((((( DOWN ROYAL )))))

Decent card but not really a punting one to me though Elliot could well run riot.
A couplle of interesting races across the pond this evening as well.
Being a martyr for ultra competitive handicaps Wranglers 7/1(tomorrow) last run is well worth a look,i thought he had no race but finished with a full tank,ground is a bit of a concern maybe a bit of ease would suit but think he looks well handicapped and that last run was so eyecatching.

backing shorties,esp in accas is the road to the poorhouse imo.

From the excitement of GALWAY last weekend ALL ROADS LEAD TO Her Majesty's Maze (no, not Long Kesh) this Friday and Saturday

Looks likely that APPLES JADE will take on Ivanovich Gorbatov in Friday's WKD Hurdle.
Elliott - "The plan is she'll run in Friday's WKD Hurdle, though I'm keeping an eye on the ground for a good few of my runners. Also part of my Friday team at the moment I'm thinking of Monbeg Notorious, A Toi Phil and others."


Ruby is set to ride DON POLI for Elliott again in Saturday's JNWine.com Chase (as Copper is out for another two weeks) with 10yo Silviniaco Conti and De Bromhead’s Valseur Lido set to oppose.
While GORDON is the man to watch this weekend (as he bagged a treble on the same card last year) there is the small matter of a THURLES THURSDAY where he also employs the stingy hunt (expect a treble today too).

RACING at The Maze begins at 12.45pm for Friday’s seven race card.

Northern Eye must be getting excited

Give me a ring...

WR RING ME ASAP I RING YOU BACK NEW  MOBILE  PHONE AINT STORED LOTS NUMBERS

LOL OZZY IVE TWO PONS CAN FIND THE ONE WITH ALL THE NUMBERS IN FEEL LIKE KING NIDGE IN LOVE/HATE

MY TWO MATES AWAY WATCH IRE BEAT ALL BLACKS AT SOLDIER FIELD

9.25 Intelligence Cross & Lancaster Bomber on the War Front for APO'B at Santa Anita

Next up at 23.35 is SONGBIRD 11/10 - going for 12 wins from 12 runs - up against older horses - her toughest test yet.

Could be a MEGA day for MEADE (& Nicholls)

12.50 Mega Fortune Gordon
1.25 Bel Ami De Sivola Meade/Giggs
2.00 Weightfordave 20/1 Meade /Sloan
2.35 Champ CHASE Silviniaco Conti Nicholls from Lido & Poli  for Giggs
3.05 Le Mercurey Nicholls
3.40 Balnagon Boy 6/1
4.10 Clara Sorrento Meade/Nina/Giggs from Runfordave Gordon

Yet another mega Paul Nicholls Saturday - 5up now across the cards.

"Given the prevailing conditions – 3m on good ground around Down Royal – then I think I would have chosen to ride Valseur Lido in the JNwine Champion Chase at 2.35pm.
He wasn’t at his best when we last saw him at Sandown in April but that was at the end of a long, hard season and he had earlier run a cracker when chasing home Vautour in the Ryanair. He can go well when fresh, and I just think conditions will suit him more than Don Poli. He has more speed.

I won on Don Poli first time out at Aintree last season – though he was getting weight from Many Clouds and it was soft ground – and he went on to win the Lexus, and finish third in the Gold Cup. I don’t know how straight he will be today, but he could find others a bit too quick for him here. He’s a genuine Grade 1 horse, though, and one who I obviously have a lot of time for, and I see Gordon has put cheek pieces on him, which is interesting.

Silviniaco Conti could hold the key to this race. If he returns to his best then he is probably the one to beat, and he had physical excuses for a modest campaign last season, that runaway win at Ascot aside. He is the best horse in here on official ratings, and we know how good Paul Nicholls is when bringing horses over to this meeting, but he is a 10yo with something to prove, I guess.

Grand National runner-up The Last Samuri is not out of it on official ratings either – he is only 2lb inferior to Don Poli if you believe the handicapper – and the likes of Monksland, Lord Scoundrel and Sadler’s Risk are all class horses in their own right. But they all have to improve a good deal to win this, and I imagine all roads will lead to Aintree in April for the Last Samuri and that he won’t be hard-fit here.

