Avant Tout Can Kickstart Mullins’ Season

Henry de Bromhead has had a scintillating start to the season and he mopped up the major races again at Down Royal on Saturday.

He will probably go home disappointed on Sunday if he’s not amongst the winners again and the highly rated Alisier D’irlande is one of his most intriguing runners of the day. But he could be worth taking on this time.

Have A Bet on Avant
After you get home from mass on Sunday morning, make sure the first thing you do is back Avant Tout for the Hennessy at Newbury.

He’s currently 8/1 joint favourite with BoyleSports for that race which is skimpy enough but there’s every chance he’ll be shorter again come the off. The Hennessy hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Irish-trained horses but Willie Mullins hasn’t been a regular in attempting it and often refers to his regret at not giving Djakadam a run prior to his tilt in the 2014 renewal.

Avant Tout has his prep today in the Popular Square Chase and although the Mullins team have been quiet of late, there’s nothing unusual about that at this time of year and this weekend can mark the up in tempo for Clostutton. He has weight to concede to Alisier D’irlande but he won a decent novice handicap at Punchestown last time out.

He’s a horse that I wouldn’t even be against having a fiver each way on at 50/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

That’s a real long shot, but if he does win the Hennessy, surely Avant Tout will have to be considered for that race and you’d have to think that Willie Mullins will be keen to run as many as he can in the Gold Cup to try and win it for the first time.

Avant Tout may not win a Gold Cup, but he could run into a place and if he runs in the race he won’t be 50/1 on the day. You’ll spend worse tenners.

No Thief This Time
O Ceallaigh admirably went toe to toe with Identity Thief at Punchestown last time out and although he eventually had to submit to that major Arkle contender, it was still a decent display and an experience that will stand to the Peter Fahey-trained seven-year-old.

Yet again it is a Henry de Bromhead-trained charge that is opposed as Attribution is likely to be sent off favourite but O Ceallaigh himself wasn’t a bad hurdler and would have learned plenty from that last outing.

Martin’s Door ‘well in’
Fresh from his exploits in Melbourne, Tony Martin will try to fry a smaller fish at Cork with Living Next Door having his first run of the season. While he can probably be expected to improve for the run, on official ratings he looks very well in and hopefully the booking of Ruby Walsh will be significant.

The 10-year-old was last seen unseating his rider in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National and he ran in that off a chase rating of 145. For this assignment he’ll run off a hurdle rating of 109 and while the ‘well in’ factor doesn’t always transfer from hurdles to chasing or vice versa, hopefully Living Next Door has enough class to defy his lay off and top weight for this two and a half miler.

At odds of 6/1 hopefully he’ll be able to touch off recent winner Tellthemnuttin and the current 4/1 favourite Call Vinnie.

Recommended Bets:
Avant Tout – 1.10 Naas
Avant Tout – 8/1 Hennessy Gold Cup (Antepost)
O Ceallaigh – 2.20 Naas
Living Next Door – 3.50 Cork

*Prices correct at time of publication.