Clonmel supporting card preview Galway Plate winner Alelchi Inois and prolific winning mare Westerner Lady are in action in the feature races at Clonmel on Thursday but the supporting card features two horses chasing four-timers while the concluding race sees Cheltenham festival regular Vigil in action. Tornado Watch begins his quest for a four-timer in the Clonmel Oil Race Day Handicap Hurdle and while the Jonathan Fogarty trained gelding’s wins have invariably resulted in him climbing the handicap ladder, he does have solid claims again under the trainer’s brother Mikey Fogarty today. Half an hour later the J.P. McManus owned, Enda Bolger trained Blackthorn Prince bids for his own four-timer in the Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle. Blackthorn Prince failed to win in four starts when trained in England but Bolger seems to have found the key to the gelding who now bids to complete wins in August (at Ballinrobe), September (Clonmel), October (also at Clonmel) and November this year. The concluding Clonmel Oil Slan Abhaile Hurdle sees the Dermot Weld trained Vigil bid to follow up last month’s flat win at Navan on his seasonal reappearance over jumps. The139 rated hurdler finished fifth in two Cheltenham Bumpers before finishing sixth in last year’s Neptune Novices Hurdle at the festival and today tackles Gordon Elliott’s Sanibel Island, in the famous Dorans Pride colours while Beyond The Obvious makes his seasonal reappearance but was a wide margin maiden hurdle winner on his last start in March. By Tom Weekes
