A Sickening Fall...

...is what Apt Approach took at the last fence today. He drifted out in the betting to 12/1, which would have been an even tastier win than I had originally thought it would be. Having lead from the drop of the flag, and having jumped supremely throughout, he took a crashing fall at the final fence, which left Ruby Walsh's mount Scotsirish to take the race. In truth, Ruby may have went on to win regardless, as his horse came with a lovely run coming to the last. I would still have liked to see if Apt Approach could have held on.

My 2 selections at Chester both ran poor races. La Vecchia Scuola ran a stinker, and was the 2nd last finisher. Moorhouse Lad bounced out of stall one and lead until being pushed along over 1 furlong out, before weakening poorly. I was particularly disappointed with his run as I expected a much better effort from it.

A very poor day, but it could have been so different if it wasn't for Apt Approach's late blunder.

Number of bets: 20

Winners: 3

Placed: 1

Staked: 42 points

Returned: 59.9 points

Profit/Loss: +17.9 points

Onwards and upwards, and I've got 2 nice selections for tomorrow's racing at Punchestown which will hopefully recoup some of the recent losses. There's some good racing at Chester again, but there's nothing that is particularly standing out to me.

Punchestown 4.15 - Cuan Na Grai - 1.5pts e/w @ 18/1 (Ladbrokes)
Cuan Na Grai (pictured above) looks to have a very good chance of landing the spoils in this wide open handicap chase. He won at the course before, at last year's festival, beating Themoonandsixpence in very impressive fashion. That win came after a very poor run at Fairyhouse 19 days beforehand, and ironically he ran a shocker at Fairyhouse 9 days ago so hopefully he follows the same pattern as last year. This race comes 10 days sooner than last years race, but Cuan Na Grai has been relatively lightly raced in recent seasons so I'm expecting him to still have the legs to compete. He'll appreciate the underfoot conditions tomorrow, and the trip won't be a problem. He has a decent young claimer on board in Michael Doran who'll take off a valuable 7 pounds, bringing Cuan Na Grai's racing weight down to 11 stone. I'm very confident he can produce another good run tomorrow, and I'm having medium stakes each way at what looks a massive price. Paddy Power currently price him up as a 12/1 shot, and I personally think that's a more realistic price for him.


Punchestown 6.05 - Sir Vincent - 1pt e/w @ 8/1 (Boylesports)
A 25 runner handicap over 3 miles isn't exactly an easy puzzle to solve, but I fancy the Mullins/Walsh combination to take the spoils here. Mullins has 6 of the 25 runners in the field, so he'll be hopeful of taking the prize with one of those 6, but the fact Walsh has chosen Sir Vincent is a bonus in my eyes. He ran over 3 miles for the first time at Fairyhouse 22 days ago, finishing 2nd to Baracas. He was held up that day and didn't get the clearest of passages through to finish a fast closing 2nd. With more luck in running tomorrow and slightly more positive tactics, I feel he can take the prize. Conditions won't be a problem, and with Willie Mullins in flying form, I'm hopeful of him having another winner in this race.