Daddy Long Legs is the star attraction at Tipperary on Thursday night where he bids to land a nice Grade Three prize in the Grimes Hurdle.
The Willie Mullins-trained gelding made a mockery of a mark of 135 at Punchestown when running out an easy winner of a valuable handicap hurdle at the festival meeting.
He came into that race still very unexposed having been tried in a couple of top level races over the winter following his maiden hurdle win at Thurles.
The Almanzor gelding struggled to make a mark in Grade One company in testing ground but was a totally different proposition back on better going in the spring.
A canter around Ludlow in a novice event there was followed by the Punchestown success just six days later and he looks to be fulfilling the early promise now.
It’s no surprise to see him kept on the go during the summer and this is a nice opportunity for him now to strike at graded level.
With a rating of 150 he sets the standard in the two-miler and should prove the class act
Stablemate Winter Fog is next best off his mark of 147 but is much more exposed and would need to be at his best to score here.
In-foal mare Minx Tiara has a bit to find despite getting a nice pull at the weights but it would be no surprise if she could add some more black-type to her page before heading off to the paddocks.
In the following maiden hurdle Meet My Loreley gets the vote and she could be a bit more value.
The Barry Connell-trained mare won a Navan bumper last season before falling on her hurdling debut at Fairyhouse the following month.
She was still travelling well enough that day in a race where the winner Miss Oreo got a freebie in front.
The Mustemeet mare has previous jumping experience from point-to-points and her form would suggest she might be better on decent ground. She looks good enough to land a summer maiden now.
There isn’t any jumping form to go on in the opening juvenile maiden hurdle, the first three-year-old contest of the year.
They look an ordinary enough bunch judged on their Flat form and the one potential improver in the race is the Joseph O’Brien-trained Inspire Hope.
She shaped with some promise on her debut in a Curragh maiden last month and is sure to be well schooled for this task.
SELECTION NEXT BEST
5.10: Inspire Hope I’ll Rise
5.40: Katakana Someone’s Wish
6.15: Daddy Long Legs (dbl) Winter Fog
6.50: Meet My Loreley (nap) Secrecies Of Stone
7.25: Mossy Fen Clodders Dream
8.00: Deise Bhoy True Of False
8.30: Pure Logic The Great Nudie
