The jumps racing season is reaching its latter stages and Wexford hosts a competitive seven-race card on Wednesday as the action continues…
The latest meeting at the track gets underway at 2.18 with a 12-runner maiden hurdle before rounding off at 5.23 with a 0-95 rated handicap chase.
The opener sees a large field head to post at 2.18 to tackle the two-mile trip and it looks like a straight fight between Gavin Cromwell’s Jokers ‘n’ Clowns and Sainte Boal for Gordon Elliot. The former perhaps just has the edge having finished a strong second at Gowran Park last time out, while Sainte Boal drops down in trip following a solid fifth of 13 runners at Thurles on his last run.
Race two (2.48) is another two-mile maiden hurdle, with eight runners set to head to post. Elliott sends Brennus Lescibaa, a consistent type who showed decent improvement at Punchestown and Naas last year and has had a bit of a break before heading to Wexford. The chief threat looks to arrive from Magic Olinger with Irish Grand National-winning jockey Ricky Doyle on board.
The third race on the card (3.18) is a handicap hurdle for horses rated between 80 and 109 over the two-mile trip and Miss Gherkin is the selection having shown the best previous form of all eight runners, having won last time out at Leopardstown earlier this month for trainer Peter Croke, improving vastly from an 11th on the previous run at Fairyhouse.
Race four (3.48) marks the midway point of the meeting and eight runners are set to tackle the 80-123 rated handicap hurdle over two miles at Wexford. Emmett Mullins sends Toll Stone to the track off the back of a third at Fairyhouse, backing up a victory at the same track prior to that. His main threat could come from Bythesametoken, a winner at Killarney in October and also a solid second in a class three contest in Britain at Haydock two starts ago.
Tingarran Express is the play in race five (4.18) off the back of a second at Clonmel on February as a large field of 15 runners take on the 80-95 handicap hurdle, while a much smaller field of four will head to post for race six (4.53) and Now Is The Hour for trainer Cromwell has shown vast improvement over hurdles, scoring at Fairyhouse before taking a grade two over hurdles at Haydock last time out and is now sent over the bigger obstacles at Wexford.
Finally, the card comes to a close at 5.23 with an 11-runner handicap chase in the 0-95 category. Beau’s Candle has the form with a second at Punchestown in last February heading into this race and could well be challenged heavily by Tangental for Colm murphy, a winner at Clonmel this time and following it up with two seconds and a third, the latter at Wexford, late last season.
Wexford selections – Wednesday (via Irish Grand National betting)
2.18 – Jokers ‘n’ Clowns
2.48 – Brennus Lescibaa
3.18 – Miss Gherkin
3.48 – Bythesametoken
4.18 – Tigarran Express
4.53 – Now Is The Hour
5.23 – Tangential
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