RACING NEWS ROUND-UP:THE WEATHER intervened to cancel racing at Naas yesterday and the prospects of rain tonight and tomorrow morning is contributing to hopes of a glorious Cheltenham festival return for Brave Inca tomorrow.
Only one horse – Comedy Of Errors in 1973 and 1975 – has ever regained the Champion Hurdle crown but soft ground conditions would suit Brave Inca ideally tomorrow when he is due to line up against 23 others in the £370,000 (€411,700) Day One festival feature.
The English jockey Dominic Elsworth has been booked to ride the 2006 champion who returned to Grade One winning form at Leopardstown in January on heavy ground.
“Apparently there is rain forecast and the more we get of it the better,” said Brave Inca’s trainer Colm Murphy yesterday.
Tony McCoy rode Brave Inca three years ago but is committed to the hot favourite Binocular tomorrow afternoon while Ruby Walsh, who rode the Irish star to finish runner-up to Sublimity two years ago, is on the second favourite Celestial Halo.
“I discussed it with the owners and Dominic is riding really well over there and is a very good rider. He is a quiet enough rider, something like Ruby I suppose, and he should suit the horse,” Murphy said.
Elsworth, who will probably have a spin on Brave Inca at the track today, said: “I’m very pleased. He’s a Champion Hurdle winner, and the winner of an Irish Champion Hurdle, so it is something to look forward to.”
Ten Irish horses have been declared for the Champion Hurdle including other former winners Hardy Eustace (2004-05) and Sublimity (2007.) Many people’s idea of a lively outsider for the race is Won In The Dark and, unlike the Brave Inca team, his trainer Sabrina Harty is hoping that no rain hits the Prestbury Park area.
Speaking from Cheltenham yesterday, she said: “At the moment the ground is fairly good but there is some rain forecast. It all depends on how much we get. Obviously I would prefer none because the faster the ground the better he is. But we’re all set to run and he’s in good form.”
The Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse reported: “There is rain forecast on Monday night into Tuesday morning with up to half an inch falling. That could push us from good to soft, into soft maybe.
“The grass hasn’t really started growing yet with temperatures only above six degrees in the last week. But considering the winter we have had the ground isn’t looking too bad.”
That wasn’t the case at Naas yesterday when snow showers in the morning resulted in the meeting being called off at 11.15am.
“I was getting ready to go racing at 10.30 and I looked out the window to see snow falling,” said the Naas manager Tom Ryan yesterday morning. “The problem is that Met Eireann can’t guarantee a thaw and they can’t guarantee there won’t be more showers.”
Those fears proved well founded as after the cancellation there were almost blizzard conditions at the track for a time.
Naas will hold talks with Horse Racing Ireland about possibly rescheduling the meeting which featured the Lucan Racing Leinster National and which was intended as a prep race for a number of Aintree Grand National fancies.
A €50,000 bonus is also in place if the winner of the three-mile event can add the Powers Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.
“With Cheltenham on this week, it will probably be the week after,” Ryan added.
Binocular expected to drift in market
BINOCULAR could be part of the largest field for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle in 18 years with Nicky Henderson’s hot favourite one of 24 horses declared for tomorrow’s main event.
Should all line up, it will equal the number involved when Morley Street triumphed in 1991 but with about 10 millimetres of rain forecast by the start of the meeting, Henderson’s charge is expected to drift in the market. With Sentry Duty and Punjabi also engaged for the stable, Henderson walked the course yesterday and appeared happy enough, as did Alan King, trainer of last year’s winner Katchit.
The ground was eased officially to good to soft all over yesterday with 3mm precipitation reported, which is prompting Betfair to believe Binocular could be much bigger on the day.
Meanwhile, Denman’s part-owner Harry Findlay says he has “full confidence” in the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup champion.
A lacklustre first run of the season at Kempton after treatment for a fibrillating heart did not hold much promise, but Denman is reported to be redeeming himself in his work.
“His comeback race at Kempton wasn’t that great but he schooled fantastically last week – he seems in great nick, Findlay said.
