If you’re one of the many punters out there who still hasn’t decided what way to look in terms of antepost betting for the All Ireland and provincial football championships, the conclusion of the national leagues brings that issue right to the forefront of all of our thinking. While there will be plenty of challenge matches played between now and the start of the really meaningful action, the last proper competitive match has now taken place and it is the information on the table that must now be used in putting together a portfolio, nothing new other than injury news will come to light.

The first and most obvious question is how good are Cork? The newly crowned league champions were probably the best team in the All Ireland championship last year if one was to look at the championship in it’s entirety, however they failed to secure the ultimate accolade when Kerry outplayed them in the game that mattered most. Once again, they have proven that they are probably the most consistently strong outfit in the country, but are they equally susceptible to a sucker punch from the Kingdom, or indeed any of the other contenders?

Whatever deficiencies the Rebels had last year, talent was not one of them. They have a very strong panel with plenty of players that any manager would be happy to use in the white heat of championship and that reputation was cemented with today’s win, despite the absence of several key names from the starting line up. The questions that must be addressed revolve around whether or not they can beat Kerry in Croke Park, and how they will cope with the blanket defences that will invariably be deployed to rob Dan Goulding, Paddy Kerrigan and Donncha O’Connor of the space in which they thrive.

Mayo did expose some weaknesses in the Cork line up, particularly at midfield, with Kevin McLoughlin attacking from wing back and Conor Mortimer scoring three from play despite not really playing all that well. However these are areas which should rectify themselves when big name contributors like Nicholas Murphy and Anthony Lynch return.

Cork were ultimately denied the All Ireland last year on account of their inability to get over their mental block on beating Kerry in Croke Park. They may be lucky enough to win an All Ireland in 2010 without having to cross that Rubicon – after all, Kerry still haven’t beaten Tyrone in a big game in Croke Park yet, but they still won All Irelands in 2006 and 2007 by avoiding the Red Hand men. Equally, having seen the effect that Tadhg Kennelly’s “tackle” on Nicholas Walsh had last year, it’s a safe bet that the next meeting of the two counties could be fought in a much more aggressive style. Overall, despite their very short price, the Rebels look like a bet rather than a lay at the 2/1 available.

The lack of contenders also plays a part in this assessment. Over the coming couple of weeks we’ll be looking down the list of contenders for the various titles, but unlike last year when there were a few wild cards in contention, this year it would be hard to look beyond the top four in division one, plus Tyrone and possibly Armagh. Outsiders like Kildare, Derry, Down and even Galway don’t seem to be moving in the right direction at all.

2/1 may look like a short price when the event is viewed as a 33 horse race, but when the also rans are eliminated, suddenly 2/1 about by far the best contender of them all looks very decent.

The curtain comes down on the Punchestown Festival and indeed the 2010 National Hunt season with another eight-race programme, and this time the juveniles are centre stage. Triumph Hurdle second and fourth Barizan and Carlito Brigante are back to do battle once again int he Airshow 100 Four Year-old Hurdle, and after another great week with his raiders at Perth Gordon Elliiott will be hopeful his charge can turn the tables. Fingal Rock is unexposed and could make the frame at a price.

Willie Mullins has long since wrapped up the trainers’ title and following a wonderful week it will be a surprise if he fails to get amongst the winners once more. He has no less than six runners in the valuable www.thetote.com Handicap Hurdle, the pick of whom is probably Paul Townend’s mount C’est Ca. JP McManus trails Gigginstown House by over €40,000 in the owners’ race going into the final day and will surely need either Prince Of Fire or Silverhand to win to have any chance of overturning the deficit.

He could enjoy an early boost when Freneys Well, who gallantly chased home stable-mate L’ami in Thursday’s La Touche Cup, bids to go one better in the opening Irish Field Chase.

Irish National fifth Agus A Vic has a good record at this meeting and should go well in the Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase, while remarkable veteran Hardy Eustace returns to the track for one final time in the concluding Charity Race, where he will be partnered by Dessie Hughes’ daughter Sandra.

The Rabobank Champion Hurdle, feature event on day four of the festival, has the potential to be the race of the week. Last year’s first and second Solwhit and Punjabi, both of whom disappointed at Cheltenham, are back to do battle once again. However the real spice is provided by the less exposed pair Dunguib, whose connections have boldly shunned an easier task in novice company, and the exceptionally talented Hurricane Fly. The latter has been off the track for some time through injury, but with his stable in such marvellous form may still just have the edge.

