1st - €8,970.00 2nd - €2,210.00 3rd - €1,040.00 4th - €650.00 Very cold but dry

FormscanBy Eamonn Murphy - A half-sister to this year's Moyglare Stakes fifth, Starbright, bottom-weight THE GIVING TREE (her half-sister by Lope De Vega sold as a foal at Goffs yesterday for 125,000 Euros) could be the answer to this head-scratcher, for Sylvester Kirk and Rory Cleary. Carrying the Back In Front and Risk Of Thunder silks of Knockainey Stud in County Limerick, the three-year-old, twice a winner thus far, has been holding her form pretty well and she should be capable of making her presence felt from this sort of rating. Cul Baire nearly got the nod but you'd have to be a bit worried about his two most recent starts, though in fairness they came on deep terrain. There are many well-known names in this line-up but at the likely prices we'll take a chance on The Giving Tree upstaging the whole lot of them. Possibly one of the picks of the remainder could be The Fox Tully. He might be primed to go well after a run here a fortnight back, his first outing in public since July.

An extended handicap for three yrs old and upwards (90 = 9st 10lb)
Weights - Top weight in the original handicap; shall not be less than 9st 10lb
Penalties - (after calculation of the handicap) A winner shall carry 5lb extra for each race won. Any horse rated above 90 shall initially be treated as having that rating and the highest weight allotted shall be 9st 10lb. Subsequently, the excess over 90 in any rating shall be added to the weight allotted to that horse. (For the purpose of this note any three year old rated above 90 shall have the applicable weight for age allowance then prevailing deducted from the horse's rating prior to the original calculation of the handicap)