Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth At Listowel

We finished with a flourish on Champions’ Weekend at the Curragh on Sunday with two winners and a place at 16s. Al Qahwa got us off to a good start by finishing 2nd in the opener advised e/w at 16/1. Shamreen hosed up in the Matron Stakes for the second year in a row, advised at 9/1. Verbal Dexterity also won well, advised at 13/2 but the withdrawal of the fav Gustav Klimt meant we were hit with a big rule 4.

Gorane could only manage a 6th placed finish and she looked out of her depth. Muirin ran a cracker but could only manage 4th and she looks sure to improve as that was some run on what was only her second career start. I was bitterly disappointed with First Flight’s effort and perhaps he wants better ground at this stage of his career. I am sure a few nights of being serenaded by Heather Main will help him get his head back in front.

Mick Mulvany has already had a winner at Listowel this week.

The Kerry National is the big race of the day on Wednesday and I have put up a selection for that race, and the 7f nursery at Doncaster, for Mybettingbonus. You can check them out by clicking here. I fancy another one for small stakes at a massive price at Listowel, and I think Gifted Lady could outrun her huge odds for in form Mick Mulvany with Tom Madden claiming a valuable 5lb off this 3yo filly’s back.

Gifted Lady has been badly out of form so far this season and she remains a maiden after 18 starts. However, she has yet to encounter her optimum conditions in 2017 and she will absolutely relish the bottomless ground at Listowel. When it gets testing there it is like nowhere else and it takes a special sort of horse to plough through that ground. This filly ran possibly the best race of her career when 2nd at the festival here last year in identical conditions.

She looked the winner all over in that 7f maiden but was reeled in close to home. She had previously gone very close in a handicap at Sligo off a mark of 55, again on bottomless ground, beaten just half a length by the 65 rated Duck Egg Blue, a horse that subsequently won off 71. She gets to race off a mark of 50 now and with Tom Madden’s 5lb claim she is effectively 10lb lower than for that Sligo run. I think she may have been laid out for this meeting and with Mulvany amongst the winners already this week I think Gifted Lady is well worth backing e/w at odds of 28/1.

STEVOS’ SELECTION: 14.05 LISTOWEL-GIFTED LADY E/W @ 28/1