Don’t miss Bryan Cooper’s latest column as he previews the Easter action at Fairyhouse and his Sunday rides at Cork
Cooper thinks Sunday's card at Fairyhouse will be a good one for Willie Mullins, whilst he also hopes to continue his decent run of form with a book of five rides at Cork on the same day.
IT’S a great weekend of racing with a lot of the Cheltenham horses coming back out — some on a high and others with a point to prove.
The Fairyhouse Grand National festival is the big one but Sunday’s card at Cork would be the highlight of most weekends and I have five rides there.
There’s extra spice because it’s all to play for in the trainer’s championship. A lot of people have handed it to Gordon Elliott already with him being half a million euro or so ahead of Willie Mullins.
But the champ knows what he’s doing and has targeted some good horses at the huge prize money on offer over the next couple of days. He’s bridged big gaps before and I wouldn’t rule him out doing it again.
Looking at tomorrow's Fairyhouse card, LAURINA was so impressive when winning at Cheltenham even though there wasn’t a lot for her to beat on the day.
She probably has a bit more opposition in the 2.50 but I can’t see anything stopping her.
You could worry about this race coming so soon after Cheltenham given how testing the ground was at the Festival.
That’s something to think about with all the runners coming back but it would be a massive shock if she didn’t win another Grade 1.
Blow By Blow has a bit more on his plate in the 3.20. Okay he won at Cheltenham and I’m not knocking that but it was a handicap and think DUC DES GENIEVRES can give him a real race.
He was running on well behind Samcro in the Ballymore and before that he ran a cracker at Leopardstown. You get the feeling there’s a lot more to come from him.
The power of Mullins and Elliott is underlined in the 4.30 — they’ve got all nine runners between them! It would be good if some other trainers could get a look in but you need the ammo for these Grade 1 races.
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There’s a lot of Cheltenham form on the line too with Shattered Love and The Storyteller coming here after big wins.
But they’ll all have to go some to beat INVITATION ONLY. I know he made a bad mistake in the JLT but on his earlier form he’s the pick of these. He hadn’t made his move behind Shattered Love last time and there is a lot more to come from him.
Three of my past four rides have been winners and I’m hoping to keep up that sort of form at Cork tomorrow.
I’ve got some good chances, starting in the 2.00. Andrew McNamara was a bit disappointed with TORCELLO on his debut over hurdles at Wexford last time. He’s much better than that and has winning form on the level. He should get a lot closer this time.
SWEET DESTINATION (2.30) hasn’t shown a lot yet but this is only her third run over hurdles. It doesn’t look the strongest race and you’d expect her to learn from it. She’s got some decent form in point to points.
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It’s good to have a ride in the Grade 3 at 3.30 but it’s fair to say VAL DE FERBET hasn’t been helped by the weights.
He has to give 6lb to the very useful Mala Beach despite being 13lb lower in the handicap — work that one out!
But he won the race last year and always loves it around Cork. He deserves his place in the line-up and you can’t write him off.
I am really looking forward to getting on LAREENA for Willie Mullins in the 4.05. My last ride for him was a winner and I want to keep that record up.
She won nicely at Thurles last time and hasn’t had much experience over hurdles. This is her handicap debut and I would expect her to keep improving.
I finish the day on HICKEY’S ROCK in the 5.15 for Mouse Morris. He ran okay in his first handicap at Listowel last time and is a little lower in the weights today. He has a sporting chance in what looks an open race.