2:40 Down Royal – The Priests Leap
Arthur Moore is a very shrewd trainer and has a reputation for placing his horses to maximize their return, so the entry of THE PRIESTS LEAP for this Rated Novice chase is very interesting. He will wear a tongue strap for the first time on what will be his 4th run over fences. He had no chance on his seasonal debut behind Ferny Hollow (Finished 6th beaten 24-lengths) but he improved to finish 2nd in a similar contest to this at Limerick on the 27th December, beaten less than a length by King Alex. He made most of the running in that contest, hampered by a loose horse at times and although he was headed after the last, he battled on nicely on the run-in. After just 10 career starts, he is still relatively unexposed and he has shown a clear preference for right-handed tracks, with form figures of 63F3162 going that way round. Arthur Moore does well at Down Royal, with 24% of his runners here making the frame. In an open race, on a track that favors horses who race prominently, he should go well under Donagh Meyler.
3:50 Leicester – Nero Rock
This is a competitive Novices Handicap Chase despite the small field, but it could be argued that whilst the 3 last time out winners are all worthy of respect, the best handicapped horse could be NERO ROCK. He was a talented Novice hurdler for Mouse Morris, but despite some positive signs in some beginners chases last summer, he appeared to lose his way and switched to Jennie Candish in December after a few disappointing efforts on his final starts in Ireland in the autumn. The change of scenery seemed to do the trick as he put up a much better showing when finishing 2nd to Thyme White on his British debut at Doncaster last month. Having raced keenly throughout on the front end, he was only headed at the 2nd last and kept on behind Paul Nicholls talented young chaser to be beaten less than 5-lengths. Although he is 0-8 over fences, he has made the frame on 5 of those starts and should improve on that effort now that the yard has had more time with him. Jennie Candish has had 6 winners from 50 runners at Leicester, with 18 of those runners finishing in the frame (36%). A mark of 128 is not beyond his ability based on the form he showed in Ireland, and he could outrun his odds under Page Fuller.
