Paul Townend hopes for improvement from Champ Kiely in Novice Hurdle
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Ladbrokes ambassador Paul Townend examines the chances of his nine rides at Fairyhouse this weekend.
Saturday
This is a horse we got from Nicky Henderson’s yard this year. He ran to a decent level over hurdles in the UK. He came fourth in the Ballymore behind Sir Gerhard,and that was his last run for Nicky. We think he could be a smart, staying, chaser for the season to come.
Minella Crooner wears cheekpieces for the first time and turns around quickly after running only two weeks ago when coming up short behind Darrens Hope. Noel Meade’s Highland Charge brings a nice level of hurdle form from last season and steps up in trip. He looked like a forward-going horse last year so he will be interesting as well.
I’ll also mention Largy Debut who ran well at Down Royal in a hot Beginners’ Chase on his first run this year and it will be interesting to see if he can back that up. His first run of the season last year was his best, but then his season petered out after that. It’s an intriguing race but I am happy with our horse and we will see where we go with him after this.
He is an ultra-consistent horse and always runs his race. He won his last two, with a good run at Galway prior to that. He has gone up in the weights and holds top weight but that shouldn’t stop him on this ground. We would be very disappointed if he wasn’t in the shake up again.
He was a bumper winner for us first time out last year but he was no match for Facile Vega and the likes in the Grade 1 bumpers after that. However, he jumps well and we hope a hurdle can improve him. He wears a hood, he is forward-going, and we are happy with him. Kansas City Star went down narrowly to Ashroe Diamond at Naas last time out so he is sure to run a good race again. Barry Connell runs an interesting horse in the form of Good Land and he brings a nice level of bumper form to the race too. However, it is his first start to the season as well.
He is obviously the horse I am really looking forward to riding this weekend. What can I say about him that he hasn’t said about himself already? Probably not a lot. Hopefully he keeps going! I am just really excited to get him on the track. His schooling has been good and this looks a nice opportunity for him.
To see him declared and my name alongside him for his first run this year is very exciting. He is obviously the horse I will put forward as my best ride of the day.
Sunday
He is one from one for one for us and very impressive in doing so at Fairyhouse. He raced a bit green that day and still put the race to bed very quickly so hopefully he can build on that experience. I think he will have to, as it’s a very competitive race.
JP McManus runs four including Comfort Zone and Common Practice, who were both very impressive winning last time out. Comfort Zone turns around quite quickly from winning at Navan but he’s a high-class horse. There will be a lot of winners coming out of this race but I have gone with Zarak The Brave and I think he will improve for his first run over hurdles. Lossiemouth is an interesting one of Willie Mullins. Her work is good at home but I have gone for the horse with a run under his belt and the experience.
I ride Champ Kiely in the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle. He has done nothing wrong. He is three from three for us and two from two over hurdles. I was very impressed with him winning at Galway and when Danny won the Grade 3 on him at Tipperary.
He is a horse on an upward curve and hopefully he can keep improving. Hercule Du Seuil was impressive at Navan the last day, Irish Point was a good winner at Cork on Sunday, while Marine Nationale was very taking when he won his maiden. As you can see, the strength in depth in this race is unbelievable. I hope Champ Kiely can just keep improving and it would be nice to step up to Grade 1 level with him.
He drops back to 2m 3f after his last run in the Irish National last season. It is surprising that he is still a maiden over fences to be honest, but he ran into a few decent sorts and ran well in good races last year. He has so much experience to bring to the table here. My only worry is that it’s his first run of the year in such a competitive race like this, taking on the likes of Three Stripe Life, Mighty Potter and Banbridge. They all have runs under their belts and hopefully his work has been good enough at home. He has the ability and hopefully he is ready enough.
I have the unenviable job of taking on Honeysuckle here. We will give it a crack. He has been a very good horse. Obviously he’s had his troubles throughout a couple of seasons but fingers crossed we have him on the right road now. He won well at Punchestown. He drops back to two-and-a-half-miles here for his first run of the season which shouldn’t be a worry; he’s a Supreme Novice winner. It’s just going to be hard to crack Honeysuckle. Nobody has done it yet, but we will give it a shot.
He is only a four-year-old. He had a couple of good runs last year and was only beaten 7 ½ lengths by Vauban at Cheltenham. He has plenty of experience to bring to the table and may not be exposed yet. He has joint top weight in this race. It is a competitive handicap as you’d expect for a 100k race but as I said he may not be totally exposed yet and we hope for a good run.
