15:50 Thurles

Thursday 2 November 2023

All12:5513:3014:0514:4015:1515:5016:25

Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 15:51 | Winning time: 6m 10.3s

Shannon Royale³¹

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

9/4

Useful winner at 17f in bumpers. 30/100, second of 9 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (20.5f, soft) on hurdles bow 31 days ago, finishing clear of the remainder. Sure to progress.

Form: 2/91-2

Cato's Revenge^t¹⁷¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: J P O'Sullivan⁽³⁾| T: P J Rothwell| BF

50/1

Lightly-raced maiden. 11/4, fifth of 8 in bumper at Killarney (17f, good) 171 days ago. Makes hurdles debut. Significantly up in trip.

Form: 3/36-5

Lecky Watson¹⁸⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| BF

4/7

Useful in bumpers (best effort when fourth in Champion Bumper at Cheltenham) and far from disgraced when fifth in big-field affair at Punchestown in April having raced freely. Has to be of interest now attentions switch to timber on return.

Form: 2/D245-

Rushmount²¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: M J M O'Sullivan| T: Jonathan Sweeney

14/1

Shirocco gelding. Dam, point winner, half-brother to modest hurdler (21f winner) Castlerock Rose, fair bumper winner Lohort Castle. Runner-up both starts in points (latest Apr 2).

Form: 22-

Sam Magee^t²⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Rachael Blackmore| T: H De Bromhead| OR: 109

16/1

Fair hurdler. 15/2, seventh of 9 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, soft) 26 days ago. Steps up significantly in trip here with a bit to prove.

Form: 3500-87

Secrecies Of Stone⁴¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: Jordan Gainford| T: P Nolan

9/1

Promising type. 12/1, third of 18 in novice hurdle at Listowel (20f, soft) on hurdles debut 41 days ago, losing second close home as lack of a recent outing possibly told. Likely to improve.

Form: P/F-3

Tom Kelly²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Liam Quinlan⁽⁵⁾| T: Jayne Hearne

20/1

Fair hurdler. Respectable fourth of 19 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (20f, good, 16/1) 23 days ago. Handicaps likely to be more his bag in this sphere.

Form: 70P-344

Western Express³³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: C P McNamara| T: R O'Leary

250/1

Once-raced maiden. 100/1, pulled up in novice chase at Gowran (20f, heavy) on NH debut 33 days ago, looking green and tailing off from early. Passed over making hurdles debut.

Form: P

Zingara Lass⁶⁶

Age: 6| Weight: 10-11| J: Phillip Enright| T: Miss H McLoughlin| OR: 83

250/1

50/1, ninth of 14 in novice hurdle at Ballinrobe (22.1f, good to soft) 66 days ago. Hard to make a case for.

Form: 0800-09

Forecasts

Lecky Watson (4/7), Shannon Royale (9/4), Secrecies Of Stone (9/1), Rushmount (14/1), Sam Magee (16/1), Tom Kelly (20/1), Cato's Revenge (50/1), Zingara Lass (250/1), Western Express (250/1)

LECKY WATSON quickly reached a useful level in bumpers, producing his best effort when finishing an unlucky fourth in the Champion Bumper at the Festival in March and he gets the nod to make it first time lucky in this sphere back from 6 months off. Shannon Royale is another useful prospect and is feared most, ahead of Secrecies of Stone.