GAVIN CROMWELL: This week in his blog Gavin reacts to the disappointing news of Champion Hurdle winner Espoir D’Allen’s injury before previewing his runners at Tramore this weekend.
Espoir D’Allen
Having Espoir D’Allen out through injury is obviously very disappointing and a massive blow to the yard.
He injured himself when getting spooked and rearing up on the way back to the yard.
It’s looking like he’ll be out for the season but we’ll monitor that and provide any updates as and when we can.
These things happen and if there’s any saving grace it’s that he’s only a five-year-old and we can at least give him plenty of time to recover.
On a more positive note, I was delighted to see Siskin give Ger Lyons a first Group One winner.
Ger isn’t a million miles away from us here in County Meath, he runs a good operation and I’m sure Siskin will be the first of many big-race winners for him.
Onto the runners this weekend and we’ve got a good few chances at Tramore.
It’s is certainly a tight-turning track, though maybe not as tight as it appears on TV.
We have plenty of runners at Tramore, it’s a grand track and you wouldn’t have any reservations about taking a horse there.
The ground has turned from good to yielding and any more rain that falls will suit all of our runners.
Saturday at Tramore
We kick off with Cray in the 2m handicap (6.40pm).
He had a first run on the Flat for us a Leopardstown the last day and ran well to an extent when finishing fifth.
This looks like a better opportunity for him to get a bit closer and he’s in good form at home.
Given we’re getting weight from the field, everything looks set for a big run.
We’ve then got Aasleagh Fawn in the 46-65 1m4f handicap (7.10pm).
One thing for sure is that she’ll appreciate any rain that falls.
She won at Bellewstown two starts ago but then didn’t really manage to follow that up at Leopardstown the last day, but we’ve given here a nice little break and she’s ready to go again.
She’ll get a bit further in time and probably go jumping as well.
Greenpanda is our final runner on the day in the penultimate 1m4f handicap (7.40pm).
We’re expecting her to handle the track well and is another one that will appreciate the rain.
She’s in good form, has been knocking on the door of late and deserves to get her head in front.
We couldn’t race her last time as she was in season. That’s absolutely routine for this time of year and she’s ready to go.
Sunday at Tramore
Biddy The Boss is our only runner on the Sunday in the 2m5½f handicap chase (4.10pm).
There’s 15 going to post for this, which is a fairly big field for Tramore.
She’s been on a break since her last run in a valuable race at Haydock in April where things didn’t really go her way on the day.
We’re hoping she can put that behind her and she tends to go well fresh. If she puts her best foot forward then she has a good chance.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
