Racing tips: Irish raider Brides Hill should be a tough nut to crack at Perth

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Sam Twiston-Davies gave Prince Des Fichaux a peach of a ride at Ffos Las. He was powerful and fired his horse into every fence and the horse obliged and jumped like a stag.

Punchestown 4:15 – Rocco Bay 40/1 (0.5pt EW WHill)

This is a crazy selection, and I do throw these up every now and again, but they do seem to land when you least expect them to, as we saw with Zanza and Sire Du Berlais in recent months, so I'm going to stick with my gut and go with Rocco Bay.

On paper, he has no chance, but Peter Fahey clearly targets this specific race so his sole runner in the race has to be respected and at the odds, I'm more than happy to have a play. There have been three renewals of this race and Peter Fahey has saddled the last two winners as well as the runner-up on the inaugural race back in 2019, so it looks like a race he sets off for one or two of his runners every year, with Rocco Bay being his play in it this year.

He's not a bad horse by any means, but based on his form he has a lot to find if he wants to mix it with the likes of Three Card Brag and Sandor Clegane, but both of those had very tough races in the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival, so I think he might be worth siding with if they both underperform. This race has thrown up some big-priced winners, including last year with a 40/1 for Peter Fahey, as well as a 14/1 winner the year before. This horse seems better on good ground so no overnight rain predicted will help his chances. Mark Walsh takes the ride and he is 2/2 this season when riding for Peter, so fingers crossed he can give this horse every chance, unlike what he did on Brazil yesterday when giving that horse no chance whatsoever.

Punchestown 7:05 – Andy Dufresne 10/1 (0.5pt EW B365)

I don't think this race is particularly strong, hence why the majority of the head of the market is filled with horses who are still relatively unexposed, but one who is exposed, but not fully at this trip is Andy Dufresne.

I think at the age of 9, this horse now needs this longer trip as he doesn't quite have the gears for shorter distances. He was smart in his pomp, shown when finishing 2nd in the 2022 Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival off top weight and a rating of 155, his rating is now 150 but Danny Gilligan takes off 7lbs, so he is effectively running off 143, which is his lowest rating ever. If you watch the Grand Annual race from last year his best work was in the final couple of furlongs, so it's looked like he's needed the step up in trip for quite a while but connections have been consistent and kept him over 2m as they went for the Grand Annual this year when he totally bombed out, but much better was expected as he went off as 9/2. With him bombing out, he wouldn't have had the hardest of races, so he will be pretty fresh rocking up to this race today.

He is an ex-PTP winner over 3m and has won over this trip before over hurdles a few years ago, so he clearly stays. He is still capable of running good races as we saw him finish 3rd in a Grade 2 earlier this campaign when finishing behind Captain Guinness and Rivire D'etel, though the latter horse hasn't franked the form, the former has as he went on to finish second in the Ryanair at Cheltenham.

I think off his current rating of 143 with the claim he has to be a big player. Young Danny Gilligan is in good form with 4 wins from his last 10 rides, and he'll be wanting to get a win on the big stage to showcase his talents, so hopefully he'll position him nicely.

This race has chucked up double-priced odds winners in seven of the last ten renewals, so his odds and drift in the market doesn't bother me.

Punchestown 7:45 – Fun Fun Fun 2/1 (2pt)

I'm not a big fan of Patrick Mullins when he rides against professional jockeys, but against amateur riders, I think he is decent and he's the man on board Fun Fun Fun.

I was a big fan of this mare's performance at Leopardstown on her first start for current owners Simon Munir & Isaac Souede. She obliterated a decent field and a horse who was the previous winner of that race in Lily Du Berlais, and when I saw that I was praying she would come to this race. They decided to chance their arm in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, where things clearly didn't work out, but similar comments can probably apply to her like Andy Dufresne where she wasn't battered around by Daryl Jacob and that was only a 2m race so she will be fine for today's race.

Now she is back against he mares, she should have a much better chance of winning this race for Willie Mullins who won this race in 2021 with Grangee. That horse won the same Leopardstown race that Fun Fun Fun won, and Fun Fun Fun recorded a better RPR, which clearly gives her a solid chance in this race if returning to that level of form.

Perth 2:30 – Casa Tall 9/2 (1pt)

Tom George hasn't been in great form this year, and neither has his horse Casa Tall but this horse ran a good race when finishing 3rd in this race 12 months ago when equally in as bad form when coming into it, so that doesn't bother me.

This horse is 12lbs lower than when contesting this race last year and is now ridiculously well-handicapped. I find it more than a coincidence that they've returned to Perth for this race when his mark is as low as it is and they've reached for the first-time cheekpieces. This race is full of horses who are probably handicapped to the hilt, so the fact Casa Tall is coming into this off such a low mark makes him worth a chance, knowing full well this race would've been the plan for some time.

Perth 3:30 – Brides Hill 7/4 (2pt B365)

I think Brides Hill should be shorter in the market and is the one they all have to beat in my eyes.

This isn't a strong race, you have the recently winning Pink Legend who ran last week in a tough race at Cheltenham, who will more than likely be the toughest challenger, but I think this mare is a level above Venetia's horse. I tipped up Brides Hill when she won the time before last, beating some decent mares from Willie Mullins' yard and Henry De Bromhead. The form of that race is working out nicely with the 3rd since winning a good Listed race, beating Allegorie De Vassy by 9L, and that mare was 2nd in the Mares' Chase at Cheltenham. The fourth has also come out and won since, and Brides Hill won that race quite comfortably.

Gavin Cromwell does well when sending over horse to the UK and he sent over Jeremy's Flame earlier in the season and he put one of Venetia's horses in their place that day, so he knows what time of day it is. It's interesting that Keith Donoghue comes over to Perth considering Punchestown is happening at the same time, so that looks a good indicator of how confident they are.

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