Two Irish raiders head to Catterick on Tuesday There are two Irish raiders to keep an eye on in Britain on Tuesday and both are set to line up at Catterick. Charles Byrnes and John McConnell train the runners in question and they face each other in the same race. We assess the chances of both runners at the North Yorkshire track and consider the main dangers who could provide a strong challenge in the 3m1f handicap chase. From The Ashes - Catterick 4.30 @ SP Charles Byrnes is always a trainer to watch and it could be worth keeping an eye on how the markets respond to his runner. Winless from seven runners in the last fortnight, his representative appears to have every chance of getting him up and running. The son of Ocovango is set to become the trainer’s first ever runner at Catterick and his son Philip heads over to take the ride. Taking a useful 3lb off, this is his first ride at the track and just his sixth ride in Britain this season. From The Ashes has had 10 starts over fences, winning once and making the frame twice. He won cosily at Gowran Park over 2m4f back in February 2023 and is set to race off a 6lb higher mark here. Byrnes’ representative also ran well finishing second over hurdles at Leopardstown in March, he battled all the way to the line and finished second by three-quarters-of-a-length. The front two were well clear of the rest that day and a similar effort would put him in the mix. More recently he ran a cracker to finish third in a better race at Windsor, despite jumping to his left on occasion. That should be avoided, but he has no problem racing handily, which is often essential here at Catterick. Broken Ice - Catterick 4.30 @ SP Ireland-based handler John McConnell launches yet another raid on the north of Britain and has managed to book the title-chasing Sean Bowen for the ride. Bowen has already ridden 143 winners this season and you wouldn’t want to rule out another, with him having two rides at Catterick. He is 0/4 at the track so far this season, but that could easily change. Broken Ice was well beaten off this mark in a Wexford handicap when last seen over fences and will need to find some improvement on the evidence of that performance. He kept on well enough, but never looked like posing a threat to the principals. There are a couple of last-time out winners amongst the seven-runner field who need to be considered. One More Stroke won a 0-135 at Musselburgh last time out and should be in the mix off a 2lb higher mark here. The lightly raced Poetry Man was an easy winner over course and distance last time out and similarly positive tactics would give him every chance. The son of Born To Sea’s sole chase success came in a beginners’ event over 2m5f at Sligo back in September 2022 and he has several placed efforts to his name, which suggest winning a race of this stature isn’t beyond him. Get €30 in FREE BETS with the bet365 sign up offer:
