Bobbyjo Chase: a runner-by-runner guide

Fairyhouse’s feature race on Saturday is the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase and it has established itself as the premier Grand National trial in recent seasons, with the last two winners going on to land the big one at Aintree.

A field of 10 has been declared so we’ve put together a runner-by-runner guide to assess the chances of all the participants.

Runners and riders

This horse has been a little disappointing in three starts so far this season but now the Grand National weights are out, we could see a much improved performance. He landed the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham last March and should be in the mix.

Former Albert Bartlett winner Stellar Story chased home Lecky Watson in the Brown Advisory last year but will be suited by the drop in grade, on the evidence of his runs in the Savills and the Betfair Chase this season.

Jordans finished second behind Caldwell Potter in a Grade 1 at Aintree last term and you can’t help but feel that connections have minded his mark so far this season. He’s another one who we could see a much improved performance from.

Terrence O’Brien’s stable star was a good winner of the Troytown at Navan in November, although he was put in his place in the Thyestes. He probably needs to improve in order to trouble the principles but is capable of doing so.

Brian Hayes’ mount produced a career-best performance to win the Scottish Grand National at Ayr last spring but could be up against it here.

Easily the best horse in this race when at the peak of his powers, his two runs since returning from injury have been a little underwhelming. It appears that he might not be the same horse these days but remains the highest rated runner and can’t be ruled out.

Willie Mullins has won nine of the last 10 renewals of this race and stable jockey Paul Townend has picked Grand National third Grangeclare West. That fact alone inspires confidence but it’s very possible that Townend is on the wrong horse.

Intense Raffles loves it here at Fairyhouse, having won three of his four starts at the track, and he was second by less than a length in this race last year. You can probably put a line through his recent efforts and he should be much more competitive now.

This eight-year-old appeared to have every chance of winning before losing his rider at the final fence in the Thyestes and is likely to be in the mix once again.

Jack Kennedy rides Three Card Brag for Gordon Elliott and he’s been in very good form this season, winning at Cheltenham in October and finishing second in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury last time. We can expect another rock-solid performance on Saturday.