Reve De Sivola overcame fears about his ability to handle decent ground effectively when a highly creditable second to Peddlers Cross in the Neptune Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham and should be hard to beat in the day’s other Grade 1, the Cathal Ryan Memorial Novice Hurdle. Luska Lad has enjoyed a wonderfully productive campaign, but whether he quite has the class of Nick Williams’ raider is debatable.

Arvika Ligeonniere didn’t quite appear to get home in the last month’s Albert Bartlett after travelling really strongly for a long way and is likely to prove a tough nut to crack in the 2m novice hurdle. Mr Cracker ran well in unsuitable going at Fairyhouse though and could give him plenty to think about.

Willie Mullins has a typically strong hand in the valuable Motivatechallenge.com Novice Handicap Chase, and perhaps Quiscover Fontaine will prove the pick following a creditable effort over an inadequate trip in the Arkle Trophy.

Odds on the snooker world championships keep popping up when I log into the Ladbrokes website just now, reminding me of when I used to cover the sport, mostly in a smoke filled bunker of a press room down at Goffs. Ronnie O’Sullivan, as it happens, is one of the few serious contenders for this year’s world title that I ever encountered but my most memorable dealings with the Londoner consisted of repeatedly being put through to his Bangkok hotel room in what was the middle of the night there while trying to make daily contact with an Irish team official, Donal O’Sullivan, to see how our players were getting on at the World Amateur Championships sometime back in the nineties.

Ronnie might have been forgiven for concluding that I was being put up to it by some of his rivals for the title but for the most part he settled for hurriedly putting the phone down as I started to utter yet another apology for the mix up with the guy on the hotel switch. Eventually, though, he did become a little more inquisitive, asking me something along the lines of: “Why do keep fucking waking me up man?”

Dealing with Alex Higgins was, as you might guess, generally fairly eventful and the northerner once quadrupled my work load at a tournament in Cork where I think I was covering the Irish Professional Championships for just about every major media outlet in the country, by drumming up one of his whackier refereeing controversies.

My favourite story about him, though, came courtesy of a colleague from the north who sat chatting to or interviewing him at Goffs one year while Higgins did a “signing” session in the main lobby of the building. Higgins, was immensely popular with fans but seemed bored by most of the attention that came his way and it turned out that he had had a rubber stamp of his signature made so that he didn’t actually have to sign anything.

The two men apparently sat there talking while, to the journalist’s amazement, Higgins stamped his name on tournament programmes and the like almost without looking at the people who had queued to speak to him. This carried on, with the conversation punctuated only by the loud banging of the stamp hitting the ink pad, then the whatever paper was on the table in front of him, and people came and went until, eventually, an old woman arrived and insisted on telling Higgins a story about her grandson who, she said, was a particular fan of his.

The story apparently had some sad aspect to it, the boy may have been sick, I’m not quite sure, but the point was that she wanted a particular message to go with the autograph, perhaps encouraging the lad to keep battling his illness or the like. So, Higgins obligingly picks up his pen, writes out the message as requested then puts the pen aside again, picks up his stamp, whacks it off the ink pad and prints a copy of his signature at the bottom. Genius!

Anyway, I’ve never been one for betting on snooker although the way the past week or so has gone for me on the football front, it’s a strategy I might start reconsidering in the not too distant future.

Having fancied quite a few things last weekend and sort of attempted a big push which backfired badly, the aim the week is to regain a small bit of upward momentum by plucking something from what looks a tight enough selection of games.

The number of sides with nothing to play for is growing now and I’m going to concentrate my efforts on trying to identify which ones might roll over in the face of somewhat greater hunger and determination. Fulham, I reckon for instance, will be knackered after their European travels while Birmingham might struggle to lift themselves for the derby game at Villa.

Betting against Portsmouth hasn’t actually got me very far previously but they don’t generally travel well while Bolton tend to be alright at home. And then there’s Wigan, who pulled off a stunning fight back against Arsenal last week and should, if they play half as well this weekend, be well capable of beating West Ham. History, though, suggests that they will not play even a quarter as well because their opponents this week are not very good and I am, therefore, going for the Hammers to have a rare happy day.

Bets

€30 double on West Ham (-0.5) to beat Wigan and Bolton (-1) to beat Portsmouth @ 3.49.

