Brian Could Bounce Back To Form In Troytown

Unfortunately, Houblon des Obeaux was a non runner on Saturday and he was withdrawn on account of the ground. Native River ran out an impressive winner, and he is definitely a chaser on the up. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here, but he will be competing at the top table when Spring arrives.

Today in Ireland is Troytown day, and this famous old handicap looks as competitive a renewal as ever. It is a bit of a joke to see Elliott with 11 of the 25 runners, but unfortunately this is going to become even more common in Irish racing goig forward. The only way to combat this would be to have a limit on the amount of entries allowed from any single yard, but I am not sure the Irish racing elite would be too enamoured with a rule like that.

The one I am taking a chance on is one of the 14 that aren't trained by Elliott, and Mad Brian looks as though he has been laid out for this race by his local trainer Gillian Callaghan. He was an excellent 2nd to Cootamundra in this very race as a 7yo back in 2013, but he has failed to progress from that brilliant effort. He has obviously had his problems, and he was absent for almost all of 2014 and 2015, before returning to action in January of this year.

Mad Brian loves it at Navan.

He has been campaigned mainly over hurdles since making his comeback, and he has been brought along slowly. After a couple of moderate runs over hurdles he returned to fences at Uttoxeter back in March for the Midlands National off 138 (33.5f) and he ran well to a point before running out of gas and pulling up. He at least put in a clear round next time up at Ballinrobe (17f yld) over a trip that was always going to be on the sharp side.

He was sent off at just 14/1 for the Kerry National off a mark of 132, but he was again pulled up after an early mistake cost him a lot of ground. The bottomless conditions that day would not have played to his strengths, and he will be suited much better by the yielding surface at Navan today. It was good to yielding the year he came 2nd, and it was also yielding when he produced his best run for some time last time out over timber. He was 5th, beaten just 8L off 116 after setting a searching pace, and it was a definite improvement on what he had been showing previously.

He gets in today off a mark of 130, 5lb below the mark off which he was 2nd back in 2013. He has two 2nds and a win from 6 starts at Navan, so he clearly has an affinity for the track. He is fit from a couple of spins over timber, he showed definite signs of life last time out and, at odds of 40/1, I think he could run a big race.

STEVOS' SELECTION: 2.20 NAVAN: MAD BRIAN E/W 40/1