Rachael Blackmore: Dublin Racing Festival Day One

My first ride of the Dublin Racing Festival is on Holymacapony (1:05) for Henry in the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle.

What a fantastic race to start off the weekend! With the likes of Gaillard Du Mesnil, Cape Gentleman and Gentlemansgame in there, it’s certainly a race where you could make a case for many.

My ride, Holymacapony, was very good when winning his maiden hurdle at Punchestown, beating Gaillard Du Mesnil on that occasion.

He disappointed on his next run where he stopped quickly and was subsequently pulled up. However, he’s been well since and Henry is happy with him. If he can get back to his best here, he could run a big race.

My second ride is on Notebook (1:35) in the Grade 1 Dublin Chase.

Again, we take on Chacun Pour Soi after we met over Christmas. Chacun won on that occasion, so we go into this looking to reverse that form.

The soft ground should be of no inconvenience to Notebook, and if he is at his best, we can hopefully reverse the placings from our run in December.

Next up, I’m with Captain Guinness (2:10) Irish Arkle Novice Chase. He was beaten by Enginemen the last day on heavy ground.

Back on nicer ground, I think that will suit him better. The more it dries out for him, the more it should help.

This looks a good race, however, he done nothing wrong the last day when up against a very impressive winner. So, I am looking forward to taking him on again in what should be a very competitive race.

In the handicap chase, I’m on Epson Du Houx (2:45), again for Henry. He was a good winner the last day at Naas and he got a good hike from that, going up 13Ibs.

That said, I’m hoping he has enough to be competitive here. He’s a lovely big horse and we couldn’t be happier with him at home. So, we’re looking forward to this and we’re hoping he can keep improving and defy his penalty.

In the Irish Champion Hurdle, I ride Honeysuckle (3:15). We’re going for back-to-back Irish Champion Hurdles here. She came out of the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle absolutely fine and we’ve all been very happy with her since.

The slower ground should be of no inconvenience whatsoever, so we’re ready to get out there and race.

We reoppose with Sharjah again and Saint Roi is a runner who we probably haven’t seen the best of yet. That said, we’re ready for the race and it’s one I am really looking forward to.

My final ride on a busy day is on Champagne Gold (3:50) in the Leopardstown Hurdle. He ran well the last day when he was 3^rd behind Fakiera at Navan.

This is his first run in a handicap, and everything’s been fine with him going into the race. Hopefully we have at least one winner on the board before this, but I do think Champagne Gold has plenty of ability and has every chance of going close in a race like this.