Soft Ground Should Hold No Fears For McConnell

The beauty of horseracing, for me, is the fact that even the small man can sometimes be fortunate enough to acquire a horse good enough to take on the big boys,the likes of Coolmore and Bolger etc. If one has a good enough eye and a little bit of luck, sometimes there are very well bred animals that go under the radar and can be picked up for relatively modest sums. 

One such example looks to be Play The Game, a 2yo colt  who was bought for 18,000 euro as a yearling in September last year at Tattersalls. That is the type of sum the likes of Magnier and Tabor would find in loose change down the back of their sofas. This colt is a son of Lawman, a proven and prolific classic winning sire, with a knack for producing smart two year olds.  He is out of an unraced Beat Hollow dam who is a half sister to a couple of black type performers, including dual Listed and Group 3 winner Danger Over. His grand-dam is also unraced, and is a half sister to the top class dual Group 1 winner Sanglamore. This is a seriously well bred horse, and to pick him up for 18k looks to be a serious bargain. For goodness sake, it is 25k to get a mare covered by Lawman this year!

 He lived up to his pedigree on debut, accounting for a Ger Lyons trained 1/2 shot among others despite still looking very green at some stages. The form of the race has yet to be properly tested by the horses in closest proximity, although the fifth home, Fit For Function, came out and won a maiden on his next start and has since run well in a handicap at Galway off a a mark of 83. 

The ground is currently described as soft/heavy at Tipperary for the Coolmore Canford Cliffs Listed Stakes, and the only horse to run on ground softer than good in the field is Waipu Cove, who won on yielding ground last time. However, Play The Game's dam is related to plenty of soft and heavy ground winners, and in fact his half brother Dark Ocean has only ever won when there has been an ease in the ground. He can currently be backed at 8/1 with Ladbrokes, and I can see him going off a lot shorter. He looks great value at that price and  with only six going to post perhaps a win bet is the way to go. 

I have also written a detailed preview of the big race at Musselburgh tomorrow, The Archerfield Cup, and you can read it at Bettingtools 

Selection: 6.35 Tipperary- Play The Game (8/1)