Gordon Elliott is Down Royal‘s top trainer with 14 winners at the track so far this season. It’s a course which Elliott loves to target and he sends no fewer than nine runners there on Tuesday. The forecast is very mild for the Northern Irish track and the meeting is unlikely to fall foul to the weather.
Davy Russell rides just three of the nine runners which could be significant. As Russell has come out of retirement to cover the absence of Jack Kennedy, he’s not here to play around. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Doctor Bravo (6-5, bet365) goes in the first race of the day. He won a bumper at Fairyhouse in good style on debut last month. A stablemate finished fifth that day and has since boosted the form by winning on his next start. Finished second to a Mullins horse in a strong maiden hurdle at Leopardstown on Boxing Day and a repeat of that effort could well be enough to take this.
An Mhi (7-2, bet365) was in contention when slipping on hurdles debut at Cheltenham. His next two tasks were particularly challenging as he faced Facile Vega next time and another very smart Mullins prospect at Fairyhouse when last seen. With no scary Mullins runners here, this looks like a cracking opportunity to get off the mark over hurdles.
Knocknagappagh (4-1, bet365) has been knocking on the door lately, finishing second in three of her last five starts. Deserves to get her head in front and has to be near the top of the list here. Could hardly have been much closer on just her second handicap start off 3lb lower last time when beaten by three-quarters-of-a-length. Having only had six starts over hurdles so far, it’s likely that she can progress in handicaps and shed her maiden tag here.
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