It is a tricky race to call, but I would probably like to be riding Valseur Lido" - Bryan Cooper.

"The other big race on the card is the Grade 2 chase over an extended 2m3f at 3.05pm, in which Gigginstown have three runners. I would like to be riding Outlander in the race. He won his Grade 1 when beating Monksland at Leopardstown in February and is a very consistent horse, and also a versatile one as regards trip, too.
He ended last season with a second to Zabana over 3m1f at Punchestown, where recent Limerick winner Sub Lieutenant was in behind, but he certainly doesn’t lack pace and I think he has the speed to cope with this step back in trip.
He has a 7lb penalty for his Grade 1 win, as does Zabana who re-opposes here, but I’d still expect him to be competitive. I still had plenty left in the tank when he fell 4 out in the JLT and he is a lovely-moving horse for whom good ground isn’t a problem.
As with Silviniaco Conti, you have to respect what Nicholls sends over, as he has won an amazing seven of the last eight runnings of this race. In fact, Don Cossack and I were responsible for the only defeat for him in that period, in 2014! That record alone makes Le Mercurey a big threat to everyone, and Sub Lieutenant is also bang there on official ratings, too. It’s a good race." - Cooper.

Added 4.15 Cruiseaweigh

LAST winner for the Sloan's

MEGA day for MEADE as Noel completed a double at Down Royal - Bel Ami De Sivola in a maiden hurdle and Tiger Sam 7/4 fav in the H/cap Chase.

Calipto 4/1 (2.25 Ascot) & OUR DUKE 10/11 2.30 DR fast dbl will do TYVM...sky returns 955 for yer ton

Happy ending eh

https://www.theirishfield.ie/news-racing-set-to-continue-at-down-royal-racecourse-412086/

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Cheltenham Champion Bumper winner Envoi Allen could begin his jumping career in the Maiden Hurdle - the FIRST RACE at 12.40pm.
The Elliott inmate, owned by Cheveley Park Stud, won all his four races last term and was sent off a short-priced favourite on every occasion. “The plan is to run at the moment. I think Gordon is happy with him, he’s summered well, so hopefully we can creep away with him and see what happens,” said Cheveley Park Stud’s managing director Chris Richardson. Elliott has also put in Escaria Ten, Fury Road, Multifactorial and Run Wild Fred among a 23-strong entry for the two-and-three-quarter-mile contest.

Elliott is responsible for three of the 11 possibles for the Grade 3 EBF Mares’ Novice Hurdle at 1.10pm. His trio is made up of Ard Abhainn, who has yet to run over hurdles, Fairyhouse maiden hurdle scorer Daylight Katie and Mount Ida, who got off the mark over the smaller obstacles at Galway on Sunday.

The Elliott-trained Coeur Sublime, runner-up in last season’s Triumph Hurdle, is one of nine entries for the Grade Two WKD Hurdle at 1.45pm. The County Meath handler has a second string to his bow in Coko Beach, runner-up in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham in March. Honeysuckle, from the De Bromhead stable, could try to take her 100 per cent record under Rules to five after tasting Grade One success in the mares’ novice hurdle final at Fairyhouse in April.

Samcro could make his debut over fences after a 307-day absence in the near two-and-a-half-mile Beginners Chase at 2.55pm on Friday. The seven-year-old is among 16 entries looked a potential superstar when extending his unbeaten record to seven in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival. However, Elliott’s charge suffered a heavy fall in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle that April and ran below par in three starts last season — the latest when fifth in the Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting. Samcro was subsequently found to be suffering a lung infection, which ultimately ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. Elliott has also entered Cracking Smart, Milan Native and Dortmund Park while other prospective rivals include Henry de Bromhead’s Grade Two hurdle winner Dommage Pour Toi and Noel Meade’s Trappist Monk. Tks Irish Racing

Samcro has been schooling well at home.  Going well beside the likes of Battleoverdoyen.  He should win tomorrow even though he will be about 75% fit. Black Op was very impressive today which lends well to Samcro.  How did Curtis's go off fav to beat Black Op today?