BoyleSports Irish Grand National A Big Ask For Our Duke

The BoyleSports Irish Grand National is looking a very, very competitive race as it always is.

BoyleSports Irish Grand National
There’s a good turnout for the great prize money from BoyleSports. Obviously the favourite, Our Duke, looks the most unexposed horse in the race. However, there’s any amount of them that you could take – Harry Fry’s horse, Willie Mullins has a couple in it, Gordon Elliott has a big team, Eddie Harty’s horse Minella Foru.

You could nearly pick ten of them that could win it or even more. It’s a very competitive race and I hope it turns out to be a great race. It certainly should be.

Our Duke is very unexposed but that leaves him very inexperienced too.

It’s a big ask but he’s a Grade 1 horse, he’s proved that. He’ll probably be hard to beat but it’s a big field but he’ll need a lot to fall in place. I’m looking forward to watching the race.

Weekend Review
Us & Them finished fourth at Fairyhouse but was a bit keen and the race didn’t really suit him. We were a little bit disappointed but he didnt disgrace himself.

He remains a horse with a lot of potential.

He might have a little break now. He could come back for a bumper or he could go hurdling, I’m not sure. I’m not in a rush with him but I think he’s a very nice horse.

At Cork on Saturday, Remember the Days ran a blinder and finished second. He was just unlucky to bump into a horse in Lady Derrynane that was very well handicapped. He should be back in the winner’s enclosure before too long.

Yorkhill & Augusta Kate
Yorkhill, who was beaten in the Ryanair Gold Cup, is a really, really good horse. He’s got a huge engine and obviously going right-handed doesn’t suit him. I’d be surprised if he goes right-handed again.

I’ve absolutely no doubt Willie Mullins will get him back right.

Whether he goes for the Gold Cup or Champion Hurdle next year, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with either way. There’s plenty of big races to be won in all them left-handed tracks.

Augusta Kate beating Let’s Dance wasn’t a huge surprise as she’s a very good mare. She give Death Duty a run for his money in Naas earlier this year and she fell at the last and she made a bad mistake at Cheltenham, so that wasn’t her true running. She’s a very good mare.