11.50 Lisburn And Castlereagh City Council 3-Y-O Hurdle 2m 1f

Mange Tout has been the subject of plenty of talk ever since she bolted up by 15 lengths on her only start in a three-year-old hurdle at Compiegne in May. The Born To Sea filly has since been snapped up by Robcour and Gordon Elliott and she’s also got a smart pedigree to boot, being a half-sister to five-time Grade 1 winner Impaire Et Passe.

She isn’t the only previous winner in the line-up, though Bibe Mus, Wizard Of Odds and Sopelana face much tougher tests now than they did when winning maiden hurdles.

SELECTION: MANGE TOUT

Next best: Bibe Mus

12.25 Tayto Group Maiden Hurdle (Div I) 2m 1f

Gordon Elliott has won five of the last six runnings of this maiden hurdle, and Kalypso’chance brings standout bumper form to the table. He started his season in excellent form with wins at Punchestown and Navan (in listed company) and wasn’t disgraced when beaten 10 lengths in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham (later tailed off in Punchestown Grade 1).

He should be talented enough to fend off this field. Stablemate Sept Etoiles makes his debut and has an interesting pedigree, being by Doctor Dino and out of a 144-rated French mare.

SELECTION: KALYPSO’CHANCE

Next best: Sept Etoiles

1.00 Tayto Group Maiden Hurdle (Div II) 2m 1f

This is a much stronger race than the first division and Jack Kennedy’s preference for Road Exile over two others from the Gordon Elliott stable make him tough to oppose. Others in the line-up have stronger bumper form, but he’s unexposed and looked a work in progress who was bound to improve for seeing an obstacle last term. He’s also a half-brother to the useful Classic Theatre (RPR 138).

A Dream To Share never landed a blow from behind in a Naas premier handicap over two miles 20 days ago, having previously struck in a Leopardstown flat maiden, and now makes his third hurdles start. He wasn’t at his best on his last start in this sphere, but did show enough on his hurdling debut fifth at the 2024 Fairyhouse Winter Festival to suggest there are races to be won with him over flights. Blake was promoted to first in a flat premier handicap 13 days ago, though he’ll need to build on being beaten by Carried With Love on his hurdling bow at Cork previously.

SELECTION: ROAD EXILE

Next best: A Dream To Share

1.35 Ampion Testing Handicap Hurdle 2m 1f

A tough contest to solve and a chance is taken on Arch Empire handling the quick turnaround from his Cheltenham fourth last week. Slower ground than he faced there mightn’t be any harm, on the basis of his promising second to Davy Crockett at the Listowel Harvest Festival. He’s generally been quite consistent.

There are plenty in with chances, including the in-form Ragmans Corner, up 7lb for a win at Navan on his last hurdling appearance. Wholelotofbusiness and Fast Felix are lively chances for Eoin McCarthy, while Serienmond has the potential to be well suited to the demands of this sort of test off bottom-weight.

SELECTION: ARCH EMPIRE

Next best: Serienmond

2.10 Racing TV Handicap Chase 3m

Ceanndana bumped into a well-handicapped winner over hurdles at Punchestown last time and gets the nod to give this a real rattle off 3lb higher over fences. He’s versatile in terms of trip and, provided the rain doesn’t get into the ground too much, he can generally be relied upon to run his race.

The 7lb claim of Eoin Staples should be a help to Clonbury Bridge after going up 5lb for a recent win at Fairyhouse. Onethreefivenotout is an interesting recruit to Gordon Elliott on his old form, though he went unsold at £9,000 in an online sale from the Paul Nicholls yard recently.

SELECTION: CEANNDANA

Next best: Clonbury Bridge

3.15 Kildress Plumbing Chase (Grade 2) 2m 3f 120yd

Given that he’s been able to win at this meeting on his seasonal debut in each of the last two years, Firefox is taken to make a successful start to his 2025/’26 campaign. Connections have tried different trips with him, but this looks pretty spot on for him and he’s dropping nicely in class from a Grade 1 second behind Spindleberry when last seen at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.

Croke Park has already had the benefit of a run, and that should stand to him, but it’s not ideal that he has to give 10lb to Firefox and is rated just 2lb superior. Gorgeous Tom is well treated at the weights with Croke Park too and is a threat to all when delivering his ‘A’ game.

SELECTION: FIREFOX

Next best: Gorgeous Tom

3.50 Eventsec (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race 2m 1f

Gordon Elliott has won 10 of the last 12 runnings of this bumper, so his runners are the obvious starting point here. With Nolimit cost £250,000 after a point-to-point win for Jonathan Fogarty on debut in March and fits the profile of other winners of this race from the stable.

Ballyfad is owned by the same connections and cost €175,000 after a Fairyhouse point-to-point success in the spring. It will be interesting to see if both run against each other on debut.

Lexington Wood has an experience edge from bumpers and ran well at Punchestown in June, while Dubhain is another debut point-to-point winner for the Crawfords.

SELECTION: WITH NOLIMIT

Next best: Ballyfad