€30 double on Everton (-1/1.5) to beat Fulham and Aston Villa (-0.5/1) to beat Birmingham City @ 3.42.

€20 treble on Doncaster (0/-0.5) to beat Scunthorpe, Middlesbrough (-0.5/1) to beat Coventry City and Nottingham Forest (-0.5/1) to beat Plymouth @ 5.7.

Betdiary indeed. Here’s mine. Backed Captain Cee Bee for the Arkle at 20/1 after he beat Zaarito and An Cathaoir Mor in his beginners’ chase at Naas in December. Check. Backed him again the following day when Ladbrokes went 25/1. Check. Whiled away the rest of the winter on www.ferrari.com, putting together my ideal spec (the leopard skin seats looked good) as my palms got progressively sweatier clutching the ante post docket. Check. Didn’t lay off any of it, even when he was backed down to 5/2 favourite. No cheque.

It must have been a killer for trainer Eddie Harty that The Captain performed so indifferently at Cheltenham, but we know now that it wasn’t the horse’s fault.  How would you like to run in a 110-metre hurdle race with a broken blood vessel? The worry going into yesterday’s race was that it wasn’t the first time that it had happened. He had broken a blood vessel at Aintree in 2008, three weeks after he had beaten Binocular and company in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. It happens once, you can put it down to one of those things. It happens twice, however, and you have to be wary. I couldn’t have backed him yesterday, not even at 4/1. I was delighted for the horse and for his trainer, I really was, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little sad for the runner-up Let Yourself Go, and my bet that sailed with him. Adrian Maguire’s horse is another who emerged from the race with his reputation enhanced, after getting bogged down in the desperate ground in the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse. So close to landing a big one.

Today’s Rabobank Champion Hurdle has a similar shape to it to yesterday’s Swordlestown Cup in that the top three in the market are all probably a little shorter than they should be. I can’t for the life of me understand why Dunguib is favourite. He still could be a superstar, but he could finish only third in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and now he is stepping up into the big time. In fact, on a line through Get Me Out Of Here, runner-up in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, he has 7lb to find with Ronaldo Des Mottes, second to JP McManus’s horse in the Totesport Trophy, beaten a similar distance, but giving him 7lb. Yet Ronaldo Des Mottes is more than four times Dunguib’s price today, despite the fact that he is a progressive five-year-old who missed Cheltenham and is probably at his best going right-handed. That makes no sense whatsoever.

Solwhit would probably prefer softer ground at this trip, or a longer distance on the ground, and he has to bounce back after a poor run at Cheltenham. He does have a legitimate excuse, of course, he was a sick horse five days before the Champion Hurdle, and he is the defending champion, but the fact remains that he comes into this race off the back of a disappointing run.

If Willie Mullins has Hurricane Fly back to the Hurricane Fly that we saw in the Future Champion Novice Hurdle, or the one that we saw at Punchestown last year – and if this week is any guide to the Mullins horses, there is every chance that he has – then he could win out of the park. Hurricane Fly is the Captain Cee Bee of today’s race, if you like. If he is at his best, he is the most likely winner of the race by some way. Same dilemma. Do you back him at 4/1 or not?

Check.

* For more of Donn’s thoughts, visit www.donnmcclean.com.

Willie Mullins continued his brilliant run of form yesterday by adding two more winners to his first day Grade 1 treble, and the champion trainer surely holds the key to the featured Ladbrokes.com World Series Hurdle this afternoon. Quevega, brilliant winner of the last two runnings of the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham, is probably the most naturally talented of his trio of runners and provided she stays the extra half mile today she looks the most likely winner with Paul Townend having chosen to ride her.

Mullins’ son Patrick, who partners 2008 Cheltenham bumper hero Cousin Vinny there, could extend his lead over great rival Nina Carberry in the amateur riders championship (his current advantage is three) in the opening 2m4f Aon Hurdle, where Cuchulains Son looks a big player. The eight year-old shaped as though retaining all of his old ability on his recent return from a two month layoff at Naas and can see off likely favourite Ainama.

Captain Cee Bee was a bitter disappointment when sent off favourite for the Arkle Trophy (subsequently found to have burst a blood vessel for the second time in his career) and bids to end his campaign on a happier note in the day’s second Grade 1, the Ryanair Novice Chase. Provided the problem doesn’t resurface he should go close, but with plenty of pace likely here it might be worth having a little on a hold-up performer such as Roberto Goldback. Jessie Harrington’s charge admittedly needs to bounce back himself after taking a heavy tumble in the Powers Gold Cup, but his form at a high level earlier in the season reads very well.

