Racing tips: Maid O’Malley will show her class and repeat last years win at Carlisle

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The Dublin Racing Festival was a good spectacle as always. We saw some upsets and we saw some real top-class horses prove their quality. It should give us some pointers towards the Cheltenham Festival regarding what form lines are good and you might've found some potential well-handicapped horses for the handicaps.

Fontwell 1:55

Unit Sixtyfour is the odds-on favourite and has won a couple of races back-to-back after he couldn't win a race when put as a selection at shorts odds. He's a progressive horse and will take the world of beating in this race as it doesn't look particularly strong. However, with him carrying an extremely large weight I'm going to have a play on the rank outsider of the bunch who has shown nothing in form but is making her chase and handicap debut today.

UNCERTAIN TIMES is what I'll be having a small EW play on. I wouldn't go crazy on the stakes as she is around 66/1 at the minute and she might even drift further, but I've seen similar profiles of horses winning off big odds, and when I think that the race isn't stacked with good horses, other than the favourite I'll chance my arm at a place and maybe her causing a huge upset.

She was a PTP winner when in Ireland, so clearly has the ability to jump a fence and now she is switched back to fences over rules she might be able to find her feet. If she does jump well she could be dangerous to underestimate running off a joint bottom weight of 10st 2lbs. She does have some fairly smart horses in her line of pedigree, so a mark of 74 could be within her reach. And though Anna Newton-Smith has struggled for winners in recent years, she had previously done okay with her small string of horses, so that wouldn't be a concern. For those who like extra places, maybe this is a selection for you, as surely you'll be able to grab some extra places at decent odds.

Carlisle 3:15

A four-runner race, but a good little contest. Haute Estime is carrying top weight and hasn't exactly impressed over fences as I was hoping for as I tipped her up in the Aintree Festival last spring when placing in a Grade 1 at 100/1, so she is a horse I have a soft spot for. The form horse is MAID O'MALLEY and though I think she might be better over shorter, she stays this trip and has run some belters in Class 1 chases, so has to be the one they all have to beat.

Maid O'Malley has been in the mix with the likes of Zambella and Annie Mc and has looked like potentially causing a big problem for Zambella, especially at Carlisle earlier this season where she was trading much shorter than the starting odds of 28/1 as she travelled sweetly through the race and jumped well, but was outclassed by the Nigel Twiston-Davies horse on both occasions, which isn't a bad thing as she is a top mare.

She won this race last year off a slightly lower mark, so this year will be more difficult but considering she ran so well behind those horses in the Class 1 events, I can't see Haute Estime causing her any problems off a higher weight and lillith hasn't fired since winning at Punchestown last spring, I wouldn't write her off fully, but from what we've seen this year she has to show something different. Based on the unexposed profile and the light weight she carries, La Renommee is surely the one to worry about as she ran well on her chase debut, but this is a tougher race and she'll have to improve to win this.

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