The inside track with Davy Russell

Top jockey Davy Russell looks ahead to tomorrow's (Gowran) and Sunday's (Navan) action with a number of rides for local trainers including Gordon Elliott and Andrew Lynch from Dunsany - courtesey of BETWAY.

Gowran Park – Saturday
Willie Mullins’ well-regarded Invitation Only is set to make his hurdling debut in the maiden hurdle (1.00pm) at Gowran Park. He won’t have it all his own way, though, as New To This Town looks another smart recruit in what looks a really competitive race.

I ride Barra for Gordon Elliott and she is a lovely mare. She has won two AQPS bumpers in France so is obviously talented, but she’s right in at the deep end here.

I’m looking forward to riding Ben Dundee for Andrew Lynch in the novice hurdle (1.35pm). Sadly, I couldn’t ride him when he won his maiden hurdle at Naas earlier in the month but he did it pretty well that day.

He’s entitled to come on for that, but this will require another big step up. I was taken with Mahler Ten at Fairyhouse the last day and I know that Elizabeth Doyle likes Without Limites.

Zabana only faces four rivals in the feature race of the day (2.45pm), but what the race lacks in quantity it certainly more than makes up for in terms of quality.

I suppose the conditions of the race suit my fellow as he gets weight from both Champagne West and Tennis Cap. If there is a negative it could be that he may need a bit further these days and may be vulnerable over this trip.

The biggest danger could well be the hugely talented Kitten Rock who is on the comeback trail. He gets weight from all of us and will be a tough nut to crack if returning in the same form as a few years ago.

My final ride of the day is topweight Rendezvous Peak in the handicap chase (3.50pm). He has done nothing wrong but could probably do with some help from the handicapper.

The fact of the matter remains that he hasn’t won a race for nearly two years and may be vulnerable to something lurking beneath him in the weights.

Navan – Sunday
A quality card at Navan has most likely been aided by the fact that, like Gowran on Saturday, we are not used to such decent conditions at this time of year.
It’s normally bottomless ground at this meeting, but the sound surface means some really competitive and quality racing.

There’s no better example of that the opening maiden hurdle (12.10pm) where I ride point-to-point winner Midnight Escape for Gordon (Elliott).

The jumbo field is packed full of exciting prospects, but none more exciting than Willie Mullins’ Battleford - second in both the Cheltenham and Aintree Champion bumpers last season and is bound to be a smart hurdler.

In a normal year, I’d be pretty confident about going very close in the Troytown (2.20pm) with my mount Noble Endeavour.

However, the decent ground means this year’s renewal is as classy a one as I can recall and it looks fiercely competitive.

I schooled Noble Endeavour on Friday morning and he felt in good nick. Hopefully he can go well with a run under his belt already this season.

As for the opposition, it’s too hard to nominate the big dangers as there are so many lurking there.

Empire Of Dirt is obviously a talented horse on his day, while even though Bless The Wings is 11-years-old, he caught the eye at Clonmel on his seasonal debut.

My final ride of the weekend is Jett in the handicap hurdle (2.50pm). He’s a lovely ride to pick up for an in-form stable (Jessica Harrington) on what is his first run in a handicap.

It’s never easy to tell whether a talented horse like him is well-handicapped or not, but I’m hoping he is!