Harry Leads Charge For McManus Treble

There’s no doubt that the National Hunt season is in full swing now and it could be a good day for JP McManus with some chances across England and Ireland while a decent chaser reverting to hurdles can prove the best bet of the day.

McManus Treble
All three are a short price but it could be worth doing a JP McManus treble this afternoon starting in the opener at Naas with Red Jack. The two-time bumper winner had some highly touted horses behind him both days last season and now embarks on his hurdling campaign for Noel Meade with Mark Walsh doing the steering.

There’s some good action at Naas and the later maiden hurdle looks a real fascinating race but…

Red Jack looks the main focus of attention in the first.

Then over at Wincanton the three runner novice chase pitches Modus up against Kalondra again but after Modus was the comprehensive victor when the pair met over hurdles, there’s little to suggest that Kalondra can turn it around here.

Modus justified his odds when scoring at Bangor on his chase doubt while Kalondra did something similar at Sedgefield and although these two might get lost in the heat of battle later in the season in better company, they should serve up an interesting race today but…

Modus will yet again prove too good and the 4/5 on offer looks a gift.

Half an hour later we can expect Unowhatimeanharry to kick start his season with a win at Aintree. The nine-year-old is going to remain over hurdles and rightly so and although this is a drop back in trip for him and he has to concede weight to Top Notch, it would be foolish to look away from the Punchestown Stayers Hurdle victor here.

A beaten favourite at Cheltenham, Unowhatimeanharry still wasn’t beaten that far by Nichols Canyon and, albeit in much lesser company, he did win both starts over 2m4f and 2m5f for Harry Fry.

Top Weight To Come Out On Top
Favourite Lough Derg Spirit may be able to exploit his handicap mark in the Elite Hurdle given that he has just raced four times on the track but it is Kim Bailey’s Charbel that is preferred on his seasonal debut.

The six-year-old led the runners to the second last in the Arkle and was still giving Altior a little something to think about at that stage before taking a crashing fall and he can be forgiven for his poor run at Aintree next time.

Connections went novice chasing at the right time but the horse may not have fully reached his highest mark over hurdle and therefore despite having top weight in this valuable contest his class can see him oblige before he returns over fences.

6/1 looks value for Charbel taking on horses that look out of his league.

Recommended Bets:
Red Jack (1/2) – 12.05 Naas
Modus (8/13) – 2.25 Wincanton
Unowhatimeanharry (10/11) – 2.50 Aintree
Charbel (7/2) – 3.00 Wincanton

*Prices correct at time of publication.