This is a tricky handicap to get a handle on with many of the contenders making their chasing debut. Perhaps it can pay to side with course specialist CROWSATEDAPPLETART whose 3-4 wins have come here and he brings a nice level of recent form. Be My Hero was running a respectable race last time before making a mistake while Aleish Lass and Miners Bridge are others who have the form to get involved. [Denis Harney]
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Won maiden point-to-point by 35l in January last year; her next win came in a handicap hurdle at this track two months ago; finished close-up third on her subsequent start; regressed on most recent start but that was on soft ground; drop back in trip is a concern.
Comes with a point-to-point background; showed a nice level of improvement on his hurdling starts to ultimately win a Killarney maiden; ran a nice race on handicap debut when last seen off 16lb higher hurdles mark; 230-day absence; player if fit enough.
Won over hurdles after eight attempts at this track last month; didn't build on that in her first chase start subsequently when pulled up; made a number of errors that day and may improve with experience.
Failed to complete on first two starts over fences; more like it last time out at Tramore when beaten into third (2m, good to yielding); may be capable of improvement now that cheekpieces are applied.
Seventh of 15 on Killarney chase/stable debut 10 days ago; his solitary win came over hurdles in February at Thurles (16.5f, soft) last year; may be able to build on most recent effort.
Has shown a liking for this track with 3-4 wins here, including a 2m5f handicap hurdle (good) in October; had success again over hurdles in early December at Cork (yielding) and has run consistently since; has won one handicap chase off a mark of 81 here last May; consistent performer.
Three hurdle wins to his name all came on decent ground; seems to favour hurdling as chase starts have been a little disappointing but wasn't at his best last time out over hurdles four weeks ago.
A maiden over jumps but ran okay at Wexford last month on return from a break (2m3f, yielding); he is a consistent sort and always runs his race; if he comes on from that run then he could get involved.
His best performance in recent times came at Listowel in September when finishing a respectable fifth of 16 (2m3f, soft to heavy); beaten by large margins on his four starts since; most recently finished fifth of ten at Hexham; both wins have come over hurdles; others appeal more.
Ran respectably over hurdles when returning from a big layoff on most recent start, travelling okay but made a bad mistake at a crucial point; prior to that his form was mediocre; he could play a role if his first run over fences brings about some further improvement.
Beaten a distance at Tipperary on most recent start; last win came last year off current mark; he can't be completely discounted but others are preferred.
The veteran of the field and hasn't had a win for three years; his most recent third over hurdles at Tramore was his best effort for a while; prior to that he finished 42l behind in a handicap chase; the handicapper continues to drop him but he is hard to fancy.
Two chase wins came in 2023 but has been badly out of form since; he runs from a 7lb lower mark since his last win but his two runs since he had a break didn't set the world alight.
Maiden on Flat and over hurdles; beaten by 5l on hurdling debut in 2023 from a 13lb higher mark but his efforts since that have been disappointing; showed some flickers of life last time out at Tramore when staying on into fourth.
First reserve; solitary win came at Galway back in September over hurdles (2m7f, gd-yld); has shown little on his five starts since that success; makes chasing debut.
Second reserve; 38-race maiden including 16 runs over hurdles; his best performance came last July when finishing second in a 2m1f handicap hurdle; his efforts over fences have not been at that level; 1lb wrong.
