Elusive Cowboy ran no sort of race for us at Kempton earlier
this week, drifting in the market after being ‘backed’ early and I am not sure
he was there to do his best. He was posted wide throughout and he must have
travelled an extra furlong in comparison to his rivals. There will be other
days for him no doubt and he is one to keep a close eye on if the handicapper
drops him another few pounds.
 |
| Conor Maxwell is riding well at the moment. |
Tomorrow there is a few interesting runners at Fairyhouse
and all eyes will be on Fayonagh as she makes her hurdling debut. She is not a
betting proposition at just 1/5 but she will be well worth watching with a view
to bigger targets in the Spring. One horse that may be worth a bet on the card
goes in the 20f handicap hurdle at 16.35 and I think Piranto looks an
interesting contender stepping up in trip on handicap debut off a mark of just
83.
This 5yo daughter of Shantou is trained by MG Quinn, a name
that will be familiar to regular readers of the blog. He trains a horse called
Shelbe and I tipped him up for his first win at odds of 22/1 in November 2016. Quinn
is a trainer who is well able to ready one and I think that Piranto could be a
better horse than she has shown so far. She is certainly bred to be better than
an 83 mare as her sire is top class and her Luso dam, a half sis to Ballynagour’s
dam, is out of a full sister to the classy hurdler Mighty Mogul.
At first glance form figures of 606000 would not inspire
confidence and her last two runs in maiden hurdles in September (both 16f yld
at Down Royal and Navan) were particularly disappointing. However, she showed a
definite glimmer of ability when finishing 10th of 20 on her first maiden
hurdle run back in April (16f gd), finishing well beaten for the win but
keeping on fairly nicely in the closing stages despite being hampered by a
faller late on.
She also had three runs in bumpers and the third of those
was by far her best run. She finished 6th of 16 at Down Royal (16.5f yld/sft) beaten
17L for the win, but she again was doing all her best work at the finish and
she shaped as though a longer trip would suit. She finished 9L behind a horse
called Simone that day and she was subsequently beaten just 5L in a Grade 3 and
won a bumper at Punchestown before being sold for 105k.
On the bare form of that run a mark of 83 should be well
within this mare’s reach and I think she was running for a mark on her first
two runs this season. Conor Maxwell, on board for her best hurdle run, has been
booked for the ride and he is riding with real confidence at the moment. He
landed a nice touch for on fire handler Dermot McLoughlin at Gowran last week
and he has ridden 7 winners at Fairyhouse during his career so he knows how to
win at the track.
This is obviously a speculative selection given how Piranto
has run on her last two starts but Shelbe ran a nice race for Quinn at Dundalk
on Friday night so he evidently has his string in decent shape. With a horse
like this stakes should be kept to a minimum as it is no certainty that today
will be the day for her. However, I think at odds of 33/1 she is worth chancing
each way and if she can repeat the form of her bumper run at Down Royal I think
she could go well in what looks a desperately weak race.
STEVOS’ SELECTION:
16.35 FAIRYHOUSE-PIRANTO E/W @ 33/1
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