The Dublin Racing Festival’s second day looks just as appetising as its first. Betfair have run offers over both days, with their second ensuring new customers can get £70 In Free Bets when they bet £10 on the 12.45 at Leopardstown.
Betfair are one of the most reputable names in the bookmaking industry. As their name suggests, they have always ensured a fair market in which their customers can bet and their new offer stands them out from the crowd for the Dublin Racing Festival.
When new customers sign up and bet £10 on the 12.45 at Leopardstown on Sunday, they will get a £10 Free Bet for ALL SEVEN of the remaining races on the card. That is £70 worth of Free Bets available for new customers on Sunday.
GG want to make sure that Betfair’s new customers are well prepared for this fantastic offer, so all eight races on the card, including that all important 12.45, are previewed along with our selections below.
LUNAR DISPLAY (12.45 Leopardstown, Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle) 14/1
Black Tears and Heaven Help Us have been the last two winners of this mares’ handicap, so there are strong pointers towards future Cheltenham success.
More crucially, those two had been running in higher level Graded events over hurdles or fences prior to running in this. Listed winner Party Central is therefore an understandably short price, as she has been given an extraordinarily lenient mark.
However, there may be better value in LUNAR DISPLAY, who has been competing at an even higher level for Joseph O’Brien. She has run in some very high quality races this season and was a Listed winner herself in December.
It is her last run at Fairyhouse that stands out, though, where she was third to Allegorie De Vassy, conceding the winner 7lb. She wouldn’t have been far off challenging off level weights and a mark of 132 is reasonable for her to compete at a good price.
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GALOPIN DES CHAMPS (1.20 Leopardstown, Ladbrokes Novice Chase) 1/2
A horse cannot do much more than what GALOPIN DES CHAMPS did on his chasing debut over course and distance.
It was such a monumentally impressive performance for a novice that it surpassed any of the RPRs he achieved over hurdles, and he won a Grade 1 over timber by 12 lengths.
The third, beaten 38 lengths, has won a decent Beginners Chase since then and there is very little to fault Paul Townend’s mount on. If he repeats that performance, there will be virtually no stopping him.
If you do not fancy backing an odds-on shot with a free bet, the angle might be to go with a forecast with his stablemate Capodanno, who lost very little in chasing home Bob Olinger most recently. That form may be the strongest elsewhere in the race.
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GREANETEEN (1.50 Leopardstown, Ladbrokes Dublin Chase) 3/1
On home turf, Chacun Pour Soi has been beaten only once. He has been King in Ireland over two miles and is into his third season in open company.
That said, there are now lingering doubts. For one, his only defeat in Ireland came over course and distance and he has now been beaten on two of his last three starts.
We know he is not the easiest horse to get right, having only raced ten times since joining Willie Mullins over five years ago. He is therefore a risky betting proposition, especially at odds-on, with GREANETEEN in opposition.
Paul Nicholls is an expert at readying a horse to challenge in Ireland and he benefited from Chacun Pour Soi downing tools to win the Tingle Creek in December. That was his second Grade 1 triumph and he had no chance conceding weight to Shishkin at Kempton so soon after. He can be expected to give the favourite a thorough test regardless of whether he is on song.
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MAX FLAMINGO (2.25 Leopardstown, Bulmers Secret Orchard Leopardstown Handicap Chase) 13/2
With P J O’Hanlon claiming 7lb off his back, MAX FLAMINGO looks to be on a workable mark for his handicap chase debut.
Although a little disappointing on his first chase start at Listowel in September, he has since competed in three very strong chases. In the first of those he was only narrowly denied by Gabynako and Fury Road, while he also ran well behind Lieutenant Command at Fairyhouse.
Francis Casey opted for an ambitious tilt at Grade 1 company at Leopardstown between Christmas and New Year, but Max Flamingo ran very well in fourth over three miles.
The step back to 2m5f is more likely a positive than a negative and he looks very capable of playing a role.
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HONEYSUCKLE (3.00 Leopardstown, Irish Champion Hurdle) 4/11
Most of the meaningful opposition have been scared away by the brilliant mare HONEYSUCKLE, who seeks a third successive Irish Champion Hurdle on Sunday.
There really is no way of opposing her, as she cleaned up on her reappearance in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse, demonstrating that she really is as good as ever. Similarly, only Sharjah was responsible for giving her a race over two miles last season and he is absent here.
Zanahiyr is easily the most likely to give her a race in this lineup, but it is extremely unlikely he’ll be good enough unless this turns very tactical. Heaven Help Us could be an interesting play for second.
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FAROUT (3.35 Leopardstown, Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle) 33/1
Each-way plays may not be for everyone, but with nine runners in this field, the 33/1 on offer about FAROUT might be truly exceptional value.
He has been an accumulative eight lengths in two Grade 1 starts since being fitted with a tongue tie and in each of those, he made a crucial late error that cost him either ground, track position or both. As such, although he has to turn the tables with My Mate Mozzie, Three Stripe Life and Statuaire, there is nowhere near as much to make up as the prices suggest there is.
He is nearly eight times the price of Three Stripe Life despite finishing fewer than three lengths adrift of him last time and a few cleaner jumps could well make the difference. Sir Gerhard is the obvious favourite, but he has only one run under his belt against a number who have already competed at Grade 1 level.
It is the grey who gets the verdict and he should at least outrun his price.
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CASK MATE (4.10 Leopardstown, Liffey Handicap Hurdle) 6/1
No horse as old as CASK MATE has won this in the last ten runnings, but Noel Meade’s charge looks simply too well treated to ignore.
He enjoyed a belated second season over hurdles last term after a long layoff and finished second to Ballyadam in the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle. Aside from that, he was a two-time winner, including on the quickest ground he faced over obstacles.
The nine-year-old also won on the flat at Bellewstown on good ground last autumn, while he was second to a genuine top class horse in Zanahiyr on his hurdles return. There could be plenty of opportunities for him off a mark of 139.
Another to note is the inexperienced In From The Cold, who has contested two very strong races for Michael Mulvany recently and may also take well to big-field handicaps.
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LIBERTY DANCE (4.40 Leopardstown, Coolmore N.H. Sires Santiago Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race) 16/1
Three of the four winners of this race have started at 16/1 or bigger, which means it’s worth looking for a potential surprise.
In those same three renewals, odds-on favourites have been turned over, so while Pink In The Park is a shade odds against, she is worth taking on. She is immaculately bred and did the job well on debut, but so had her short-priced predecessors in this race.
Battling Bessie has taken on some tougher assignments and been beate, so she may find herself more at home here, but Gordon Elliott’s LIBERTY DANCE could be the one for a yard who won it with 25/1 outsider Darling Daughter in 2020.
Though Jamie Codd prefers Harmonya Maker, Lisa O’Neill is a good booking for this contest and a form line through the third in her debut victory makes her price look particularly appetising against her stablemate.
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New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on Sportsbook on the 12:45 race at Leopardstown, ‘Win or Each Way’ market, Sunday 06 February. Get £10 Free bet for each of the remaining 7 races through the card (£70 in total). Only deposits with Cards apply (Apple Pay deposit excluded). T&C apply. gambleaware.org