All eyes wil be trained on Leopardstown today when Brave Inca bids to land a major gamble in the Irish Champion Hurdle at 2.50. The more the rain fell this week the more money punters wanted to have on the old stager who has proven form in bog-like conditions. He has obvious prospects of turning the tables on Sublimity on their form over course and distance over Christmas and should put up a blod show.
There is a cracking race in prospect for the Arkle Novice Chase at 1.50 too, but as far as making money is concerned I think it would be prudent to avoid the awful going conditions prevalent at today's jump meetings and stick to the all-weather at Wolverhampton where Changing The Guard (3.25) makes plenty of appeal. Richard Fahey's colt won on his debut in promising style at the minimum trip and promises to be well suited by the step up in distance.
Racing's "pin-up girl" Hayley Turner came in for some stick when she rode Aeroplane (5.00) last time as the horse did a good impersonation of taxiing on the runway as his rivals set off in a race at Lingfield a fortnight ago. He was given far too much to do that day and Jamie Spencer should do better this afternoon at the Midlands venue where the colt rates the day's best bet.
The bad weather continues to play havoc with the racing calendar and Hexham's scheduled meeting for this afternoon was abandoned earlier today. The Northumberland venue was described as raceable on Saturday but after finding almost two inches of snow on the track on arrival this morning, clerk of the course Johnnie Fenwicke-Clennell was left with little option but to call the meeting off.
"We've had to abandon unfortunately as we had six millimetres of rain overnight and there is an inch and a half of snow on the track," said Fenwicke-Clennell. "The temperature at the moment is around plus one and a half degrees but if and when the snow melts, we will be waterlogged anyway. A combination of the rain and snow has left us in a hopeless situation."
2pm Golden Silver wins in a storm
The Arkle Chase at Leopardstown is won by the well-backed Golden Silver at 9-1 as stablemate and nominal first-string Jayo, who was weak in the betting beforehand, finishes tailed-off after a shocking round of jumping. The winner battled bravely in the home straight in the face of a fierce wind and driving rain to hold off Forpadydeplasterer. Golden Silver is 16-1 from 33-1 for the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham but the dreadful conditions dictated what happened here and Jayo's appalling jumping left him little chance.
2.50pm: Brave Inca, having been backed at the start of the week, is very weak in the betting on course and out to 11-4 with Sublimity the new 9-4 favourite.
3pm Brave Inca so brave as he lands gamble
Brave Inca lives up to his name again to regain the Irish Champion Hurdle, having won it last in 2006. Not for the first time the old warrior wasn't travelling half as well at the last as his nearest opponent, this time Muirhead, but the gutsy victor held off his challenge on the run-in. He's 20-1 now to win back the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and that about sums up his chances as he's unlikely to face conditions as desperate as today's in March. Sublimity travelled well too till the home turn but couldn't quicken in the ground and faded to finish fourth. It was somewhat surprising to see him so well supported on track to start 2-1 favourite.
3.25pm Sublimity found to be wrong after Irish Champion
Gary O'Brien has just reported on the Attheraces channel that Robbie Hennessy, the trainer of Subilimity, has revealed that the horse scoped badly after today's big race and mucuus was found in the gelding's lungs. File that performance under 'one to ignore'.
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