The former champion jockey John Murtagh has made a good start to the season and he will be fancying his chances of increasing his total with Spirit Dancer in tonight's Great Southern Hotel Handicap at Killarney.
Considering the Ger Lyons trained gelding won on extremely bad ground in a long distance hurdle at Punchestown, the speed Spirit Dancer showed over nine furlongs on the flat at Dundalk last Friday was something of a revelation.
Murtagh had an armchair ride, releasing Spirit Dancer early in the straight and the five-year-old easily went away to win eased down from Back To Bavaria.
Spirit Dancer makes a quick reappearance, but that Dundalk race looked to take little out of him and with a fixed 5lb penalty plus an extra three furlongs to travel, he will be many people's idea of a Jackpot banker. The Cork winner, Knockdoo, and the topweight, Loquacious, look to be the closest things to dangers to him.
An interesting entry in the bumper is Lanturn, whose run at Listowel last September provoked a lot of interest. After drifting from 4 to 7 to 5 to 4 in the market for a maiden hurdle, Paul Carberry pulled him up lame after four flights.
Lanturn had previously been first past the post in a maiden hurdle at Galway, only to be subsequently disqualified on technical grounds. Clearly the Pat Hughes-trained animal has his share of talent and, if he shortens in the market, Lanturn can be fancied to beat Aidan O'Brien's runner Supreme Beauty.
The most valuable race on the card is the £10,000 Menvier Handicap Chase, and while O'Brien's Clonmel winner Blasket Sound and his other pair, Corket and Oakler, will have their supporters, Hemisphere looks the most attractive of the bottom weights.
A well backed favourite at Listowel last month, Hemisphere was leading until the eighth fence, where he crashed. Corriblough eventually won that contest but, at his best, Hemisphere and Garrett Cotter, a fine steeplechase rider, look worth another chance.
The opening mares maiden hurdle is hardly the most awe-inspiring race, but at least Enda Bolger's Aglish Pride has already won a race, a bumper at Sligo last August, and Ken Whelan's mount is preferred to Sallie's Girl.
Austin Leahy puts up Fran Berry on Mysterious Miss in the apprentice claiming race, and this one has a 12lb pull with Sir Cador for their running at Tipperary; while Amontillado is preferred to Leahy's Sea Fisher in the mile handicap.
The Sporting Life ceases publication following today's edition after 139 years as a racing paper.
The Life's former rival the Racing Post, which was bought out by the Mirror Group last year, will be the sole daily racing paper, running as the Racing Post incorporating The Sporting Life.
