It was a painful watch on Havaila as he was back to his old tricks of not following through with the win when having it in the palm of his hands, but I can't be frustrated with the jockey, as Sam Twiston-Davies did everything right.
He is a quirky horse, and Sam did everything right as he smuggled him into the race and played him as late as physically possible. I also think he didn't stay the trip on the soft ground as his efforts did get worse after the las,t and the winner pulled clear.
Frost At Dawn returned a small profit from a runner-up finish after a bold effort from the front at Bath, but it was still a loss on the day.
Blood Destiny 9/2 – Fairyhouse 4.20
For this race, I thought that Blood Destiny had a very good chance, and a much better chance than his 5/1 odds suggest.
I tipped up Heart Wood at Cheltenham in the Ryanair, and even though he did run a very good race to finish second to Fact To File, he got smoked by the winner, and the other horses in the race aren't progressive horses, so is that form really that strong? Clearly I think it doesn't mean much, especially when Heart Wood is the EVS favourite, or odds-on with some bookies.
Blood Destiny is a very headstrong horse, but has always had that potential start quality about him, especially when getting his conditions. He loves heavy ground, so the ground he faces at Fairyhouse should be right up his street, and as long as his jumping holds up, he can definitely put it up to the favourite.
He has some strong pieces of form when finishing ahead of Spillane's Tower, and then finishing behind that horse, who has been a bit of a hype horse this year, as he was second in a Grade 1 earlier in the season. Paul Townend takes the ride over the likes of Saint Sam, who is a good yardstick, so I think the yard do feel like this is a very winnable race.
Final Orders 25/1 EW (6pl) – Fairyhouse 5.00
The main attraction of Monday's racing is the Irish Grand National. This is obviously a very tough race to call for backing a winner, but I think it's important to get involved in the big races, and if you like a horse at decent odds, then you shouldn't shy away from it.
Final Orders is my pick for the Irish National, and it is a bit concerning given that none of the stable jockeys are on board, but that doesn't mean his chances are zero. He ran well in the Downpatrick National a couple of weeks ago when finishing as runner-up to the Dunboyne. I think that winner has a decent chance of running well in this race, so based on that, Final Orders must have a better chance given he now has a 13lb swing in the weights with that horse as Patrick M O'Brien takes off 7lbs on Final Orders.
My selection is unexposed at this type of distance, and given he was a classy operator in good handicaps and the lower Graded races a couple of years ago, he definitely has the ability to win this type of race off a reduced handicap mark of 135, which is theoretically 128 due to Patrick's claim.
The heavy ground conditions will not be ideal for many, and it's a question mark on my selection, but he handled soft in the past, so I can hope that he will handle today's worse conditions. At the odds, I am more than happy to take the chance.
GambleAware