ALL CHANGE PLEASE: SHAMROCK looks back on a dramatic day at Punchestown yesterday with a new option emerging for Annie Power after Faugheen’s season ending injury.
They say a week is a long time in politics.
Sometimes, five minutes can seem like a lifetime in racing.
I was just settling down to watch Annie Power run in the opener at Punchestown yesterday when Gary O’Brien on At The Races broke the sensational news that Faugheen was out of the Champion Hurdle.
As a certain technology company said ahead of their latest smartphone release “The only thing that’s changed is everything”. ‘i’ cannot possibly say which firm of course!
That five minutes has changed everything in terms of Cheltenham and specifically the Champion Hurdle.
Pre-Faugheen injury the debate was simply whether Annie Power would head to the World Hurdle (looked increasingly likely on the betting patterns) or the OLBG Mares – the race she had a nightmare in last year.
But suddenly the Champion Hurdle card comes along to both call and raise those races and it now looks like the favourite option.
Annie Power heads the BETDAQ ante-post Champion Hurdle market at 5 ahead of (stable companion) Arctic Fire and (another stable companion!) Nichols Canyon. For all the disappointment, Willie Mullins suffered yesterday his hand doesn’t look that weakened.
Mullins told At The Races after yesterdays news: “We could certainly get her supplemented for the Champion Hurdle. I haven’t spoken to the owner yet but I think it must be on the cards.”
He added after yesterday’s easy win for Annie Power: “She was very keen today, the hood probably helped her with that but I suppose it was just a schooling exercise. It was plenty for her at this stage and there will be plenty of harder bits of work to do with her.”
Faugheen suffered a suspensory ligament injury and Mullins said: “It’s a small injury, but just bad timing, a bit like Hurricane Fly was when he missed Cheltenham. The prognosis is very good but I don’t think we are going to have him back for Punchestown. We will just call it quits for this season and hopefully come back as good as new next season.”
Close but no cigar with the nap yesterday, Midnight Theatre, who was beaten three parts of a length at 2/1.
They race at Clonmel today and I’m saving my bet until the final race. Punters will probably view this as a match between Mullins v Elliott with Merry Night and Be The Hero respectively but there are question marks against both. Merry Night was an odds-on disappointment at Thurles last time (no obvious excuses) and Be The Hero may have been flattered by his proximity to 1/5 stablemate Woodford Island at Navan.
I’m hoping that Iconic Image might be good enough to take advantage. He was a fair fifth at Punchestown on his Rules debut.
The staking advice is to cover your win stake with a place bet. He is currently around 7 on the win market and evens on the place market so it’s a straight-forward each way bet with the same stake on both the BETDAQ win and place markets.
I’ve gone all-retro !!
SHAMROCK’S BETS:
NAP: Iconic Image (4.55 Clonmel) EACH WAY
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