‘Rock-solid alternative’ - Nap and NB selections at Naas on Sunday The racing in Ireland on Sunday isn’t as high in the quality department as it normally is on a weekend, but most trainers will be thinking exclusively about the Cheltenham Festival with less than a month to go. It’s still going to be thoroughly competitive however and you won’t want to miss it. Naas hosts the only fixture and there are seven races on the card, with conditions described as soft, heavy in places at the time of writing. The feature race is the Grade 3 William Hill Racing Bet Builder Chase and there’s also a Listed juvenile hurdle to look out for. Our expert has picked out a Nap and Next Best to follow across the card and Gordon Elliott’s runner in the juvenile race may have been a little overlooked in the betting. Immediate can bounce back straight away in Listed company Willie Mullins’ Majolique is the favourite here, but she’s yet to run over hurdles and you would be risking a lot on faith to pick her off the back of one win on the Flat in France. Gordon Elliott’s IMMEDIATE EFFECT looks like a rock-solid alternative. Rated 88 on the Flat, he won two of his five starts on the all-weather, the first of which came over 7f on debut. He then went on to win a handicap at Southwell over a mile and he kept on well to finish fourth in a very competitive Class 2 handicap at Doncaster in October. Elliott’s gelding started off over hurdles in maiden company at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve and he produced a very professional display to score by three lengths. Jumping noticeably well for an ex-Flat horse, there was lots to like about that performance and it’s no surprise that connections decided to step him significantly up in grade after that. The Grade 1 juvenile race at the Dublin Racing Festival was a hot race and although he wasn’t quite good enough to challenge, he still ran with credit. This race looks much less competitive and the son of Study Of Man could progress here. A big run is anticipated if he can do so. Touch is set to be unleashed at Naas Cheltenham Festival handicaps are very competitive and planning is often required. Now that the handicap entries have been made, we could see a lot of improvement from potential Festival candidates over the next few weeks. TOUCH ME NOT could be a live contender for the Grand Annual next month and he can warm up for that with victory in Naas’ feature race. He’s been very competitive in a couple of very hot handicap chases this season and a rating of 150 suggests he’s in with a chance here. A Grade 2 winner in his novice chasing days, he was also runner-up in the Irish Arkle last term and should be capable of making his presence felt if returning to his best level of form here.
