Best bets for Cork's Hilly Way card on Sunday All racing fans will be keeping an eye on the exciting El Fabiolo as the star chaser makes his seasonal debut in the Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday at 2.15pm. This €100,000 Grade Two contest has been a happy hunting ground for Willie Mullins in recent seasons, winning eight of the last nine renewals and it will be a major shock if El Fabiolo doesn’t extend the stable’s dominance. El Fabiolo must concede half a stone and more to his five rivals, but if he produces a performance anywhere close to the level he performed at last season the opposition will struggle to lay a glove on him. On official ratings Vanillier comes out second best, but this distance is well short of his optimum and a more realistic option for the forecast is Fil Dor. Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old lacks the experience of his rivals over fences, but ran well on his recent seasonal debut and with his stable in scintillating form he is the most likely one to follow El Fabiolo home. The other Grade Two contest at Cork, the Mares Novices Chase at 1.45pm, is much trickier to analyse despite only five runners. Gordon Elliott’s Harmonya Maker produced a big performance on her first try over fences at Gowran Park last month when spread-eagling a good field with an assured front-running display. A similar effort here will certainly put her in the shake up, but market confidence behind Zenta would put a different complexion on the race. Zenta is still only four and has yet to jump a fence in public, but looked top quality last season in three starts over hurdles for Willie Mullins which included a Grade One victory at Aintree. If she takes to fences at the first time of asking she could easily prove better than her opposition here. Leading online bookmaker bet365 has price boosts and extra places available on selected runners in all Irish and UK races and new customers can avail of a sign up offer whereby they get €30 in free bets added to their account after placing an initial bet of €10. Click on the advertisement below for more details. Elsewhere at Cork Search For Glory will appreciate stepping back up in trip to three miles in the Staying Novices Hurdle at 1.15pm. He looks to have matured over the summer, easily landing his maiden at Galway in October before chasing home a decent pair of stablemates at Navan in a Graded contest last month. Cheek-pieces are added for the first time today and he will relish the testing conditions. Harsh, in the same ownership as Search For Glory, looks to have leading claims in the opening race of the day, the 3-y-o Maiden Hurdle at 12.15pm. Useful on the Flat, Harsh was a little unlucky not to finish closer on his hurdling debut at Punchestown recently when an early mistake and some traffic problems didn’t help his cause. With Jack Kennedy taking over the reins a big run can be anticipated. Dual Bumper winner Teuchters Glory should represent a bit of each-way value in the second race on the card, the Maiden Hurdle at 12.45pm. He showed good form over hurdles last season and is likely to strip fitter following a recent run at Gowran Park where he appeared to get tired late on. begambleaware.org
