Today’s best bets, by Greg Wood
With Kempton’s King George meeting in the book, attention switches to Leopardstown today, with Don Poli sure to start at a short price to give Willie Mullins his first success in the feature event of the track’s four-day Christmas meeting.
It is one of those weird quirks that helps to keep racing interesting that Mullins has yet to saddle a Lexus winner. He has not had a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner either, of course, but he will surely cross off the Lexus today as Sir Des Champs, the only other horse at single-figure odds, is also in the Mullins yard. Combined, it is about 1-4 that one or the other will win, and a convincing win for Don Poli could see him emerge as the leading Gold Cup contender from Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown Stud operation.
Mullins should also take the card’s other Grade One, the Squared Financial Christmas Hurdle, with Arctic Fire, to underline the extraordinary depth in his stable. Arctic Fire is one of three Mullins horses — Annie Power and Vroum Vroum Mag are the others — in the top six in the ante-post list for the World Hurdle in March, and with Faugheen’s return to form in the Christmas Hurdle, that looks a very plausible target for last season’s Champion Hurdle runner-up.
On the domestic cards, Tara Flow (3.40) should follow up her easy win at Uttoxeter last time out in the closing race at Leicester, while Bronco Billy (2.35) will also take all the beating at the same meeting. Threebagsue (1.15) has put up some good performances on the clock and is a fair price at around 11-2 for the nursery at Lingfield.
Tipping competition back on Monday 4th January
There will be no tipping competition during the holidays but Talking Horses will continue through the festive season so please do keep us company and share any fancies you may have for the racing over Christmas and the new year.
