2013 Arkle Novice Chase at Leopardstown Preview Part 2

He’s another runner that enters this race with some serious form, having not lost a race in his past four attempts. He’s won by considerable margins against some tricky fields and captured a Grade 1 victory in his seasonal debut this year at Fairyhouse. Willy Mullins is loaded for this race and will be looking to pick up a 1-2 victory with Boston Bob and Arvika Ligeonniere completing the exacta. 

Oscars Well is in the mix for this one and will be taking some money from those attempting to beat the big favourites from the Mullins yard. He scored in a novice chase at Navan after a falling effort at Punchestown in the Grade 2 Craddocktown Novice Chase. Prior to that, he won his seasonal debut with a solid performance against a weak field at Punchestown. 

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This is an important race for Oscars Well is he wants to maintain his momentum on the 2m novice chase circuit after switching over from hurdles. 

Twinlight has captured a pair of Graded contests so far this season after the flat season finished up. A tough handicapper who won at Listowel back in September, he has flourished since being sent back over fences. He’s got a lot of ability and can find the line relatively consistently. His jumping has been a bit error-prone in the past but he seems to be getting better as the season goes on. He’s been off the track since mid-November and won his race when sent off at 9/1. 

Another entry from the Mullins yard, you can expect him to deploy a very consistent pace for the other two stablemates to aim at. One gets the feeling that he’s not necessarily in the race to win, but to set things up for the other entries. 

Marito is a longer-odds contender who has taken his last two wins and also has a very recent victory under his belt. He scored in a novice chase at Naas on January 6 and will be putting some pressure on the leaders with what you can expect to be a very similar trip. It will be interesting to see where Ruby Walsh actually winds up in this race, as he seems to have ridden every Mullins entry at one point. 

Thomas Mullins enters Alderwood in this one and he’s not done too well since kicking off his campaign back in late November at Navan, but he did capture a Grade 1 race at Punchestown last year - the Evening Herald Champion Hurdle. He also scored over hurdles at Cheltenham and will be looking to prove that tenacity over proper timber for the first time. This is a big ask from his connections, but there will likely be a few punters out there trying to beat him.