1:30 Newcastle – Donna’s Double
A nice winner of a Bumper here in March last year, DONNA’s DOUBLE was very well supported for his hurdles debut over this course and distance in November.
Having race din touch with the leaders, he made a bad mistake at the 5th flight and never really recovered any momentum. Ryan Mania was keen not to give him a hard time once it became apparent that he wasn’t going to be involved in the finish and he may simply have needed the experience, which was his first start for 8-months.
The drying ground shouldn’t be of any real concern and his trainer Sandy Thomson has a 19% strike rate at the Northeast track, so it is worth giving him a 2nd chance in a relative weak Novice hurdle.
2:30 Newcastle – Peaceful Sunday
After a promising start to his career under rules when he finished 3rd in a Killarney bumper in May, he didn’t really take to hurdles at Punchestown 2-weeks later and subsequently at Hexham in June, so it was no surprise to see PEACEFUL SUNDAY return to bumpers on his comeback.
He finished 4th in a decent race at Fairyhouse in January, when he can perhaps be considered slightly unlucky as he raced far more prominently than any of the others involved in the finish. The Crawford team are bringing him back to the UK for another try over hurdles, possibly in search of a less competitive race and they look to have placed him well.
In hindsight, his 2nd placed finish at Hexham last June, when he split O’Connell Street and The Bomber Liston now reads much better and as he has been given another 8-months to mature, there is every reason to believe that he will make a much better fist of things as he restarts his hurdles career.
