15:00 Wexford

Friday 17 March 2017

All14:2015:0015:4016:2016:5517:2517:55

Lad, Murform, McCrea & Raptic Ltd. Maiden Hurdle

Off time: 15:01 | Winning time: 4m 24.1s

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Selected odds by:

Monotype¹⁹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-12| J: G N Fox| T: P Nolan

9/4

Former talented Flat performer for Roger Varian who has put in two decent, if not particularly eye-catching performances since switching to obstacles. Also notable that he is one of only two horses in the race not receiving any allowances, so he must concede weight to most.

Form: 5825-

Celtic Symphony^t⁸¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: R P Treacy⁽⁵⁾| T: S Fahey

33/1

Showed next to nothing in three bumpers, including when beaten 110L at Down Royal last time. The switch to hurdles will have to bring about massive improvement in order for him to be competitive, though the young jockey who gets the leg up claims a useful 5lb.

Form: 66

Crossed My Mind⁴⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: J S McGarvey| T: A L T Moore

5/2

Unseated when still going okay on hurdling debut at Cork in January before taking a step forward to finish a decent, but well beaten fourth to subsequent Supreme Novices Hurdle runner-up Melon at Leopardstown last time out. Claims on the basis of that form.

Form: U41

Finnegan's Hollow⁷⁵

Age: 8| Weight: 11-4| J: Brian Hayes| T: G M Doyle

25/1

Two-time winning point to pointer who has disappointed on all starts under rules so far. Has not looked like hurdling will be his game whatsoever, having been well beaten on two starts over slightly further than this.

Form: 1P/9538-

Foxearth¹⁵⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: A E Lynch| T: H De Bromhead

2/1

Ran well enough in a pair of bumpers through the summer before being desperately unlucky not to get off the mark over hurdles at the first attempt at Downpatrick in October. Has the moderate absence to overcome, but that is the standout piece of form. The one to beat.

Form: 35242-

Fr Captain Murphy²³

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: B T O'Connell| T: Michael John Murphy

33/1

Pulled up in his only start in a point to point last summer before two unencouraging performances over hurdles so far. Will need the drop down to two miles to bring about plenty of improvement for him to get involved, but given he was considered a pointer at first, that seems unlikely.

Form: P00

Go Be A Hero¹⁴⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-4| J: C D Maxwell| T: T Cummins

66/1

Three lackluster performances in bumpers can't bring about too much enthusiasm, and he looks set to play another minor role today, especially having to overcome a fair lay-off.

Form: 0S0

Mickey Flanagan⁶

Age: 5| Weight: 11-4| J: L P Dempsey| T: P Nolan

14/1

Didn't run badly at all on debut in a bumper at Limerick (2m, soft to heavy), but failed to build on that performance next time out in a more challenging contest at Gowran. More needed here.

Form: 6080-

Euro Bond^t1²²

Age: 7| Weight: 10-11| J: A Ring⁽³⁾| T: W J Burke

33/1

Well beaten at a big price in a Thurles bumper on his only racecourse appearance so far. Tongue tie should help to a degree, but it's likely she'll simply be outclassed by many of these.

Form: 970-

Off The Hoof¹⁶⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 10-11| J: B J Foley⁽⁷⁾| T: P Corkery

20/1

Won a point to point a year ago but nothing has gone for her right since, with her best performance being a 49L beating into 11th last time out. That recent record speaks for itself.

Form: FP0055

Wilton Star²³

Age: 5| Weight: 10-11| J: S G McDermott| T: P M Cloke

66/1

Has shown literally nothing in a point to point followed by two appearance in maiden hurdles. Gets all the allowances here as a result, but on the available evidence that seems unlikely to make much difference at all.

Form: P000

Non-Runners

Play The Part⁷⁸

Weight: 11-12| Age: 6

T: W M Roper J: R Loughran

Forecasts

Foxearth (2/1), Monotype (9/4), Crossed My Mind (5/2), Mickey Flanagan (14/1), Off The Hoof (20/1), Finnegan's Hollow (25/1), Play The Part (25/1), Fr Captain Murphy (33/1), Euro Bond (33/1), Celtic Symphony (33/1), Wilton Star (66/1), Go Be A Hero (66/1)

Given the high number of apparent no-hopers in the field, this seems to be FOXEARTH's to lose. Henry de Bromhead's charge must overcome a fair break in order to be successful today, but he was incredibly unlucky not to win a similar contest on his most recent racecourse appearance. Crossed My Mind's fourth place to Melon in January is the stand-out piece of form in the field and he has to be considered, as well as Monotype, who would surely hit the frame on the basis of his form on the Flat.