15:47 Down Royal

Tuesday 21 January 2025

All12:4013:1013:4014:1014:4215:1515:47

Madri Excepcional Handicap Chase

Off time: 15:47 | Winning time: 6m 23.00s

Now Where Or When^p,t²¹

Age: 10| Weight: 11-13| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: S R B Crawford| OR: 121| C

12/1

Course winner. 12/1, seventh of 9 in handicap chase at Punchestown (19.7f, soft) 21 days ago. Back up in trip and he looks vulnerable.

Form: 57496-7

Money Heist³⁷

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: Keith Donoghue| T: G P Cromwell| OR: 120

7/1

4/1, respectable sixth of 10 in handicap chase at Navan (16f, good to soft) 37 days ago. Stable in good form but this 8-y-o may now be in the grip of the handicapper.

Form: 15/411-6

Shajak^b,t²³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Carl Millar⁽⁵⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 120

17/2

Twelfth of 17 in handicap chase (17/2) at Leopardstown (24.4f, good to soft) 23 days ago. In good form prior to that and definite each-way chance if able to ounce back and keep jumping errors to a minimum. Yard also saddles Sea Aster.

Form: 223U30

Clonmeen^t⁶⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 11-8| J: Simon Torrens| T: William P Murphy| OR: 116| CD

16/1

C&D winner. Ninth of 11 in handicap chase (40/1) at Cheltenham (25f, good) 66 days ago. Others preferred.

Form: 139P-59

Sea Aster^p¹³⁴

Age: 7| Weight: 11-6| J: Danny Gilligan| T: G Elliott| OR: 114

11/1

Latest win in chase at Clonmel in June. 3/1, pulled up in handicap chase at Perth (23.8f, good to soft) 134 days ago, struggling some way out. Possesses the required ability to play a leading role but improvement is needed in the jumping department.

Form: 3-312FP

Prince Palace²⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-4| J: H E Sexton⁽⁷⁾| T: P A Fahy| OR: 112

6/1

15/2, below form fifth of 9 in novice chase at this course (20.6f, good to soft) 26 days ago. Makes handicap chase debut and he looks vulnerable.

Form: 92-4655

Whateys Quest²³

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Philip Byrnes| T: C Byrnes| OR: 111

7/1

Career best when winning 12-runner handicap chase (11/4) at Limerick (22.6f, soft) 23 days ago, pushed out. This is more demanding up 11 lb but he's of strong interest all the same.

Form: 14-0001

Read To Return^t²⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 11-1| J: Conor Stone-Walsh⁽⁵⁾| T: A J Martin| OR: 109| D

7/2

7/2, creditable third of 21 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (24.5f, soft) 20 days ago. Switches from hurdles to chase and he's high on the shortlist.

Form: 659-453

Marronstown²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 10-13| J: B W Harvey| T: D M Christie| OR: 107| D

7/1

11/1, bit below form fourth of 9 in handicap chase at Punchestown (19.7f, soft) 21 days ago. Back up in trip and likely to find one or two too good.

Form: 42-1654

Silver King^h,t¹⁶

Age: 9| Weight: 10-13| J: Phillip Enright| T: O McKiernan| OR: 107

15/2

11/4, creditable second of 7 in handicap chase at Naas (16f, heavy) 16 days ago. Shade more will be needed if he's to open his account in this sphere but this new trip is well worth exploring and he's on a workable mark.

Form: 208-042

Forecasts

Read To Return (7/2), Prince Palace (6/1), Marronstown (7/1), Money Heist (7/1), Whateys Quest (7/1), Silver King (15/2), Shajak (17/2), Sea Aster (11/1), Now Where Or When (12/1), Clonmeen (16/1)

READ TO RETURN has yet to add to his maiden chase success at Killarney back in October 2023 but he is appealing on the back of a solid recent effort over hurdles at Fairyhouse. The 8-y-o is preferred to Whateys Quest, who did the job well at Limerick and an 11 lb rise may not be enough to debar another bold show from him. Silver King is an each-way player with this step up in trip unikely to be a bad thing.