13:10
Gowran Park
Odds correct as of 9:49am 21st Jan
Christian Williams has proven himself to be a shrewd handler, particularly with staying handicap chasers, and he’s a very effective target trainer.
The Glamorgan-based trainer has had five previous runners in Ireland, three at Galway and two at Punchestown, and is set to add a new course to the list one Thursday. He sends one runner to Gowran for the first time, which certainly catches the eye.
We’re going to take a close look at the horse’s profile and assess his chances of coming out on top. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Dixie Mafia faces 17 rivals in this competitive-looking handicap hurdle. It’s going to be hard work, as the trip is just shy of three miles and ground conditions are set to be testing. Winning two of his eight starts in Irish point-to-points, it’s worth noting that both successes came on much quicker ground.
He’s had just the five starts over hurdles so far and was far from disgraced when finishing fourth at Warwick in March. The son of Sholokhov didn’t quite have the pace to challenge over the two-mile trip but stuck to his task admirably and stayed on well to finish less than eight lengths behind the winner.
Williams’ gelding produced an improved display to finish second on handicap debut at Aintree last month and wasn’t beaten too far at Ascot after that. There are three last time out winners amongst the field; Joyau De Thaix, The Lovely Man and Kingking Ciergues, who are all major contenders.
Further improvement can’t be ruled out from Dixie Mafia and it’s unlikely that we’ve seen the best of him just yet. It’ll be interesting to see what the market makes of him and he’s a very intriguing participant.
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