Wasn’t that a lovely war? Ironic that when all Michael O’Leary’s planes were grounded, at Punchestown yesterday War Of Attrition soared.  Who would have thought that the Mouse Morris-trained gelding could finish second in a Punchestown Gold Cup at the age of 11, in 2010:

- seven years since he fell at the last at a point-to-point at Horse and Jockey, when Eddie O’Leary spotted him and said, we’ll have him, thanks very much;
- six years after he and Brave Inca fought out the finish to that Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (a Champion Hurdle winner and a Gold Cup winner anyone?);
- five years after he won the Swordlestown Cup here,
- four years after he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, then followed up in this race;
- three years after he sustained an injury that threatened his very career (they don’t come back);
- two years after he actually did come back and beat Kicking King in the Daily Star Chase at this track;
- one year after he was pulled up in this very race,
- five months after he finished 11^th behind Denman in the Hennessy at Newbury, getting 20lb;
- three months after he sparked into life again to win the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park;
- two months after he followed up in the Boyne Hurdle;
- one month after he led the World Hurdle field a merry dance;
- two weeks after he skipped the Aintree Grand National to come here, so that he could be given the send off that he deserved;
- 15 minutes after Davy Russell got the leg up on him for the last time before a competitive race?

I thought they had chosen the wrong race for him at this Festival, I thought that the original plan, today’s World Series Hurdle, was the right one.  He had shown such a zest for jumping hurdles in the last few months, I thought, why not leave him at them?  It also minimized the chances of anything untoward and unthinkable happening.  The obstacles are smaller in the World Series Hurdle.

However, not for the first time, the Morris/O’Leary axis got it spot on again, just like they did when they decided to leave him off between the 2005 Lexus and the 2006 Cheltenham Festival, and when they decided to allow him take his chance in that year’s Gold Cup instead of shooting for the easier Ryanair Chase option, despite the obvious commercial advantage that that would have afforded his owner, and when they decided to bring him back.

Okay, so Planet Of Sound won the race, he was very good, he survived a fairly significant error down the back straight, and he stayed on really well for Richard Johnson for a horse who had never been over the trip before, despite the fact that he was in front plenty early enough.  Philip Hobbs’s horse has only run 10 times over fences, and he will take his place among the top echelons of staying chasers next season, that’s for sure.  He is an obvious contender for Kauto Star’s King George crown.

There was also a Denman story, he hung wider than a wide gate the whole way, and AP McCoy needed all of his strength and most of his guile just to keep The Tank on the racecourse.  The Grand National-winning jockey (good to be able to call him that now) actually had both of his arms and all of his body swinging out of the right rein as they went around the turn at the top of the racecourse, and he still managed to finish fourth.

There was also J’y Vole, now called J’y Fall in our house, which probably didn’t cause too great an impact in the broad scheme of things, but which was a shame, as she was travelling really well for Davy Condon when she got rid of him.  We will just never know how she would have fared.

But really, the day was all about War.  Now he can retire in Peace.

* For more of Donn’s thoughts, visit www.donnmcclean.com.

Despite suggestions that some of the national league finals would take place at provincial locations around the country, it’s encouraging to see that all four games are being held in Croke Park this weekend. From the point of view of attendance, it’s somewhat disappointing that the games weren’t arranged differently (for example, by putting all three Ulster competitors on one day and having the three Munster teams on another and thus maximising local interest) but the important aspect is that the eight panels of players who worked so hard are rewarded with a day out in headquarters.

Taking the four games one by one, the division one decider between Cork and Mayo is probably the most talked about clash and some might argue that Cork’s favouritism should be called into question after Mayo played so well in the final group match between the two sides. Realistically, that game was a dead rubber and both teams played in the spirit of experimentation. With National trophies on the line, there should be much more of an edge to Sunday’s game and it will also be an interesting test of John O’Mahony’s men to see if they can continue their excellent run of results in 2010.

Cork are a little bit further on in their development and that extra experience may come to the fore for when all the pomp and ceremony of a Croke Park final are factored in, but nonetheless they haven’t been winning with the same level of panache as Mayo have all year long.

