Gordon Elliott is unleashing some smart prospects at Down Royal on Friday, as he usually does, so we’ve picked out some of the more interesting runners at the Northern Ireland track on Friday. Aidan O’Brien always targets the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, so we’ve assessed the chances of his runners which are set to be ridden by main man Ryan Moore on Friday. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Withnolimit almost won a Grade 2 bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival but struggled in the quicker ground at Cheltenham. Leaving that effort well behind him at Punchestown, he managed to win the Grade 1 bumper there, at the expense of Mourne Rambler, and is one to look forward to over hurdles.
Mange Tout signed off last season with a game success in the the Grade 1 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree in the spring and it’s definitely interesting that Jack Kennedy has picked her over stablemate El Cairos. Perhaps there’s more to come from the daughter of Born To Sea this term.
Ballyfad progressed from a dual-bumper winner to competing in Grade 1 novice hurdles last season and was only denied by a short head at the Dublin Racing Festival. Improvement is anticipated now tackling fences and there’s a very good chance that he is going to be a leading novice chaser.
Sun Goddess has truly been an exceptional filly this season and is clearly adaptable with regards to trip. Trying a mile for the first time here, she stayed on strongly when landing the Moyglare by a wide margin and probably wouldn’t be running here if her trainer wasn’t confident that the trip will suit.
Coventry Stakes winner Great Barrier Reef is Ryan Moore’s pick for this race and he has the widest draw of all, which is less than ideal. That being said, he’s clearly a smart performer and comes into this race with a similar profile to stablemate Gstaad, who landed this race last year.