13:50 Leopardstown

Sunday 2 March 2025

All13:2013:5014:2514:5715:3016:0216:3717:12

Adare Manor Opportunity Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 13:51 | Winning time: 4m 3.01s

Be Positive⁴⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Cian Quirke| T: S Neville

150/1

Once-raced maiden. Seventh of 9 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (20f, soft, 100/1) on NH debut 45 days ago.

Form: 4/P-F47

Cabaret Prince^t1³⁵⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Gary Noonan| T: E McNamara

12/1

£50,000 5-y-o, Doyen gelding. Closely related to 3 winners, including winning hurdler/useful chaser Cabaret Queen and fair hurdler/useful chaser Internal Transfer. Successful on third of his 4 starts in points. Wears tongue strap.

Form: 4412-

Following Orders³⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Tiernan Power Roche⁽²⁾| T: P J Rothwell

25/1

€40,000 3-y-o, Order of St George gelding. Half-brother to fairly useful hurdler/chase winner Doyen Ta Win and bumper/fairly useful hurdle winner Ten Lengths Tom. Runner-up on the latest of his 2 starts in maiden points.

Form: 52

Fortune The Brave¹⁷⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Gavin Brouder| T: J C McConnell

11/2

Twice-raced winner in bumpers. 16/1, won 15-runner bumper at Kilbeggan (20f, good to soft) 177 days ago, staying on well. Makes hurdles debut. High on the shortlist.

Form: 31

Glyde Ranger¹⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Jake Coen| T: T G McCourt

80/1

Fair Flat winner. Once-raced maiden over hurdles. 8/1, eighth of 14 in handicap at Dundalk (12f) 18 days ago. Switches from Flat to hurdles. Others preferred.

Form: 8

Harbour Highway⁶³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Conor Clarke⁽⁴⁾| T: E Mullins| D

7/4

Lightly-raced winner under Rules. Seventh of 10 in novice hurdle at this course (19.8f, good, 20/1) 63 days ago. Each-way claims.

Form: 110-97

Jerisk Star^h,t1⁴⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Aidan Kelly| T: Liz Doyle

40/1

Thrice-raced maiden under Rules. 33/1 and hooded for 1st time, nineteenth of 21 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.9f, heavy) 49 days ago. Tongue strap on for 1st time.

Form: 2/P0

Le Grand Peinture⁵⁶

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: J G Gilligan⁽²⁾| T: L Fowler

66/1

Lightly-raced maiden under Rules. Sixteenth of 21 in novice hurdle (200/1) at Naas (16f, heavy) on hurdles bow 56 days ago. First run for yard after leaving M. J. Tynan.

Form: PP0/36-0

Lucky Jack¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: J Smith⁽²⁾| T: Ian Donoghue

200/1

Twice-raced maiden. Seventeenth of 21 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (19.1f, soft, 150/1) 10 days ago.

Form: 50

Mooretown Lad³⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: D A Kidd⁽⁴⁾| T: J C McConnell| C

200/1

Fairly useful Flat winner. Twice-raced maiden over hurdles. 250/1, nineteenth of 20 in novice hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, soft) 36 days ago. Yard saddles a stronger candidate in Fortune The Brave.

Form: 00

Mullacash Buzz^t¹⁶

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: Shane O'Callaghan⁽²⁾| T: Thomas Dowling

125/1

Fair Flat winner, making GB/IRE jumps debut. 7/1, second of 14 in handicap at Dundalk (7f) 16 days ago. Tongue strap on for 1st time in this code.

Form:

Net Boy^t¹²⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: P Hanlon⁽⁴⁾| T: B Connell

8/1

Twice-raced maiden. 4/1, third of 6 in bumper at Wexford (16.4f, heavy) 125 days ago. Improvement needed now switched to hurdles.

Form: 4-3

Pension Plan

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Niall Moore⁽²⁾| T: P W Flynn

100/1

Yeats gelding. Dam bumper winner. Probably best watched on debut.

Form:

Polemon^p,t³⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Philip Donovan| T: D Hogan

5/1

Lightly-raced maiden under Rules. Fairly useful winner at 12f on the Flat. 9/4, fourth of 5 in minor event at Dundalk (12f) 30 days ago. Switches from Flat to hurdles. Merits respect.

Form: 30/36

Quint Major²⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 11-12| J: L A McKenna⁽²⁾| T: M A Molloy

13/2

Fair hurdler. Bumper winner at Clonmel in October. Below form ninth of 22 in novice hurdle at Punchestown (16.2f, soft, 10/1) 27 days ago.

Form: 0-71359

Solsbury Hill⁶³

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: C G O'Dwyer⁽²⁾| T: C O'Dwyer| OR: 100

12/1

Lightly-raced maiden under Rules. 9/2 and hooded for 1st time, creditable fourth of 15 in novice hurdle at Limerick (19f, soft) 63 days ago. Looks vulnerable.

Form: 4-8754

Stilgar

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Conor Stone-Walsh| T: Colm Murphy

16/1

Getaway gelding. Dam, unraced, closely related to useful hurdler/smart chaser (stayed 3½m) Royal Vacation out of 2m hurdle winner Summer Break. Watch the betting for clues.

Form:

Murphy Place¹¹²

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: Thomas O'Connor⁽⁴⁾| T: M Fahey

50/1

Twice-raced maiden. 18/1, fifth of 11 in bumper at Naas (16f, good to soft) 112 days ago. Makes hurdles debut. First run for yard after leaving Gavin Patrick Cromwell.

Form: P55

Non-Runners

Two's Kompany

Weight: 11-12| Age: 5

T: W J Burke J: Reserve 1

Killala Bay

Weight: 11-12| Age: 5

T: P W Flynn J: Reserve 2

Abitlikethat

Weight: 11-12| Age: 5

T: P J Rothwell J: Reserve 3

Forecasts

Harbour Highway (7/4), Polemon (5/1), Fortune The Brave (11/2), Quint Major (13/2), Net Boy (8/1), Solsbury Hill (12/1), Cabaret Prince (12/1), Stilgar (16/1), Following Orders (25/1), Jerisk Star (40/1), Murphy Place (50/1), Le Grand Peinture (66/1), Glyde Ranger (80/1), Pension Plan (100/1), Mullacash Buzz (125/1), Be Positive (150/1), Lucky Jack (200/1), Mooretown Lad (200/1)

FORTUNE THE BRAVE looked like a stayer in the making when winning a 2½m Kilbeggan bumper in September, which raises a question over the suitability of this drop back in trip now switched to hurdles. That said, if plenty of use is made of the 5-y-o he could prove hard to catch round here, in a race featuring a dearth of appealing candidates. Polemon is just about the pick of those with experience in this sphere, while point winner Cabaret Prince is also worth a second look.