Listowel set fair for bumper crowd on Ladies Day The William Hill Each Way Extra Handicap Hurdle is the feature on Ladies Day at the Listowel Harvest Festival with a large crowd expected for an eight-race National card getting underway at 1.23. There are 13 facing the starter in the €100,000 highlight (yesterday’s winner Fast Felix an absentee), and this looks a wide-open affair with the Gordon Elliott-trained Casheldale Lad heading the early morning market at around 7/2. Gavin Cromwell mounts a three-pronged challenge that includes Come On The Lads, while the evergreen Lord Erskine and Charles Byrnes’ Spy are also prominent in the betting. Willie Mullins, who landed the €200,000 Guinness Kerry National with Spanish Harlem here on Wednesday and also took the featured Lartigue Handicap Hurdle yesterday with Last Kingdom, could again be among the winners. The champion trainer sends Kilbeggan bumper winner Nadia’s Boy, Paul Townend’s only mount on the card, over hurdles in the opener while Townend’s sister Jody is aboard Are You Around and Sorrentino in the concluding two events on the level. The going is unchanged at good to yielding on both tracks with selective watering taking place. Clerk of the Course Paul Moloney said this morning: “Due to the dry forecast and rain not coming in until about 8pm this evening we made the decision yesterday evening to do selective watering after racing. Watering is still ongoing this morning. “We had a warm day yesterday. The sun is already out this morning, and we are in for a nice day. “There is fresh ground on the hurdle track and like yesterday we again have just one race on the chase track. “We are forecast between 7 and 9mm of rain tonight.” Racing also takes place this evening under the lights at Dundalk with the Bar One Racing Best Odds Guaranteed Diamond Stakes the highlight on an eight-race card commencing at 4.40. Aidan O’Brien and Wayne Lordan team up with Aftermath in this €45,000 Listed event, while the George Scott-trained Phantom Flight is an interesting UK raider.
