Dublin Racing Festival Day 1 Tips 2023
- 1.20pm – Quais De Paris (11/2)
- 1.55pm – Lossiemouth (2/5)
- 2.30pm – Saint Roi (12/1)
- 3.05pm – Galopin Des Champs (4/11)
- 3.40pm – Au Fleuron (12/1)
- 4.10pm – A Wave Of The Sea (6/1)
- 4.40pm – Fact to File (9/2)
13:20 Nathaniel Lacy Novice Hurdle
An ultra-competitive race to kick the weekend off and I think you could make a case for 8 out of the 9 here. A race that attracts horses comfortable at 2 ½ – 3m, the decision is do you go for a pacier horse or more of a staying type? Good Land is a short enough favourite and although he has impressed (and form has been franked), I’m happy to take him on at the price. There are question marks over American Mike and Grangeclare West and you would have to be the forgiving type to back them and hope they return to form. Sandor Clegane and Quais De Paris (11/2) are at the top of my shortlist and it’s the latter that I go with here. Willie has trained the winner for the last 2 years and I believe he’s going to make it 3 in a row on Saturday. QDP has winning form (albeit weak) at 2m and I think you need to have a bit of pace to win this. The price has somewhat plummeted since Paul Townend was confirmed to ride but I still think he’s a backable price and I’m happy to side with him.13:55 Spring Juvenile Hurdle
A short price favourite here but still a race to look forward to and hopefully it’s a fact-finding mission for a couple. Lossiemouth (2/5) will take the world of beating and I can’t see anything beating her past the post. The mare brings outstanding form to the race after 2 graded wins already this season. Willie fires a few other darts at this including a debutant in Gust of Wind which had good form in France. Gala Marceau was 2nd to Lossiemouth at Xmas and is the most likely to chase her stablemate home again14:30 Goffs Irish Arkle
Now, this is a horse race! An absolute belter is what awaits us in race 3 and one that is tricky to call as a result. Willie runs 5 of the 8 and there would be no surprise if either of them won. Banbridge is the other 1 that I believe has a strong chance too. He will love the ground and from what we’ve seen so far, he’s the best jumper of these. I was very tempted to put him up but it is in fact a Willie horse that im going for here. Saint Roi (12/1) is the only G1 winner over fences in the field and I think he’s massively overpriced. He was 4th in a Champion Hurdle so has the pace to keep up with the relentless pace we are going to have here. I think he’s a good traveller who will be played late and will be strong at the finish.15:05 Irish Gold Cup
Galopin Des Champs (4/11) wins. Very different to the above race in terms of competitiveness but equally as entertaining as Galopin Des Champs tackles 3m over fences for the first time. I can’t wait to see him in this and I hope he blows the field away and cements his place at the top of the Cheltenham Gold Cup even further. I think fellow Closutton tenant Stattler will follow him home if you want to play the W/O market.15:40 Handicap Hurdle
A nice 18-runner handicap to get stuck into here. You could make a case for many here and sometimes throwing a dart at one is just as successful. Like many handicaps, knowing which ones of JP’s are ‘on it’ and which ones are not is tricky. For that reason, I’m going to stay away from 1 of my fancies in Blue Sarri (and wait for Cheltenham) and go for my other fancy in Au Fleuron (12/1). He will need to improve his jumping from the last day if he wants to be competitive in this. Highly thought of by the Elliott yard for a couple of years now, he needs to show us what he can do and put it all together and I’m hoping that Saturday is the day. It’s more of a tentative selection than a confident one and I believe Maxxum is the most likely winner. But often in handicaps in Ireland the winner can come from a 2nd/3rd/4th string and I’m hoping this can happen here.16:10 Paddy Power Handicap Chase
Just like Michael Buble has an association with Christmas, A Wave Of The Sea (6/1) has a strong association with the DRF and in particular, this race. A winner of the race in 2021 & 2022, my selection is back to make it a hat-trick of wins. His form since last year has been nothing short of terrible and you wouldn’t be confident in backing him based on that. He has come down the handicap though and would have only been aimed and primed for this race so I’m going to ignore that. The 2m handicap chase division in Ireland is pretty poor so I’m happy to back the course form and a horse that’s been ‘laid out’ for the race. Fils Doudairies is an alternative fancy but I’m not sure if this is his day or if Gordon is waiting for something at Cheltenham to have him primed.16:40 Future Stars I.N.H Flat race
The card finishes along the same lines as it started with another competitive race. The bumper division has been extremely windy this season and until we saw Its For Me, we hadn’t had a clear stand-out performance. Only a couple of points separate the top 4 here and I believe they all have similar chances. Fascile Mode was impressive last time out and beat a couple of fancied horses from the big stables. Chosen Witness is well thought of by Ruby and most of Closutton but I’m going with another W.P Mullins horse in Fact to File (9/2). He needed every yard of 2m4 last time and looked like a proper stayer. Appreciate It won over that distance so its not a negative if you can win over that distance in my opinion. He is the choice of Patrick and that’s good enough for meHow to get the Dublin Racing Festival free bets at bet365
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