'Flying Start' - Key Owner, Trainer and Jockey to Follow at Clonmel We have a nice treat in store for us this week, with Clonmel’s biggest race of the season, the Clonmel Oil Chase, taking place on Thursday. It’s a prestigious event with an illustrious roll of honour. The supporting card also looks very intriguing and amongst the other races is a Listed event for the mares. We have picked out an owner, trainer and jockey to follow across Thursday’s Clonmel card. Owner - Gigginstown House Stud The familiar maroon and white silks of Gigginstown are set to be represented with two runners at Clonmel on Thursday. Their first runner is set to line up in the opener, whilst their second has been declared for the concluding bumper. Kovanis was utterly dominant when winning a maiden point-to-point at Portrush in October last year so it’s no surprise that he fetched a whopping £330,000 at the sales a month later. He then put in a smart performance to win a Leopardstown bumper on his first start under rules. His disappointing effort at Fairyhouse after that can be put to one side and he bumped into a smart one when third over hurdles at Punchestown last month. The extra three-and-a-half furlongs will suit and he should be going close here. Panjandrum won a point-to-point at Chaddesley Corbett back in December and is set to make his first start under rules. Trainer Gordon Elliott thinks he possesses potential and winning a bumper shouldn’t be beyond the five-year-old. Trainer - Willie Mullins Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one and that could well be the case here. Mullins has two of the four runners in the big race of the day and they fill the first two spots in the market. Il Etait Temps is the obvious candidate and he should prove hard to beat, while Gentleman De Mee also represents him in the Clonmel Oil Chase and his best form gives him every chance of going close. He has been a little inconsistent over the last couple of seasons, however, and his stablemate probably has a bit more class nowadays. The Listed mares’ chase looks like a two-horse race and Mullins’ Spindleberry brings the highest level of form to the table. She was unbeaten in three starts over fences last term, beating Bioluminescence at Fairyhouse and winning the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup. Jockey - Darragh O’Keeffe One man who has benefitted greatly from Rachael Blackmore’s retirement is Darragh O’Keeffe, as he now gets the pick of Henry de Bromhead’s powerful string. He has also made a flying start to the season and already has 64 winners to his name. It’s no surprise that he is in high demand and has been booked for five rides across the card. Le Kap finished fourth on his first start over hurdles at Punchestown in June and he appeared to need the run. There should be more to come from this gelding. Irish point winner Scope To Improve won a Naas bumper in good style on his first start under rules, although he was a little disappointing in Grade 2 company at Aintree. His sights have been lowered now tackling hurdles and we can expect a much better performance.
