Meadow Can Make Hay In The Thyestes

Well, the money has come for Larry Capri, but that doesn't mean a thing unless he finishes in the first three. Gary O'Brien tipped him up at 12s this morning on At The Races, and that saw him immediately cut into 8s and 9s in places. Fingers crossed he does the business.

Jimmy Mangan knows how to win the Thyestes.

Last year we managed to find the winner of the Thyestes (read here) and, hopefully, Montys Meadow can complete the double for us this year. Jimmy Mangan is a trainer that knows what it takes to win this race, sending out Whinstone Boy to score in 2010. He has another real contender in Montys Meadow, and I think he could prove to be better than his mark of 140 over fences.

This 9yo son of Oscar has yet to win over tomorrow's trip of 25f, but he showed at Punchestown in 2015 that he stayed it with an excellent effort behind Pleasant Company (25f hvy). That horse subsequently beat Regal Encore off 139 in a valuable handicap at the Punchestown festival, and he is now rated 148.

He made no mistake next time dropped to 20f (hvy) in another beginner's chase, accounting for 150 rated hurdler Arbre De Vie with the minimum of fuss. He was stepped into Grade 3 company next time at Naas, and he was there with every chance when tipping up at the 3rd last. Sub Lieutenant and Tell Us More fought out the finish, and they are now rated 162 and 150 respectively.

It was far from guaranteed that Montys Meadow would have hit the frame in that race, but he seemed to be travelling well and he just dived at the fence. A silly mistake in a hurdle heat resulted in him unseating his pilot on his seasonal comeback, but it was much better last time back chasing in a 19.5f (hvy) handicap at Limerick.

He just failed to concede almost a stone to Westerner Point off a mark of 136, going down by half a length in 2nd. He jumped really well, and that should have put him spot on for this race.  Montys Meadow looks potentially well treated for his first handicap chase at 25f and, at odds of 14/1, he is capable of producing a big run for the Mangans.

STEVOS' SELECTION: 3.00 GOWRAN-MONTYS MEADOW E/W 14/1