Clues Aplenty In England and Ireland

Whilst The Listener’s high profile success at Leopardstown dominated the headlines on Sunday (10th February), there were some other performances of note on the same day in both Ireland and England.

J’y Vole ran a remarkable race to win the valuable Dr P J Moriarty Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Everything seemed to conspire against Willie Mullins’ mare, including the fact that she jumped markedly right throughout. She was headed, and looked beaten, entering the straight, but staged a remarkable rally to lead at the last and win quite comfortably in the end.

She is clearly hugely talented, but may be without a trip at the Festival. The Arkle may not be far enough for her and she is unlikely to be able to sustain her front running tactics over the three miles plus distance of the Sun Alliance. If she continues to jump right handed as well, then she’ll struggle round Cheltenham’s left handed track.

There seemed to be no excuses for those in behind, including Sky’s The Limit and Thyne Again.

The Deloitte Hurdle was the other being race on the Leopardstown card and whilst Forpadydeplasterer was a worthy winner, the performances of the second and third were both worthy of note for differing reasons.

Cork All Star, last year’s Festival Bumper winner was disappointing in second. He has been beaten in his last couple of starts over hurdles and will need to improve significantly if he is to win at Cheltenham for a second successive year. Better ground and a faster pace may well bring out some of that improvement.

Tranquil Sea, by contrast, ran a race full of promise in third. His trainer, Edward O’Grady, has an excellent record at the Festival and this horse looks to be going the right way fast and will definitely improve when he encounters a quicker surface. He has the choice of either the Supreme Novices Hurdle or the Ballymore Properties Hurdle.

The same is true of Group Captain, who was the most significant winner in England on Sunday. The former decent Flat performer has made a very successful transition to hurdles and his victory at Exeter was very impressive, visually. He had some decent horses behind him and showed a really classy turn of foot to put the race beyond doubt between the last two flights. His Flat speed will be a dangerous weapon at the Festival.