The secret behind Mayo’s success this year has been the wider array of free scoring players in the team. There are now five or six players on the team who regularly chip in with a couple of scores per game and that could give them a slight edge this week. Cork have been working on a few different permutations in their half back line this season and the fact that they are a bit unsettled in the back line may leave them a bit exposed. At 10/11 plus three points, Mayo are the best handicap bet of the week and we’re going to open our week’s selections by calling a 2pt bet on that selection.

The division two decider between Down and Armagh is understandably priced very evenly, with Down enjoying what little favouritism exists between the two. If Armagh had beaten Donegal by three or four points, this would make great sense, but the form they showed in crushing the Tír Chonaill men was hugely impressive. It was no coincidence that a proven side like Armagh put their best foot forward when it mattered most and when one also factors in how Down could be missing captain and midfielder Ambrose Rodgers, suddenly Armagh look even more appealing. They have momentum, they have the appetite for revenge after succumbing to a seven point defeat to their neighbours earlier this year and if they can gain an edge in the midfield sector, they have plenty of forwards on form who will take full advantage of that supply line.

As slight favourites of the two, it would be remiss not to recommend a 2pt bet on Armagh to lift the division two trophy at even money.

In division three, Antrim and Sligo appear quite evenly matched, with the Ulster men entitled to the narrow favouritism that they have been awarded. No obvious match bet stands out, however those who wish to have a bet for interest could keep an eye on David Kelly to score a goal any time at 10/3. Sligo haven’t been scoring many goals but they should enjoy a mismatch in this position on Saturday evening. Kelly is by far the most dangerous Sligo forward and in Croke Park’s wide open spaces, he could cause some problems.

Finally to division four, where the odds on offer appear to reflect how these two teams were perceived in 2009 rather than how they have played in 2010. Firstly, to put our hands up: this writer simply didn’t believe that this Waterford team could be this good. Having met John Kiely and developed a huge respect for the man, it was difficult to imagine that Waterford had so much improvement in the tank in such a short space of time. John Owens has managed to extract an extra four or five points a game out of these players and it is also notable that they’ve got better and better as the season has progressed.

For Limerick, this season was about securing promotion and that goal has been achieved. Mickey Ned’s men are simply too good to be playing division four football and they needed to get out of this division. For Waterford, the potential for a trophy could push them over the line this Saturday. Their drive to win will be so much greater and that can often make the difference in these showpiece encounters. This column has been quite unlucky this year in picking live outsiders who just fail to make it pay and if the handicap was four points instead of three, we’d be steering people to go down that road. Instead, we’re going to bank on Waterford doing enough to win, albeit giving ourselves the safety net of keeping the extra time on side. A 3pt bet on Waterford to lift the division four trophy at 2/1 rounds off our punting on a busy finals weekend.

In the wake of a weekend that cost me quite a lot of money, I’m feeling just a little like the Rover Plate official who reckoned it would a bad idea for the club to pick up the cost of some kid called Lionel Messi’s hormone injections. The poor guy probably spends his time at dinner parties these days trying to convince the other guests that the record company exec who famously turned down the Beatles on the basis that guitar bands were on the way out was a far bigger gobshite.

Anyway, I compounded my various misfortunes of last Friday – almost as much a matter of the order in which I paired the games as the actual results predicted – by sitting on my hands yesterday while suspecting that if anyone was going to put one over on Barca a run for their money it was an Italian outfit managed by one Jose Mourinho. The fact that one of Inter’s goals was offside and the defending champions should have had a penalty late on, really only served to compound my misery.

But, here I am, another day on and ready to re-enter the fray. I’m going to go for Lyon to get a result in Munich tonight despite the hitch hike or whatever they have done to get to Bavaria as well as Villa to give Hull City a very minor kicking when they’re already nearly down.

In the Europa League, I’m starting to find the idea of an all English final increasing irresistible, or more precisely I’m beginning to find my friend Mick’s rather hilarious  idea that both Liverpool and Fulham will reach the final and that the former’s horrendous season will be rounded off by losing to the latter, utterly compelling.

Good news then, I sense you thinking to yourself, for the Spaniards and Germans still left in the competition.

Bets

€30 double on Villa (0/-0.5) to win at Hull and Lyon (+.5/1) to win at Bayern Munich @ 3.5.

€25 double on Liverpool (0) to win at Athletico Madrid and Fulham (+0.5/1) to win at Hamburg @ 4.39.

