Rathsallagh Country House Novice Hurdle (Listed)

Off time: 15:52 | Winning time: 5m 36.6s

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Selected odds by:

High Class Hero²⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: P Townend| T: W P Mullins| D

8/15

Promising type. 3 wins from 3 runs this season. Won 6-runner minor event hurdle (8/11) at Listowel (20f, soft) 28 days ago, easily. The one to beat.

Form: 2P1/111

The Big Doyen⁷⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 11-2| J: S W Flanagan| T: Peter Fahey| OR: 133| D

3/1

Useful hurdler. 2 wins from 2 runs this season. Career best when winning 8-runner novice hurdle at Galway (20.7f, good to soft, 11/2) 79 days ago, driven out. This is more demanding but he's a player nonetheless.

Form: D259-11

The Wallpark³¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-2| J: J C Gainford| T: G Elliott

9/2

Useful hurdler. Career best when winning 4-runner novice hurdle (5/2) at Listowel (16f, soft) 31 days ago, keeping on well. There may well be more to come from this 5-y-o now that he's faced with a stiffer test.

Form: 253-111

Summer Melody²⁹⁹

Age: 6| Weight: 10-12| J: P Byrnes| T: C Byrnes

28/1

Lightly-raced winner under Rules. Successful in a bumper at Navan last November. 3/1, fourth of 5 in minor event hurdle at this course (20f, heavy). Off 9 months and he looks up against it.

Form: 44/174-

Non-Runners

Mayor's Walk³³

Weight: 10-3| Age: 4

T: H De Bromhead J: Rachael Blackmore

Forecasts

High Class Hero (8/15), The Big Doyen (3/1), The Wallpark (9/2), Mayor's Walk (13/2), Summer Melody (28/1)

A quality renewal of this listed contest. HIGH CLASS HERO and The Wallpark are similarly progressive types and may well dominate the finish, for all that this is far from a two-horse race with unbeaten 4-y-o filly Mayor's Walk and hat-trick seeking The Big Doyen also in the line-up. There's plenty of substance to High Class Hero's form and he is taken to make it 4-4 under Rules.