15:20 Down Royal

Monday 4 May 2026

All13:3514:1014:4515:2015:5516:3017:05

Club Orange Beginners Chase

Off time: 15:21 | Winning time: 4m 39.60s

Astley¹⁰

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Eoghan Finegan⁽⁷⁾| T: Paul Traynor

6/1

Modest form at best over hurdles but has run to a fairly useful level in a couple of maidens switched to fences this spring. More will be needed here, though.

Form: 553355

Court Canyon^t²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: P J O'Hanlon| T: Ian Donoghue| D

10/1

Fair hurdle winner for Gavin Cromwell. Only mid-field on Fairyhouse handicap debut over Easter on her first outing for current yard. Best watched now chasing.

Form: 0/512-00

Sampoet^p¹⁰

Age: 9| Weight: 11-12| J: Ben Harvey| T: D M Christie| OR: 94

50/1

Placed in 3 hunters but struggled in ordinary handicaps on last 2 starts and looks firmly up against it here.

Form: 0088FF

Scalpnagoon^t²⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-12| J: Kevin Healy⁽⁷⁾| T: G Elliott| OR: 124| D

3/1

Fairly useful winner over hurdles and translated that ability to chasing at the second time of asking when third in 17f Cork maiden last month. Should go well with a repeat of that form.

Form: 18P063/

Staffordshire Knot^b⁵³

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: James Smith⁽⁵⁾| T: G Elliott| C

4/5

Runner-up on the first of 2 chase starts at the end of 2024. Improved over hurdles last season, including a win in the Grade 2 Boyne at Navan in February. Should be hard to beat back chasing.

Form: 31121P/

Takenasred^h²⁹

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: John Shinnick| T: S R B Crawford

14/1

Fair hurdler. 18/1, below form tenth of 20 in handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse (2½m, soft) 29 days ago. Makes chase debut. Best to look elsewhere.

Form: 884400

Non-Runners

Cinammon Roll²¹²

Weight: 11-12| Age: 6

T: G Elliott J: Paddy Cleary

Impero²⁷⁵

Weight: 11-12| Age: 7

T: C Collins J: Ben Harvey

Forecasts

Staffordshire Knot (4/5), Scalpnagoon (3/1), Impero (5/1), Astley (6/1), Cinammon Roll (6/1), Court Canyon (10/1), Takenasred (14/1), Sampoet (50/1)

Gordon Elliott should dominate this, with STAFFORDSHIRE KNOT likely to be very hard to beat if he can translate anything like his improved hurdle form this winter back to the larger obstacles. His stablemates Scalpnagoon and Cinammon Roll may battle it out for the forecast spot.