Gala Retail Spring Juvenile Hurdle 2014

1.15 Leopardstown

Gala Retail Spring Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1)  (4YO only)

Winner €48,800

Advice: 1 pt win Plinth (9/4 general), 2 pts win Plinth w/o Ivan Grozny (4/5 general)

Ante post: 1 pt each/way Plinth, Triumph Hurdle (14/1 general), 1 pt each/way Ivan Grozny, Triumph Hurdle (16/1 general, 27th December) 

Guitar Pete: Far superior hurdler compared to flat form (maiden who achieved high of 58); Possibly not left with much to do when odds on favourite injured herself here latest but solid effort at Cheltenham prior to that and respected here.

Henry Higgins: 32 lengths behind Guitar Pete on hurdling debut here over Christmas; Much improvement can be expected although possibly not enough to turn tables and this a deeper contest.

Ivan Grozny: Classiest of these on the flat, two time winner in France before Group 3 third at Longchamp; Strongly fancied for Triumph tilt before debut and looked as if he was going to justify favouritism when going clear at the last before being caught by Plinth over C&D; hard to tell if he was improved when romping to win at Naas in style last time out but still a big chance here.

Orgilgo Bay: Good on the flat, second to Battle of Margengo at 2yo and ending up with flat rating of 91; Impressive on debut when a ready winner at Punchestown but not himself when third at Bangor latest; Better than that and wouldn’t rule out a strong effort from him based on his earlier form.

Plinth: Not the greatest of Aidan O’Brien’s flat stock to go jumping but shaped with no small amount of promise when recoving from last flight blunder to nab Ivan Grozny here in strong looking C&D race over Christmas which was boosted by runner up’s Naas romp; No reason to assume he can’t improve from that on jumping front and big chance here even if he’s not on form.

Tiger Roll: Moved to Gigginstown after winning Market Rasen maiden hurdle in November; Would need to improve a lot to take a hand here based on that win and while current connections buying him significant, more needed.

VERDICT: As always, a fascinating day with regards to the fast approaching Cheltenham Festival and a great day’s racing within itself, starting with what should be an informative Triumph Hurdle trial here. Ivan Grozny has been a fancy of ours for a long time, and has a chance to put himself at the head of a market following a deeply impressive win at Naas last time, but with him already in our ante post portfolio, PLINTH looks the value to put himself at the top of the market with improvement anticipated from his C&D defeat of Ivan Grozny here in December and he is worth backing for both events.