2009 ROYAL BOND HURDLE AT FAIRYHOUSE LATEST TIPS

It’s a limited field, but an impressive field set to run tomorrow at 1:00 at Fairyhouse. There had been concerns about the state of the surface, as Fairyhouse had to abandon Sunday’s racing due to heavy rain. In an interview yesterday, the racecourse manager Caroline Gray stated that she was on the “optimistic side of hopeful” that tomorrow’s racing schedule will actually go ahead.
The big name here is Dunguib, winner of last year’s Champion Bumper at Cheltenham. This 6 year-old Irish gelding by Presenting boasts a quality record of 5 wins and 1 place out of 7 total starts over hurdles. The only real blip on his record is a disqualification at Punchestown earlier this year due to a banned substance. Not good. That set-back didn’t affect his long-term form though, as he’s taken two on the bounce so far this fall with a victory against an impressive field of 19 at Galway. Following that, he bested a field of 11 at Punchestown in the Ballymaloe Country Relish Hurdle. This is a quality runner who has impressed since coming off the Irish Pro/Am circuit and, despite that blip with the banned substance I think his presence will continue to grow. Expect to find Dunguib short-priced at around 2/5 or 4/11.
We expect competition to come from two runners- Sweeps Hill and Some Present. Sweeps Hill is a progressive 5 year-old owned by JP McManus who boasts a record of 4 wins from 4 starts in his short career. He had Tony McCoy on top for his last trip and, to me, its indicative that this horse is definitely going places. He’s scored at Leopardstown, Punchestown and Tipperary and he’ll be looking to add Fairyhouse to his increasingly impressive resume. Judging from past performances, this horse is a stayer and will be able to close hard down the stretch. With a sketchy surface underneath, it’s going to make it hard for challengers to close on the leader. If he comes off the final hurdle with anything resembling a lead I think he’ll close it out. You’ll find Sweeps Hill at around 9/2 with Victor Chandler.
Dunguib gets reunited with his old forecast partner from last year’s Champion Bumper as Some Present is set to run in the Royal Bond. He finished 2nd at the big meet last year and that was even more impressive considering it was only his 2nd lifetime race. His track record isn’t as impressive as Sweeps Hill or Dunguib, but he has never finished outside the top two in his life. He’s won against large fields and small fields and, like the other top runners in this race, he hasn’t had an outing at Fairyhouse yet. His step up to Grade 2 action paid some dividends with a second place finish against a well-run race by Loosen My Load. This horse can rally, but his best performances have come on Good to Soft. That’s a question mark for me, but if any mistakes are made by Dunguib, I fully expect Some Present to be poised to capitalize.
The other runners include Alice Brady’s Call (great name), Takestan and Deise Dan. Alice Brady’s Call has been heavily-raced, but I don’t think he’ll find the right form here. Takestan is a quality six year-old who was bred at the Aga Khan’s stud, but just hasn’t really lived up to expectations. He’s won a few races here and there but will likely struggle to place. Deise Dan is also taking a big step up here and, though things started brightly last year, he hasn’t exactly found much form this season.
My pick is an each-way on Sweeps Hill with Dunguib at the top of your forecasts.