2.30 3m. 90yds. 11 Declared. Howden Cross Country S'chase of €15,000.00 5-y-o plus
1st - €9,000.00 2nd - €3,000.00 3rd - €1,500.00 4th - €750.00 5th - €450.00 6th - €300.00
FormscanBy Tom Weekes - Contenders The Goffer, Busselton and Stealthy Tom are declared for Thursday, along with VANILIER, who is thus a hopeful selection. Well beaten in the English Grand National last month, the selection had previously run well having briefly taken the wrong course in a Cheltenham cross-country race in March and had won easily over today’s course in February. A Cheltenham festival winner in 2021 and runner-up in the 2023 Aintree showpiece, he is a strong contender. Former Irish Gold Cup winner Conflated was well beaten on a previous November cross-country run while Coko Beach has course form but would prefer soft ground. Chemical Energy faded tamely at Cheltenham but will relish today’s sound surface.
A steeplechase for five years old and upwards over a special Bank/Chase Course that at entry have run at least three times in steeplechases (including Point-To-Point steeplechases)Weights - 11st 7lbs Mares allowed 7lbsPenalties - (to count from 1st January, 2023) For each steeplechase won 5lb extraRiders - 1. Riders who hold a Licence under I.N.H.S. Rules. 2. Riders who hold a Licence under National Hunt Rules to ride in Steeplechases issued by any Recognised Turf Authority. 3. Riders who hold a Category ''C'' Permit to ride under I.N.H.S. Rules. 4. Riders who hold a Permit to ride in Steeplechases issued by any other Recognised Turf Authority. (All Riders riding in this race must have ridden in at least 20 races (including INH Flat Races and Point-To-Point Races). The IHRB have suspended Rule 78 to enable horses which run in this race (excluding the winner) to retain their Hunters Certificates for the remainder of the 2024/2025 Point-To-Point Season. The IHRB have also suspended the relevant parts of Rule 135 (iv) (c) and (v) for the purposes of this race. The Kildare Hunt Perpetual Cup, kindly given by the Ashmore Family will be presented to the winning owner in this race. Not more than 16 runners will be permitted to run in this race.