Ante-Post Series #3

 Ante-Post Series #3

I think its fair to say my 2 selections so far haven't exactly put me in a great position going into the festival as both my previous picks do look unlikely. Kopek Des Bordes looks set for the Supreme as well as last week selection Lowry's Bar whose been declared at Kempton this weekend so it would seem almost nailed on that he wont be running in the Ultima if he was to run at the weekend. Luckily we did add the NRNB option to Lowry's Bar so at least we're not out of pocket on that one.

I have 2 selections for you today and I'm very keen to get at least one on the board by the time the festival kicks off.


Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase - Nurburgring - 10/1


Now we have the entries to the handicaps and can make a fair assessment on who turns up to which race it's time to strike and that's exactly what I'm doing here with Joseph O'Brian trained Nurburgring. I was tempted to put him up last week but he did hold entries in both this and the Grand Annual so I decided to wait until now to put him up.

The British handicapper is yet to give him a rating but has a RPR of 128 so I'm hoping It'll be somewhere in the mid to higher 130’s and off of this mark I think he will be very competitive in a race like this.

He has some decent form in the book already in handicaps with competitive runs at Navan and Punchestown behind the likes of Touch me Not, King of Kingsfield and Down Memory Lane respectively and has shown signs of improvement since switching to fences this season. 

He bombed out in his last run over Christmas at Leopardstown finishing 9th of 13 however that was over a trip that wouldn't of suited and proved a little too quick for him, so I'd be happy to forgive him for that run and would expect to see him back to a competitive level at the festival come March.

I haven't added the NRNB option to this selection as It's now clear that this is the race they're targeting all being well so I'm happy to risk it for the extra 2 points.

I know It's not much of a secret to most anymore but this lad looks absolutely chucked in to this race off a mark like this and a double figure price seems more than fair.

Supreme Novice Hurdle - William Munny - 20/1 EW

Now I'm writing this just minutes after William Munnys' very impressive performance at Punchestown this afternoon and I'm really kicking myslef that I didn't do this sooner.

If you've read my blog over this year you'll know that I'm a massive Kopek Des Bordes fan boy so it may come as bit of a shock that I'm putting one up against him here.

As much as I'd love to see Kopek win this there's definitely chances for a few to run into a place at least and that's why I'm siding with this lad.

He's a horse that been on my radar since running in bumpers last season and he's just starting to show that form again over hurdles. I actually felt sorry for him in his first 2 Maiden hurdle starts as I thought he was a bit unlucky that he just happened to bump into a couple very good horses. He was beaten by Workahead and Kawaboomga respectively in those races who are both targeting grade 1 novice hurdles at the festival as well so they are no mugs in their own right. 

Trainer Barry Connell has said this race has been the target for him since the end of last season so I don't think there's ant risk of him going down a different route now.

He'd have to improve again to be competitive here but he showed signs today that he's more than capable of doing that and at odds of 16/1, I think he could be a solid each-way bet.

For more updates, news and opinions head over to my X (Twitter) account: https://x.com/OGedgeracing

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