There is a wealth of novice chase talent in Ireland this season as is evidenced by the fact that animals of the calibre of Manus The Man and Cockney Lad have had to be diverted from Leopardstown to Naas in search of purses within their capacity.
The first time fencing of Manus The Man stood up to the racecourse test at Punchestown last month when he came home a clearcut eight-length winner from All Trix. The distance there was 2m 4f but if he jumped as well today the extra distance of the Saggart Novice Chase will not inconvenience him.
Cockney Lad has been keeping good company since switching codes. He was runner-up to Nuzum Road Makers at Roscommon and that winner was smart enough to go and win the Troytown while more recently Cockney Lad was third to His Song in the Baileys Arkle Perpetual Challenge Cup. A Beginners Chase such as this should be within his compass.
A sporting nap selection is Empor Star (3.45) for while the judge's placings show that he was beaten a distance into third place behind Glazeaway on the occasion of his last Naas outing, there was a very good excuse for this. He had been in pursuit of the leaders coming to the straight when he was badly hampered and forfeited too much ground to get back into contention.
Paul Carberry has a string of good rides over the weekend and Aim High may prove an appropriately named first-race ride. He ran freely on his hurdles initiation at Punchestown and finished sixth to Knife Edge, one of the market leaders for the Elite Triumph Hurdle.
No tipster will expect to get a prize for naming the hotpot of the day as The Gatherer (2.45) whose Leopardstown showing was so full of potential that he has frightened off the best of the entries.
He could be the first leg of a mixed double for Arthur Moore even if no one holds out the same long term hopes for Lord Of The Dance (3.15).
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)