Three eye-catchers for the notebook

THE intriguing beginners’ chase at Galway on Monday provided a reminder that the core jumps’ season is fast approaching, writes Andy Stephens.

Rocky’s Diamond, among the best staying hurdlers last season, won in taking style, but the runner-up, Addragoole, also deserves plenty of credit.

The latter bided his time off the pace before briefly threatening to get in a blow, only for his effort to flatten out late on.

Race iQ’s data reveals he jumped best at four of the 12 fences and that, overall, his leaping was only marginally inferior to the winner. He had also jumped efficiently on his chasing bow at Killarney and should be winning soon.

Navan staged an eight-race flat card on Saturday, with Winters Breath a big eye-catcher in the 18-runner five-furlong handicap. The Caravaggio filly, trained by Willie McCreery, was having her first run over the minimum trip and blew the start, taking 3.39sec to reach 20mph.

Of the 90 runners in action on the card, only two others were slower away. Winters Breath was still last two furlongs out, but she was fastest from then on, completing the last quarter of a mile in 23.72sec. She passed 10 horses in the final furlong to finish fifth and, but for her sluggish start, might have won.

Railwayview Lady won the closing 10-furlong maiden at 125/1, but it was another outsider, Take Me, fifth at 50/1, who should go into your notebooks.

He had previously clocked the fastest final furlong when fifth on his Leopardstown debut, over a mile, and was again staying on stoutly, coming home quickest over the final four furlongs.

The Time Index of the race was 7.7, when the meeting average was 7.1, so the form should hold up. Take Me looks one for middle-distance handicaps.