Vautour - banker in final leg© Photo Healy Racing
St Stephens Day in Leopardstown is one of the iconic racing days of the year and 2014 looks set to deliver on this long established standard. The most appealing bet for a Tote Punter on this day looks set to be the Jackpot which has been guaranteed at an incredibly generous €20,000. I say generous because as we go through the card you will see that the jackpot puzzle looks a relatively easy one to solve with two small field short priced favourites courtesy of the all-conquering Willie Mullins stable. In addition to the guarantee Tote are also offering a €10,000 bonus to any punter who happens to be the only winner of the jackpot on any particular day.
The first leg of the jackpot is the Knight Frank Juvenile hurdle and in keeping with recent tradition Willie Mullins has the short priced favourite in the shape of recent Fairyhouse victor, Kalkir. Such was the manner of his victory on that occasion that he looks an assured banker in this first leg.
The second leg is a little trickier and is a competitive 2m2f handicap hurdle. Spacious Sky from the Tony Martin camp has been performing to a high level on the flat and looks a worthy favourite. Miradene representing Mouse Morris and Deano representing Mary Louise Hallahan come to this race on the back of a recent victory and are also on the list for inclusion. Bank Bonus and Tiger Trek are also recent victors and make the list. In an effort to secure the single winner bonus I think Rocky Wednesday is worthy of inclusion as he had run well on this track in the past.
Leg three is a competitive handicap chase where Empresario looks likely to start favourite and makes the list. Henry De Bromhead has two worthy challengers in Enjoy Responsibly and Never Complain and with the stable in excellent form both make the list. Sandra Hughes has Some Tikket and Robert Tyners Way Up In The Air complete the list.
The final leg is another dominated by Willie Mullins and Vautour is yet another assured banker to complete the list and brings the total spend to €30 which is a reasonable spend for a shot at a share of the €20,000 guaranteed pool and the €10,000 Single Winner Bonus.
