14:17 Down Royal

Sunday 17 March 2024

All13:0713:4214:1714:5215:2716:0216:3717:10

Powered By Bluegrass Handicap Hurdle (80-95) (Div 1)

Off time: 14:17 | Winning time: 5m 36.06s

Silent Flight⁴⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 11-13| J: Phillip Enright| T: P Byrne| OR: 94| D

11/4

1 win from 2 runs this season. 17/2, career best when winning 14-runner handicap hurdle at Punchestown (20f, heavy) 48 days ago, suited by increase in trip. Worth a chance to follow up.

Form: 8/004-91

The Niffler^h,t³¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-13| J: Jack Kennedy| T: E O'Connell| OR: 94| D

11/4

Below form seventh of 16 in handicap hurdle (7/2) at Clonmel (16f, heavy) 31 days ago, unable to sustain effort. Back up in trip. Merits consideration on a handy mark with Jack Kennedy booked again.

Form: 8080-P7

Maimie's Magic^t¹⁵

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr S Connor⁽⁷⁾| T: S R B Crawford| OR: 93

9/2

Creditable third of 9 in handicap hurdle at Navan (20f, heavy, 6/1) 15 days ago. Generally consistent and should remain competitive.

Form: 62-5843

Joeswayornoway²⁴

Age: 8| Weight: 11-8| J: Shane Fenelon⁽⁷⁾| T: E Sheehy| OR: 89

11/1

Unreliable sort. Two wins from 41 NH runs. Twelve runs since last win in 2022. Bit below form seventh of 14 in handicap hurdle at Thurles (16.4f, soft, 11/1) 24 days ago. Back up in trip.

Form: 5-05307

College Causeway¹⁷¹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: B W Harvey| T: J C McConnell| OR: 88

20/1

14/1, pulled up in handicap hurdle at Clonmel (24.2f, heavy) 171 days ago, driven after 4 out.

Form: 0740-0P

Perfect Pupil¹²

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: Anna McGuinness⁽⁷⁾| T: S McConville| OR: 85

25/1

Unseated rider in novice chase at Thurles (20.8f, soft, 100/1) on debut over fences 12 days ago. Switches from chase to hurdles.

Form: 00059U

Rebel Cowgirl⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: J J Slevin| T: M A Cahill| OR: 85

12/1

Lightly-raced maiden. 25/1, eleventh of 16 in novice hurdle at Gowran (16f, heavy) 8 days ago. Up in trip. Makes handicap hurdle debut. Has plenty to find.

Form: 090F0

Fairly Bold³⁹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-2| J: J P O'Sullivan⁽³⁾| T: P J Rothwell| OR: 83

9/1

Lightly-raced maiden. 22/1, good tenth of 25 in handicap hurdle at Navan (22.4f, good to soft). Off 13 months. Likely to need the run.

Form: 707/70-

Father Jed¹⁴²

Age: 13| Weight: 10-13| J: Philip Donovan⁽⁵⁾| T: J P Ryan| OR: 80| D

66/1

25/1, twelfth of 14 in handicap hurdle at Sligo (20f, soft) 142 days ago. Hard to make a case for.

Form: 506520

Ferrum^p²⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 10-13| J: Sam Ewing| T: G A Kingston| OR: 80

16/1

14/1, ninth of 10 in handicap hurdle at Punchestown (24.9f, heavy) 25 days ago. Needs to bounce back quickly.

Form: 0-64849

Flashthelights^t⁸²

Age: 8| Weight: 10-13| J: Simon Torrens| T: N C Kelly| OR: 80

14/1

Eleven runs since last win in 2022. First run since leaving S. McConville when sixteenth of 19 in handicap hurdle at this course (17f, soft, 16/1) 82 days ago.

Form: 3P-7900

Subset²⁸¹

Age: 10| Weight: 10-13| J: Sean O'Keeffe| T: P Maher| OR: 80| BF

28/1

One win from 28 NH runs. Winner in chase at Punchestown in April. Below form third of 10 in handicap chase (3/1) at Punchestown (24f, good). Off 9 months. Switches from chase to hurdles. Worth monitoring in the betting.

Form: 40631-3

Non-Runners

Lady Iseult¹⁴²

Weight: 11-11| Age: 9

T: D A McLoughlin J: Patrick M O'Brien

Party Pack⁷⁶

Weight: 11-10| Age: 6

T: J P Flavin J: R Deegan

Flicker Of Hope¹¹²

Weight: 11-7| Age: 5

T: M Fahey J: Aidan Kelly

Portnacoo²²

Weight: 11-5| Age: 6

T: Jamie Sloan J: L A McKenna

Essential Part⁷⁷

Weight: 10-13| Age: 6

T: A Sexton J: Harry Sexton

Forecasts

Silent Flight (11/4), The Niffler (11/4), Maimie's Magic (9/2), Fairly Bold (9/1), Joeswayornoway (11/1), Rebel Cowgirl (12/1), Portnacoo (12/1), Flashthelights (14/1), Lady Iseult (14/1), Ferrum (16/1), Flicker Of Hope (16/1), College Causeway (20/1), Perfect Pupil (25/1), Party Pack (25/1), Subset (28/1), Essential Part (50/1), Father Jed (66/1)

SILENT FLIGHT stayed on strongly to justify support at Punchestown last time and, in a thin race, he may be able to defy a rise if the emphasis is sufficiently on stamina. Maimie's Magic should give another good account and The Niffler looks potentially well treated.