Identity Thief To Steal The Show At Leopardstown

Yesterday certainly was an extraordinary day on so many levels and we saw the extreme highs and lows of National Hunt racing.

Thankfully Faugheen’s absence from Leopardstown is only a minor issue but it has robbed us of a fascinating renewal of the Irish Champion Hurdle.

Petit Problem For Mullins
Petit Mouchoir was a comprehensive winner at Leopardstown over Christmas and while it probably is fair for all to assume that Nichols Canyon wasn’t 100% that day, you’d have to have full confidence in Henry de Bromhead’s charge franking the form again on this occasion and halting the Willie Mullins dominance in the race.

A good day for de Bromhead can began in the Irish Arkle where he looks to have a strong claim of instigating a Grade 1 double with both Identity Thief and Some Plan taking on the Mullins pair of Bleu Et Rouge and Royal Caviar.

Some Plan was unlucky at Cheltenham when falling as he held every chance last month and impressed at Naas when winning there a few weeks ago but Identity Thief can be forgiven for his last run when he pulled up injured and…

the Grade 1 winning hurdler should be able to make the most of Min’s absence and confirm his Cheltenham Arkle credentials.

Save The Best To Last
Leopardstown bumper’s are never easily won and there is a decent mix of form horses and newcomers from respected connections but…

Debuchet is picked to go one better than his Naas debut.

The Mags Mullins-trained grey met Red Jack in what was a very hot race that day and that could well be a race that works out very well in time and Debuchet should be able to justify favouritism this time around.

Blinkers To Do The Trick For Aspen
A tentative selection is given to Liz Doyle’s After Aspen to return to winning ways with blinkers fitted for the first time on the seven-year-old in the penultimate handicap chase.

After Aspen was a winner of a two and a half mile chase at Naas before disappointing at Cork last time but the ground in Cork was extremely heavy and the sounder surface at Leopardstown on Sunday should play into his favour.

The conditions and the fitting of blinkers to sharpen his mind give him a chance of scoring off a mark of 116 in a race where Thomond, Bearly Legal and Katnap can be dangers but a lot of the field can be excluded from consideration.

Recommended Bets:
Identity Thief (11/8) – 2.30 Leopardstown
After Aspen (13/2) – 4.00 Leopardstown
Debuchet – 4.30 (9/4) Leopardstown

*Prices correct at time of publication.