By all accounts, Paul Carberry did Irish bookmakers no favours when giving a fine display of horsemanship to win yesterday's Sporting Index Steeplechase at Cheltenham aboard the Tony Martin-trained Linden's Lotto. He has returned home with two good books of rides at Punchestown today and Navan tomorrow.
The most appealing of his Punchestown mounts is Nomadic, who was outstayed by Com manche Court over 2 1/2 miles at Navan. He now drops back to two miles in the Ballymore Properties Morgiana Hurdle and, whereas he was getting only 6 lb from Ted Walsh's Triumph Hurdle winner last time, the gap has now widened significantly to 11 lb.
This is not just a two-horse race, though, as Pat Hughes joins issue with Magical Lady, and reference to the current ratings shows that she would be meeting both Commanche Court and Nomadic on worse terms if this were a handicap.
Furthermore, she was an easy winner on the flat last time at Clonmel, while over hurdles this year she has picked up two valuable, sponsored handicaps. Both, though, were at Killarney, and she may not run to her mark at Punchestown.
A slow gallop did not suit Alexander Banquet on his hurdles debut at Fairyhouse 10 days ago, but while this tempted him into the occasional error, he still came out of the fray with an unbeaten career scoreline of three from three.
Odds will again be asked and betted in the Cox's Cash and Carry Novice Hurdle where Carberry's mount, Greenstead, will be expected to run a better race than when a well-thrashed third by To Your Honour at Navan.
Three previous juvenile hurdle winners - Nice Guy, Simulacrum and Miss Emer - come into opposition in the opener, and Simu- lacrum is napped to become Dermot Weld's sixth National Hunt winner of the current season.
The American-bred holds out promise of being a far better horse over jumps than on the flat. In his first two attempts over hurdles, he was second to Have Merci at Roscommon and to Fairy Ridge at Tralee, before stepping up to win by six lengths from Aspiring at Fairyhouse in September.
Another three-horse contest is the Stand House Hotel Craddox town Novice Chase. Ollimar is the more recent winner over fences, Total Success an assured novice chase before long, but on this occasion Puget Blue, with Mouse Morris's newly-retained jockey Shay Barry up, can come out on top.
This is one of the horses that Barry has already ridden for his new governor and his style impressed when beating Macon Express at Navan.
Paul Carberry could notch two more winners at Navan tomorrow on Kings Banquet and Native Estate, but on Heist may have to yield best to his amateur brother, Philip, in the richest prize of the weekend, the Golden Pages sponsored Troytown Chase.
Philip here rides Native Status for his father, Tommy, for whom the Troytown was a bogey race in his riding days, being one of the few big ones to escape him.
Native Status was a convincing, nine-length winner from Pokono Trial of the 2 1/2-mile Wilkinstown Handicap Chase at Navan last month, and earlier in the summer had shown that three miles held no terrors for him when winning a Bellewstown stayers hurdle.
Native Estates did punters several good turns late last year and can be just as good a friend over fences. He looked to be going like a winner as he came from behind in the Jameson Gold Cup Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Grand National day, when he took a tumble at the second last.
Jessica Harrington's Shean Tower gets the nap of the day. If Cardinal Hill is half the horse Noel Meade thinks he is, then it was a sound run on the part of Shean Town to finish within seven lengths of him at Navan when both were tackling hurdles in public for the first time.
