Brace yourselves -- it's Psycho, the sequel!
Punters were quite literally tearing their hair out in frustration as Tony Martin's charge got beaten in the Cheltenham Festival's getting-out race, the County Hurdle, two weeks ago.
That defeat was entirely the fault of Paul Carberry, who let his mount cruise through the field before realising too late that Silver Jaro had stolen a clear lead. You know your jockey's made a hash of it when he goes straight from complacency to panic and Carberry was painful to watch as he set about Psycho in a frenzy of sudden effort. The pair were held off by a fast-closing three-quarters of a length at the line.
Today at Fairyhouse, Carberry has been replaced by Davy Russell -- not because trainer Martin is unhappy with the ride (he would have us believe that he has nothing against Carbs) -- but because he's been claimed by Noel Meade to ride Definate Spectacle.
Psycho can run off his Irish mark, 11lb below the one from which he should have won the County Hurdle. That makes him one of the best-treated horses ever to run in a major race and he deserves to be a strong favourite.
I think Psycho's probably going to produce a happy ending today and, oh, how I'd like to just lump on and cheer him home. But 6-4 is a loser's price for a 15-runner handicap hurdle worth £47,000 to the winner. Anyone taking those odds has sacrificed their dignity in desperation for a winner and deserves to meet with the same grisly fate as his Cheltenham backers.
There are several dangers in the field, but I'm siding with Brave Right (3.50), whose recent record in such races is exemplary. Having beaten a big field at Punchestown last April, he was second in Ireland's biggest handicap hurdle, the Pierse, in January on his only subsequent run over timber. The heavy going that day was part of the reason he got collared close home and better can be expected on today's yielding surface. He's great each-way value at double-figure odds, even if we can only get three places.
9-1 is a disconcertingly big price about Wigwam Willie (3.10) at Pontefract and it may be that he is expected to improve for this seasonal debut. He's never won on his first start back before but Kevin Ryan's string seem well forward and this one has his ideal conditions.
Course specialist Great As Gold (3.45) is also too big for the following marathon, while Gilded Cove (2.40) should be running on at the finish of the sprint handicap.
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