Wexford racing: preview and tips for Thursday’s seven-race jumps card

Wexford Racecourse’s summer season continues apace on Thursday with a competitive seven-race card at the track…

Racing gets underway at 4.05 with a mares’ maiden hurdle and rounds off at 7.22 with the mares’ Flat race – a race without the obstacles but ran under the rules of the Jumps.

Irish champion jockey title-chasing Jack Kennedy has five rides on the Wexford card, while title rival Paul Townend has a couple of rides in his bid to close the gap to trainer Gordon Elliott’s number one jockey.

Up first is the mares’ maiden hurdle (4.05) and Kennedy rides Gina Moon for Elliott, with the four-year-old making their racecourse debut. Another star jockey, Rachael Blackmore, rides Grooveykindoflove for trainer Henry de Bromhead and is the selection for the opener, arriving off the back of a fine second of 11 at Down Royal last time out.

A small field of five will tackle the three mile novice hurdle, race two on the Wexford card (4.50). Jeriko De Baune is a very progressive type, a dual winner this term including at Wexford, and is taken to improve even further after his fine third in an 11-runner Cork handicap last time out.

Tranquil Sea should take some beating in race three (5.15) for Wexford-based trainer Paul Nolan, a winner of a Cork maiden hurdle when last seen off the back of consecutive seconds at Punchestown and Gowran Park.

Race four (5.50) sees ten runners head to post for the two-mile beginners chase and slight preference is for Bocelli’s Choice, fourth of 12 last time out at Thurles and who had shown reasonable hurdle form before switching to the bigger obstacles. The Gavin Cromwell-trained pair Clear The Clouds and Dgalwaygallivantor rate as the main dangers in this one.

The fifth race on the card (6.22) could see the return to action of high-profile runner Brandy Love, a Grade 1 winner trained by powerhouse Willie Mullins. Brandy Love was sent off a 1-4 favourite for her last run at Naas but was hampered badly by thick fog and was beaten by stablemate Night And Day, but is taken to get back to winning ways in a more comfortable sphere at Wexford with Townend on board.

The penultimate race on the card is the veterans handicap chase at 6.52 and preference here is for Shadow Rider, second of nine in a Cork handicap when last seen and while not looking wholly comfortable over timber, he’s a major player here from a handy mark.

Finally, the card comes to a close with the mares Flat race (7.22), a 13-runner contest over the two-mile trip. Joueuse Royale, a point-to-point recruit for the de Bromhead team, is backed to go well in the market on racecourse debut, with Royal Hollow set to provide stern competition having placed in five bumpers in the first half of this season.