Joyeux Machin broke my heart on Saturday, after looking like the winner when entering the straight.
Joyeux Machin traveled well for the entire contest and appreciated the step-up in distance. Harry Skelton made his move into contention by taking the wide route, and he hit the front quite easily when entering the business end. I'm not sure if he went for home too early or if he was outstayed, but it's heartbreaking regardless to be done on the line by a 22/1 shot who seemingly had little chance on known form.
Rizz will be disappointed in the performance of his ante-post selection Invincibe Nao, who ran no sort of race in the Midlands National on Saturday. He made a jumping error in the early stages of the contest but never really recovered to get involved.
Rizz was originally meant to cover the racing on Sunday, but something came up late on, so he is now unable to. He will be back tomorrow to cover Monday and Tuesday's racing.
Cairnzy's Tips
Raadobarg 9/1 EW – Curragh 3.45
My first selection on Sunday comes from the Curragh in the shape of Raadobarg, who looks interesting in his first run for new trainer Raphael Freire.
Previously trained by both Johnny Murtagh and George Boughey, Raadobarg was the winner of the contest back in 2022 when trained by Johnny Murtagh. My selection also finished third in this race last year of a much higher mark and now finds himself running of 10lb lower this time around. Raadobarg's form is a bit underwhelming at first glance, however, he did run a blinder at Ascot last summer in a competitive Class 2 contest when outrunning his odds of 40/1 to finish in third place. Raadobarg beat home some nice types that day, Tempus and Tolstoy are two that caught my eye when looking at the result.
My selection has been of the course now since September of last year and it just may be the time to be on him when arriving here fresh and under a new trainer, which sometimes can spark a horse back into form.
Bet365 is offering six places in this contest, so I've opted to advise this selection as an each-way bet, with 9/1 being more than a reasonable price.
Moonlit Potter 4/1 – Market Rasen 4.32
I thought Henry Daly's Moonlit Potter was worth another chance in this contest despite having something to prove after two below par efforts.
My selection looked progressive last season when running well in a few hurdle contests, but connections opted to send her chasing in recent times with their feelings clear that she would be better over the larger obstacles. Moonlit Potter very nearly made the ideal start over fences but was nabbed on the line by Fergal O'Brien's Lilting Verse. Lilting Verse made a return from a break recently to finish second behind a progressive sort in Ben Pauling's Awaythelad, so the form looks quite good on paper.
My selection was unable to back up that effort in her following two outings when running considerably under par at both Hereford and Huntingdon. A bad mistake at Hereford resulted in her being pulled up by jockey James Bowen, and her most recent outing at Huntingdon was simply a no-show as she was never at the races and beaten by a whopping 38L by the reopposing Space Voyage.
Moonlit Potter receives weight from her two market rivals and notably meets Space Voyage on considerably better terms this time around. I'm hoping she can resume progressing after a break, and with trainer Henry Daly in better form of late ( operating at a 27% SR ), it may be the right time to catch her.
GambleAware