?Betsen

(Jack Davison)

Cork, March 30th

Jack Davison notched a big-race win to kick off the season with the race-fit Take Me To Church in the Irish Racing Writers Cliff Noone Memorial Madrid Handicap, and - like most yards at this time of year - some of his other early runners are shaping as though they will naturally progress from their comeback runs in the current window. That made the run of three-year-old newcomer Betsen in a five-furlong maiden at Cork particularly pleasing, and he rates a useful prospect for the yard going forward. It’s too soon to fully weigh up the strength of the form, with the winning favourite, Shandy, building on a promising Curragh run on his only other start last season and the third-placed Staysound Susie potentially a little exposed in the high 70s. That said, Betsen is bred to appreciate further, with a useful dam’s side of the pedigree, and he wasn’t helped by the winner rolling around in front of him. He should win his maiden and progress to better things. (MB)

?Irish Acclamation

(Donnacha O’Brien)

Cork, March 30th

There was a lot to like about the manner in which Irish Acclamation finished off her race when third in a five-furlong juvenile maiden at Cork last weekend on heavy ground. She broke pretty smartly but perhaps didn’t love conditions in the early stages and wasn’t forced to join the early pace, which ended up consisting of the first and second home. However, she came into her own as the race went on and picked up well at the business end. A €100,000 yearling purchase out of a half-sister to Group 1 Prix Morny and Commonwealth Cup winner Campanelle, she’s bred to be smart and this introductory run suggests she can win a maiden in the early window of the season. (MB)

?All Lies Ahead

(Willie McCreery)

Cork, March 30th

A slow start seemed likely to end any chance of a money finish for All Lies Ahead in the six-furlong Listed Cork Stakes on Saturday but to her credit, Willie McCreery’s filly boxed on really well to take fifth, just over five lengths off the impressive winner Easy. The sectionals tell the story here, All Lies Ahead was at over a second slower than all eight of her rivals through the first furlong, but only the second and third finished out their final two furlongs quicker than her. As much as this was a mark-up effort, it also illustrates her liking for this track and ground, best displayed by her close second to Earls in the valuable Mallow Handicap last season. That seven-furlong contest is surely on her agenda again and if so, she will race off the exact same mark in the race as last season. (RG)

?Haveigotnewsforyou

(Colm Murphy)

Fairyhouse, March 30th

Haveigotnewsforyou caught the eye with his debut effort to finish fifth to Don Chalant in the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle that opened the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. Colm Murphy’s gelding raced a little keenly and made novicey mistakes throughout, before being handled tenderly in the straight when finishing 19 lengths off the winner. An €80,000 purchase as a store, this will have served as a good education for him and it seems very likely that he is capable of much better. He is one to look out for longer term. (RG)

?Olympic Man

(Willie Mullins)

Fairyhouse, March 30th

It was a tough watch for supporters of Olympic Man in the €50,000 I.N.H. Stallion Owners EBF Novice Handicap Hurdle Series Final, as the Willie Mullins-trained favourite traded as low as 1/10 in the in-running markets before being collared in the closing stages by 33/1 outsider Mousey Brown. Paul Townend looked to deliver a lovely ride on the runner-up (rated 131 on this occasion and upped 6lb afterwards) but he probably just failed to stay the three-mile trip on demanding ground. Another factor was a mistake at the second last that cost him momentum in a race decided by half a length. A winner over two miles and three furlongs at Naas on his previous start, he can resume winning ways back over shorter than this and looks to be going the right way. The form of that maiden hurdle success was well advertised when second-placed Don Chalant landed the opening maiden hurdle of the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. (MB)

?Conyers Hill

(Paul Nolan)

Fairyhouse, March 30th

There is no doubt Effernock Fizz put up an ultra game effort to wrestle back the initiative in the RYBO Handicap Hurdle at Fairyhouse last Saturday, but a closer look at the sectionals shows the overall pace of the race was a contributiong factor. This two-mile contest was steadily run and not for the first time at Fairyhouse last weekend, it paid to be up around the lead, which is where Cian Collins’ mare was throughout. In contrast, Conyers Hill came from the rear. Nothing finished out their final half mile faster than Paul Nolan’s gelding, who produced a finishing speed percentage (FSP) of just under 109% and it seems likely that the petrol he used up to get to the eventual winner told on him in the closing stages. He has been mentioned here before as a horse to follow and he remains interesting after this effort, his second good run in a valuable handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse. A 3lb higher mark is fair and he deserves a second look if connections decide to head to Punchestown next, or longer term, back in the two-mile handicap hurdle on the triple Grade 1 card at Fairyhouse next December. (RG)

?Pen To Paper

(Henry de Bromhead)

Fairyhouse, March 31st

Nothing could live with wide-margin winner Rath Gaul Boy in the opening two-mile maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse last Sunday, but there was a promising effort in defeat from the Henry de Bromhead-trained Pen To Paper in second. The winner had considerably more experience than this Blue Bresil five-year-old, who was making just his second start and showed progression from his debut effort when mid-field in a Naas maiden hurdle (SP 2/1 on that occasion). J.P. McManus’ €88,000 store purchase will likely have learned from this effort and looks a relatively bright prospect for the future. (MB)

?Tactical Move

(Willie Mullins)

Fairyhouse, March 31st

Tactical Move put up a fine effort to split old rivals Spillane’s Tower and Blood Destiny in the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on Sunday. The Willie Mullins-trained runner got a handy lead here, but he travelled and jumped much better than he did previously at Naas, though it was notable that he seemed lacking for concentration late on, flashing his tail in the straight, before boxing on again once passed by the winner. He has a unique profile, having been off the track for over 1,000 days before winning a maiden hurdle at Punchestown last season, but his connections’ patience has been readily vindicated - he is yet to finish outside the top two in seven career starts. Allotted a mark of 145 after this effort, he really appeals now for the two-mile-five-furlong novice handicap chase on the fourth day of the Punchestown Festival, a race Willie Mullins has farmed over the last decade with similar classy types. (RG

?Some See Stars

(Arthur Moore)

Fairyhouse, March 31st

The Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper has been won by some quality sorts, including Brighterdaysahead 12 months ago, and this year’s runaway winner, Kopek Des Bordes, could potentially be out of the top drawer. The ground was heavy, both officially and according to Timeform, and the pace was a strong one, ensuring a proper test for a field of mostly four-year-old newcomers. Some See Stars, by Intello and out of a Pivotal mare, is a half-brother to a six-furlong listed winner so the nature of how the race unfolded wouldn’t have played to his strengths. However, despite being beaten some distance in fifth, he showed some promise for Arthur Moore and Pat Taaffe. He still looked raw enough, as he’s entitled to be first time out, and was the fastest in the field in the fourth last furlong while not having an absolutely smooth run. He could be of interest in calmer waters and when facing a lesser test of stamina. (MB)

?Better Times Ahead

(Robert Tyner)

Fairyhouse, April 1st

Better Times Ahead was well backed to land a three-mile handicap chase on the Irish Grand National card at Fairyhouse, but proved no match for a smart winner in Willie Mullins’s Macdermott, who looks like a staying chaser going places as well. The pair finished miles clear of their rivals here and while Robert Tyner’s gelding was 12 lengths off the winner, this was a fine performance in its own right. This was just his second run in a chase over this sort of distance, his other was a fine staying effort to win a Grade B handicap chase for novices at Navan this time last year. Given a rise of 2lb for his effort on Monday, he has loads of scope to improve further over this distance. (RG)