Richard Dunwoody's Irish visits so far this season have amassed an impressive total of 38 winners, and it may be that the three-times British champion jockey can pass the 40 barrier with a treble at Clonmel this afternoon.
That would put Dunwoody into third place in the jockeys' table, just behind the second placed man Conor O'Dwyer, and it's hard to oppose him on the sort of form which saw him ride a Gowran double last Thursday and winners at both Fairyhouse and Naas over the weekend.
Another winner at Fairyhouse last Saturday was Dromhale Lady, who sprang a 12 to 1 surprise when beating the supposed main characters Oonagh's Star and Aboriginal in a two and a half mile contest. Oonagh's Star in particular was disappointing, but there looked to no fluke about Dromhale Lady's win, who travelled easily throughout and sprinted 11 lengths clear on the run-in under Paul Hourigan.
Dunwoody takes over in the plate today in the conditions hurdle, where Dromhale Lady takes on the Thurles winner, Puget Blue, and possibly even more dangerous, Gan Saru. Backed as if defeat was out of the question at Leopardstown over Christmas, Pat Flynn's charge could finish only fifth to Good Lad but is capable of much better.
However, Dromhale Lady, a Navan winner over two, is obviously improving quickly judged by her Fairyhouse success, and although two miles on officially yielding ground may be a mite short for her, she is hard to oppose in her and her jockey's current form.
Joking Aside was an impressive bumper winner at Thurles in December and, not surprisingly, found the competition a little hot when subsequently third to Sarsfield The Man and Torvill at Leopardstown. There's no Sarsfield The Man in the Redmonstown Maiden Hurdle and Joking Aside is selected to beat Supreme Gold.
Dunwoody is a significant booking for Excuse Me Sir in the opening Cashel Maiden Hurdle. Eugene O'Sullivan thinks quite a bit of this horse, who eventually will need soft ground and a distance over fences, but today's race is pretty poor and Excuse Me Sir's sixth to Puget Blue last time isn't too bad. Puget Blue's debut-making stablemate Brownie Returns could be the danger.
Another stable companion of Puget Blue is Illegal Alien, who goes in the Chawke Handicap Hurdle. Beaten a short head by Inis Cara at Leopardstown, Ilegal Alien is now 3lb better off on the book, and with Conor O'Dwyer riding the eight-year-old today, he looks worth a bet.
Mr Baxter Basics looked all over the winner of Leopardstown's Arkle until Private Peace swooped at the last moment to beat Tom Taaffe's charge. Mr Baxter Basics jumped notably well that day compared to some previous efforts, and if Jason Titley can produce a similar effort now, Mr Baxter Basics will be a tough nut for the likes of Man Of Arran and Tempo to crack even over this two and a half miles.
Desertmore is the selection in the hunter chase. Runner-up to Tearaway King at the Aghabullogue point-to-point, Desertmore then won at Dungarvan.
