Our team's horses to follow: 'The horse looked really good and was a beautiful type' The Irish Angle team gave their horses to watch out for on this week's Irish Angle Show. Vincent Finegan, ex-jockey Paddy Flood and Johnny Ward gave a horse to follow each after the weekend's racing. Vicent Finegan - Romeo Coolio The horse that impressed me most at the weekend was Romeo Coolio. I know you two were very sweet on him during our season preview a few weeks back, whereas I wasn’t quite convinced. I didn’t think he’d be in the same class as some of the other horses in the novice chase division. But he now looks top-drawer. As Johnny said, he probably didn’t beat a huge amount the other day, but the horses who finished second and third were rated 150 and 153. One of them was probably over the wrong trip—the horse that won the Scottish National for Willie Mullins that Harry Cobden rode—but Romeo Coolio still looked a completely different class to them. He has to be a major contender in what is shaping up to be a very strong division this season. Whether he sticks to two miles or steps up in trip, I think he could do either. He looks like a really good horse. Paddy Flood - Act Of Innocence I took one of Nicky Henderson’s from Newbury at the weekend—Act of Innocence, formerly trained by Paul Nicholls. The first two homes were actually both ex-Nicholls horses. Act Of Innocence arrived travelling strongly at the last, jumped it a bit big and looked in trouble, but once he balanced up and knuckled down, he won easily in the end. The maiden he won is often taken by top-notch novice hurdlers and is usually targeted by Henderson, Nicholls, or nowadays the Skeltons. The horse looked really good and was a beautiful type. Johnny Ward - The Big Westerner The horse was declared to run in Mallow last weekend - she wasn’t going to be unfit. Henry de Bromhead is about as clean and straightforward a trainer as there is; you can trust his horses to be trying and running well. I felt that if The Big Westerner were beaten, it would be Jimmy De Seuil, but she came back in a little late in the betting. At one point, you could get roughly 11/8 for her just to place. Despite not winning she is my horse to follow.
