Coral’s ‘Three to Follow’ for Dublin Racing Festival
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Join Coral as we take a look forward to Saturday’s Dublin Racing Festival and share out ‘Three to Follow’…
‘Three to Follow’ at Dublin Racing Festival
It was a case of 10th time a charm for Music Of Tara when she got off the mark here over Christmas, and now she’s finally got her head in front, she should be the type to kick on and progress further through the second half of the season.
She shaped with plenty of promise when third on her seasonal bow at Navan back in November when just tapped for toe over the minimum trip, and despite coming off the bridle early enough, she came home strongly over two and a half miles here next time to land the spoils for the Henry De Bromhead team.
A 7lb rise in this much hotter race will undoubtedly make life more difficult, but this tough daughter of Kayf Tara looks made for staying trips, and this step up to three miles for the first time should unlock even more improvement. There’s no doubt in my mind she’ll turn out better than a mark of 122 in time, and she rates a solid each-way bet in what is admittedly a fiercely competitive handicap.
It’s a real shame more British trainers decide not to make the trip over for the Dublin Racing Festival, but Sophie Leech is taking the plunge with her Cheltenham winner Madara, and there’s every reason to believe she’ll be rewarded come Saturday afternoon.
Madara’s jumping had slightly let him down on his first two starts for the yard, but he finally put it all together at Cheltenham last time when comfortably getting the better of the progressive In Excelsis Deo, and with Funambule Sivola and Calico well-beaten in behind, the form looks rock-solid.
A 3lb rise for that certainly looks on the lenient side, and provided those previous jumping issues don’t rear their ugly head this weekend, Madara can ensure that at least one trophy this weekend will be making its way back across the Irish Sea.
It’s ironic that the market for the ‘future stars’ bumper this weekend is dominated by top bumper horses from years gone by, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in with A Dream To Share & Redemption Day at the head of the betting for Saturday’s concluding race.
The majority of the field have certainly looked potential ‘future stars’ on what they’ve done so far, but my suspicion is when we look back at this race in years to come, the star that’s shone the brightest will be Paul Byrne’s horse Jeroboam Machin.
He went into plenty of notebooks when making a winning start in a Fairyhouse bumper back in December, and despite looking like he could get tapped for toe off a steady pace, he came home strongly to win with plenty of hand. He beat the smart but ill-fated D B Cooper that day, and with the 3rd, 4th & 6th all winning next time out, the form undoubtedly has substance.
This point-to-point winner looks a big raw horse who will come into his own when heading back over obstacles, but Emmet Mullins’ suggestion that he can ‘work with anything we have in the yard’ indicates the raw ability is there, and the fact he remains in bumpers suggests connections believe there’s plenty more to achieve in this sphere before going hurdling.
An opening show of 16-1 looks very much on the generous side, and with a strong pace likely, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Emmet Mullins’ horse can upset the principles in the day’s concluding contest.
All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.