It’s as you were at Punchestown, don’t fret, three Grade 1 races and Willie Mullins wins all three.  It’s quite incredible, he said that there was no way he would repeat last year’s haul of 12, including four Grade 1s, one in every three races that was run at the Punchestown Festival last year was won by a horse that was trained by Willie Mullins, but he’s on track, in spite of those assurances.  Yesterday, it was three out of seven, all three Grade 1s, that’s well ahead of last year’s pace after a day.   And if that wasn’t enough, Flat Out chased Blackstairmountain home in the novices’ hurdle, while The Midnight Club finished third behind Kempes in the novices’ chase.  They should just give him the keys on Saturday evening.

A couple of other things about yesterday at Punchestown: the car parks were full but the enclosures didn’t seem to be.  Unusually for Punchestown Day 1, there was plenty of room to move around.  I’m not sure why that was.  Perhaps, because there were fewer corporates than in the past, there was more space for ordinary punters that would normally be taken up by the wine-swilling prawn-sandwich-eating brigade.  I’m not sure what the mathematics are, but I’d say you could fit 40 or 50 standing punters (lean ones) into the space that a round table for 10 takes up, and you could probably fit a couple of thousand into the space that one of those giant marquees take up.

On top of that, there were fewer people there, 14,177 according to Tamso’s text, down over two thousand on last year.  That’s a drop of over 13% and it’s not good, continuing the seemingly interminable trend in racecourse attendances towards the sea bed.  More worringly, betting in the ring was down from ¢1.8 million last year to just over ¢1.3 million this year.  Tote turnover was up almost ¢200,000.  At least that, and fair play to the Tote for forming an arrangement whereby French people can bet directly into the pools.  Mind you, it is worrying that the amount bet by les punteurs was more than the amount by which turnover was up, which means that the amount bet by the Irish into the Tote pools was also down.  (Sigh.)

The other thing about yesterday was the ground.  It was reasonable to expect good to fast ground, after all the drying we have had (have you hung your laundry on the line recently?), yet the times and the results suggest otherwise.  You can understand where the executive are coming from, their aim is to provide safe ground for National Hunt horses, attract the best.  However, we may be a fair way from good ground, and you have to take that into account if you are betting today.  At the Punchestown Festival last year, the official ground description was soft, and the times complied.  However, this year’s times are not much different to last year’s.  Golden Silver’s time in winning the two-mile Champion Chase was actually 0.3secs slower than the time that Master Minded clocked in winning the same race last year, albeit pushed all the way by Big Zeb.

Kempes’s time in winning the three-mile novices’ chase was only 0.7secs faster than the time that Rare Bob clocked in winning the same race last year.  Some of the other races were a little bit faster, but not by as much as you would expect on good ground.  Also, significantly, yesterday’s Ladies’ Cup, run over the banks course in all its vastness where they don’t tend to water so much, was run in a time that was almost 18 seconds faster than last year’s race.  From a betting perspective, I was duped into leaving Golden Silver out of calculations – he had no chance on good fast ground – but thankfully Kempes got away with it.

Today’s Guinness Gold Cup is a cracker.  It’s great that War Of Attrition is back for his swansong, bowing out in a race that he won as a seven-year-old, returning Cheltenham Gold Cup hero, in 2006.  That’s four years ago now.  Incredible.  Is it too much to expect him to win?  Probably.  However this pans out, though, a lush green pasture at Gigginstown House awaits.

It’s also great that Denman is set to line up, which, in fairness, he wouldn’t be if the ground was not going to be as forgiving as it is likely to be. Also, most of his main market rivals, Cooldone, Joncol, even J’y Vole, all like to get their toe in at least a little, so the aggressive watering policy shouldn’t really bestow a significant advantage or disadvantage on any of them.

I haven’t swayed from J’y Vole.  The reasons for backing her earlier in the week haven’t changed.  She was a top class novice, she beat Big Zeb in the Dr P J Moriarty Chase, she won at this meeting last year, she ran a cracker in the Ryanair Chase in a race that is working out well (the winner Albertas Run followed up at Aintree) and in which she may have finished second but for getting involved in a private duel with Poquelin, and she goes better at right-handed tracks (like Punchestown) than she does at left-handed tracks (like Cheltenham).  The big prices are gone, but the 13/2 at which you can back her this morning may still represent a little bit of value.

* For more of Donn’s thoughts, visit www.donnmcclean.com