP

Kingston Retreat⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-3| J: Philip Byrnes⁽²⁾| T: S O O'Brien| OR: 112

40/1

Doubled hurdles tally from 6 lb lower mark at Tramore (21.5f) last June. Fell returning from 10 months off back at that venue 9 days ago and this looks a tough enough ask turned out quickly.

Form: 9-4410F

Low Lie The Fields^t²⁷

Age: 9| Weight: 11-3| J: H Morgan| T: H De Bromhead| OR: 112| CD

18/1

C&D winner. Fourteen runs since last win in 2021. Respectable fourth of 11 in handicap hurdle (6/1) at Limerick (21f, heavy) 27 days ago. Needs a couple of these to falter.

Form: 8394P4

Sacchoandvanzetti^p,t⁵⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Shane O'Callaghan⁽⁴⁾| T: J Queally| OR: 112| C

33/1

28/1, respectable eighth of 18 in handicap hurdle at Naas (15.5f, good to soft) 59 days ago. Back up in trip. Tongue strap on 1st time over jumps , cheekpieces back on. Something to find on form.

Form: 60/9038

Mighty Mo Missouri^p,t¹⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 10-11| J: Conor Smithers⁽⁴⁾| T: Mrs J Harrington| OR: 114| BF

11/1

9/4, creditable second of 15 in juvenile hurdle at Cork (16f, good to soft) 17 days ago, having run of race. Up in trip. Looks competitive on form.

Form: 552202

Non-Runners

Mister Beeton⁵³

Weight: 11-2| Age: 6

T: S Nolan J: Reserve 1

Delante⁸⁰

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: T Cooper J: Reserve 2

San Martino²⁰

Weight: 11-2| Age: 5

T: Peter Fahey J: Reserve 3

Forecasts

Unanswered (7/2), La Malmason (5/1), Level Neverending (8/1), Ballybawn Belter (17/2), Bread And Butter (9/1), Gold Speed (9/1), Big Debates (10/1), Mighty Mo Missouri (11/1), Low Lie The Fields (18/1), Camino Rock (20/1), San Martino (20/1), The Gradual Slope (22/1), Butterflyvespiere (25/1), Cillians Charm (25/1), Mr Saxobeat (28/1), Sacchoandvanzetti (33/1), Mister Beeton (33/1), Delante (33/1), Sam's Choice (40/1), Rock On Seamie (40/1), Sam Magee (40/1), Ideal Pal (40/1), Kingston Retreat (40/1), Teescomponentsyess (50/1), Privilege (50/1), Eclair De Beaufeu (66/1), Doctor Churchill (80/1), Bold Approach (80/1)

Plenty in with a shout in an ultra-competitive opener, including UNANSWERED. Tony Martin's 6-y-o arrives on the back of solid placed efforts in similar big-field events in recent months and, clearly still on a workable mark, he could well be the way to go. Bread And Butter, starting out for Olly Murphy, La Malmason and Butterflyvespiere are a trio of others to consider, with Cillians Charm another likely capable of better now stepping up in trip.