Saturday's Irish Lucky 15 racing tips: 'It could be a good day for Gordon Elliott' Navan is the scene of the sole Irish meeting on Saturday and a competitive seven-race jumps card scheduled from the County Meath venue. Hurdle races dominate the first half of the fixture, prior to the feature Irish Stallions EBF Novice Handicap Chase Final, which has attracted a strong field of 12. We’ve provided our best four bets from the fixture, including one for trainer Ross O’Sullivan in the big race of the afternoon at 16.17. The Philip Rothwell-trained Maxios Prime finished in front of the reopposing Catchabird (winner since) when third at Leopardstown at the start of the month and should have no problem confirming his superiority over that rival on these 6lb better terms, back in trip. The selection has won only one of his 11 outings over hurdles so far, but he’s shown gradual improvement since landing a Fairyhouse handicap off a mark of 93 in February last year, regularly running to Racing Post Ratings in excess of 100. He didn’t appear to get home over an extended 2m2f at Leopardstown when last seen and will be well served by a return to 2m on quicker ground. 15:07 Navan - Kalypso’chance It could be a good day for Gordon Elliott, who holds strong claims in multiple races, including with the class-dropping Kalypso’chance. The six-year-old looked like a potential superstar when reeling off a pair of impressive bumper wins at the end of 2024 and, while he’s not quite reached the heights once suggested of him, he’s still enjoyed a good first season over hurdles, running to a Racing Post Rating of 131 when landing the Grade 3 Monksfield Novice Hurdle over 2m4f here in November. He was a bit below that level when finishing runner-up in the same grade over 3m at Cork in December, but a reproduction of that in this lesser race should still see him double his tally over hurdles. 15:42 Navan - Haveanothertry Elliott can make it a quick double on the card courtesy of Haveanothertry, who makes his handicap debut off a potentially lenient mark of 110. The five-year-old is yet to open his account, but he’s shown plenty of ability, initially in a bumper and also in three subsequent hurdle runs, including when runner-up at Leopardstown at the start of this month. He’s already run to Racing Post Ratings of 107 and 109 over hurdles, so this opening official mark of 110 is surely well within his capabilities for a yard that’s fast closing in on 100 winners at this track. 16:17 Navan - Nelson County The feature Listed handicap chase looks every bit as competitive as you’d expect for a race with a purse of €60,000, many of the 12 runners holding solid claims. However, preference is for the Ross O’Sullivan-trained Nelson County, who created a good impression when winning by double digits on his chasing debut over an extended 2m5f at Fairyhouse in January. The six-year-old was unable to justify short-priced favouritism when only third behind the reopposing Rokathir upped to 3m2f back at Fairyhouse last month, but he’s meeting that rival on 8lb better terms here and will likely appreciate coming back 2f in distance.
