1.40pm Naas
Just the five mares go down to post for this Listed Mares Chase over 2 miles, which will be screened live on both ITV and Racing TV.
The Willie Mullins-trained Elimay currently heads the betting for the equivalent contest at the Cheltenham Festival next month at 3/1, having won two of her three chase starts to date and most recently finishing second in open company to live Ryanair Chase hope Allaho.
Officially rated 152, she has bags of jumping experience from Auteuil in her formative years and is expected to take all the beating at a general 4/9 today.
5/1 Shattered Love has obvious claims in this grade against her own sex, but her handler Gordon Elliott is just 1-58 from runners priced at odds-against in the past fortnight. It’s fair to assume that whatever was bugging him last autumn, could be responsible for the underwhelming performance of his stable.
We are siding with the novice Yukon Lil in this, who is also trained by man-of-the-moment Willie Mullins. The daughter of Flemensfirth sports the Magnier colours and has few miles on the clock. Winner of one of her three chase starts, she was pulled up after an early blunder last month in a race won by the formidable Coolreevy, but she is an athletic jumper, who schools well, and should she put in a clean round of jumping in this weaker event, she can certainly place here.
In receipt of 7lb from Shattered Love, Yukon Lil is firmly on the upgrade whilst Gordon Elliott’s charge has a few questions to answer now. The field is completed by two no-hopers, so the evens part of this each-way bet is tremendous value.
1pt each-way Yukon Lil @ 4/1 (Generally available)
