Troytown day at Navan this Sunday
Trainer Dessie Hughes could be double handed at Navan on Sunday with Raz De Maree and Tofino Bay as he bids to win ‘The Ladbrokes Troytown Chase’ for the second successive season.
“I’d say it’s possible that both will run. Tofino Bay won the race last year and with rain likely and the likelihood of soft ground, I’d like to run them. Raz De Maree hasn’t run so far this year as he hasn’t had his ground, but he should get it at the weekend. They are both in good shape,” stated Hughes.
Rich Revival will represent Liz Doyle in Sunday’s feature and she said: “We’d be looking for heavy ground for him. He excels on deep winter ground and in a race like that you want everything in your favour. He is in great form. He won his bumper first time out and then he missed a season. But he came back last year and won first time out over fences.”
She added, “He has been in training for a while, he has had his gallop and he is good first time out. This race has been the plan for a while. He likes to go left handed and he has already won around Navan. He jumps great and he should have a nice weight - we just need a bit of rain.”
Jim Dreaper who won this in 2008 with Notre Pere, plans to run the lightly-raced Goonyella.
“He’ll run in the Troytown Chase,” commented Dreaper. “He just got a bit tired on his first run back at Galway, but he should come on for that. It is the bit after three miles that you’ll see the best of him, but Navan is a tough track and he’ll have his chance. Long term, he could be a Welsh, English or Irish National horse,” he added.
The six-year-old was pulled up in last season’s Irish National and Dreaper explained, “Unfortunately I didn’t put the saddle on properly in the Irish National and it slipped. It was my fault but he came back to win well after that at Punchestown.”
“He is not a top horse, but he is an honest stayer. It is early days for him and he seems to handle most types of ground. He really tries and regardless of their ability, when you have one that tries, you have a chance.”
Ted Walsh will run Aintree National hopeful Colbert Station and said, “It looks like he’ll run. I thought he’d have run a bit better at Naas, but he probably needed it. The Ladbrokes Troytown Chase is the obvious place to go. He is not good enough for the better races and off 147, there aren’t many places to go with a horse like him. He’ll have close enough to top weight and at nine years of age, I wouldn’t have thought that he’d improve a great deal. But if he maintains his form from last year and jumps around well he’ll win another race along the line. He is in good nick and Navan is a fine track and that is where he’ll go.”
Eoin Griffin may run the talented Azorian in the Grade 2 Monksfield Novice Hurdle.
The Westerner gelding won his maiden hurdle at Cork by 21 lengths and Griffin stated, “He has come out of Cork in great form and he looks a very nice prospect. He’ll be entered for Sunday and I’ll have a chat with Eddie O’Leary later on this week to see what he wants to do.”
Hayley O'Connor of Ladbrokes said: “This looks as competitive a renewal as I can remember and appears to have the makings of a hot contest at this stage. The race is a very popular one with our punters and we're delighted to continue our association with Navan's highlight meeting of the year.'
Conall Collier