18:00 Ballinrobe

Friday 17 April 2026

All17:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:00

McGrath Limestone Works Handicap Hurdle

4YO plus | 2m 174y | 14 Runners | Turf

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: H De Bromhead| OR: 125

Won 11-runner juvenile hurdle at Fontainebleau in October 2024 and shaped well making debut for current connections after 17 months off when second of 8 in handicap hurdle (11/1) at Wexford (2m, heavy) last month. Open to further progress.

Form: 5P1-2

Arch Empire¹⁶⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-11| J: Jack Kennedy| T: G Elliott| OR: 124| CD

C&D winner. In and out form in the autumn and was a disappointing ninth of 12 in handicap hurdle (9/1) at Down Royal (16.9f, good to soft) 167 days ago. Others preferred after a break.

Form: 242349

Frankendael^h³¹⁹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-9| J: Daniel King| T: E McNamara| OR: 122| BF| CD

C&D winner. Well backed when a creditable third of 8 in handicap hurdle at Listowel (16f, good to soft, 3/1), finding less than looked likely after travelling fluently into lead. Off 10 months. Hood back on. Others more persuasive.

Form: 110P-73

Wholelotofbusiness^t¹²

Age: 7| Weight: 11-8| J: Gary Noonan| T: E McCarthy| OR: 121| D

Progressive form in the autumn, including win at Killarney. Probably needed run after 5-month break when tenth of 19 in handicap hurdle at Cork (19f, good to soft, 22/1) 12 days ago and should step up from that back at more suitable trip.

Form: 322120

Miss Manzor³²⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 11-7| J: Danny Gilligan| T: G Elliott| OR: 120

Fairly useful winner at 16f over hurdles for W. P. Mullins. Well held on Flat last time for Noel C. Kelly and market may prove best guide back hurdling after another stable switch.

Form: 538/64P-

Positive Energy¹⁵⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-6| J: Mr P J Cawley⁽⁷⁾| T: B Cawley| OR: 119| BF

Made winning hurdles debut at Naas (2m) last March. Twice-runner up on Flat last season but below par when last seen over hurdles and looks opposable making handicap for new yard (formerly trained by M. D. O'Callaghan) after 5 months off.

Form: 16-4

Sonny May^t⁹²

Age: 9| Weight: 11-6| J: Sean O'Keeffe| T: D Hickey| OR: 119| D

Won 2 novice handicap hurdles in November 2024 but no show in 2 maiden chases this winter and a bit to prove now reverted to hurdling.

Form: 15F0-9P

Teed Up⁴⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 11-6| J: Donagh Meyler| T: E Mullins| OR: 119| D

Good effort when third in a listed handicap at Galway in August but little impact since. Hard to make case for on recent efforts.

Form: 0-48000

Catch The Beast⁴⁰

Age: 8| Weight: 11-5| J: Philip Byrnes| T: E Cawley| OR: 118

Returned to form from out of the blue when second of 16 at Naas in February and backed that up to a large extent when fifth there 6 weeks ago. Looks competitive.

Form: PF-6P25

High Court Cave²¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-5| J: Conor Stone-Walsh| T: N C Kelly| OR: 118

Point/bumper winner was runner-up in a competitive 20-runner race at Galway on handicap debut in the summer and landed the odds back in maiden company at Downpatrick in September. Still unexposed returning from 7 months off.

Form: 1070-21

Give Him A Chance³¹

Age: 7| Weight: 11-3| J: Tiernan Power Roche| T: P J Rothwell| OR: 116| BF

Third win of the season and a career best when landing 16-runner handicap hurdle at Naas (15.5f, heavy) in February. Slipped up early at Wexford since and should be in the mix again if none the worse for that mishap.

Form: 32591S

Sopelana^p,t²⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 10-13| J: Kevin Healy⁽⁷⁾| T: C Collins| OR: 120| C

Showed improved form to record third career success in handicap hurdle at Punchestown in January. Back to form and would have even closer if not for being hampered at the last when second of 12 at Navan (2m) 4 weeks ago. Place claims again.

Form: 581742

Piccolo Player¹

Age: 5| Weight: 10-7| J: Michael Kenneally⁽⁵⁾| T: J P Ryan| OR: 106| BF

Winner of maiden hurdle at Limerick in November. Did too much too soon when sixth of 11 in handicap hurdle at Gowran (16.2f, heavy) 41 days ago but previous handicap efforts would give him claims here. Engaged 2.45 Limerick Thursday.

Form: 693564

She Is Electric^h²⁷⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 10-6| J: Phillip Enright| T: N Lee| OR: 105| C

One-time fairly useful hurdler but out of sorts when last seen in 2025. Impossible to fancy after 9 months off.

Form: 44/P-54P

Forecasts

High Court Cave (4/1), Give Him A Chance (9/2), Becasse (5/1), Sopelana (5/1), Frankendael (8/1), Catch The Beast (10/1), Positive Energy (12/1), Arch Empire (12/1), Piccolo Player (12/1), Wholelotofbusiness (16/1), Miss Manzor (16/1), She Is Electric (25/1), Sonny May (25/1), Teed Up (33/1)

BECASSE made an encouraging Irish debut at Wexford last month and he's open to plenty of progress on his second handicap start. Catch The Beast arrives after a couple of good efforts and is also shortlisted, whilst Give Him A Chance was going the right way prior to an unfortunate incident last time and can also be in the mix.