Today's Fairyhouse preview: GEMINI LUCY produced the finest performance of her career to date at this meeting last year and a return to trail-blazing tactics could result in back to back victories for Jessica Harrington's mare in today's €100,000 feature.
A total of 11 line up for the Tattersalls Ireland Dan Moore Handicap Chase with the double Grade One winner Mansony topping the weights ahead of the former Powers Gold Cup hero One Cool Cookie. However, a look back to last season's renewal will be enough for many punters to bet on Gemini Lucy reproducing her best.
On that occasion she made all to win by 17 lengths, thriving around the right-handed track and not giving anything else a look in. Gemini Lucy is just 9lb higher in the ratings now and the Harrington team in general have been in good form recently.
Gemini Lucy herself has had a relatively uninspiring season with a win at Limerick followed by a number of occasions when hold-up tactics have been employed on winter ground.
At Thurles they appeared to back-fire badly as she made a mistake three out and then came down at the last only to be remounted. Any improvement in ground conditions today will be welcome and this right-handed two miles should be perfect.
Mansony never got a blow in during Master Minded's Champion Chase rout at Cheltenham while the sole British raider, Tidal Fury, hasn't appeared since a number of runs in France last autumn.
Schindlers Hunt ran a fine fourth at Cheltenham but looked to have a hard race while of those out of the weights, the three-time course winner Glenfinn Captain could be interesting off a low weight. Given her head, though, Gemini Lucy might be the one to lead them all home.
This afternoon's other €100,000 prize is the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle which looks a good opportunity for Psycho to recoup the Cheltenham losses incurred in the County Hurdle 11 days ago.
For much of the straight it looked a matter of "how far" as Psycho stalked the shock 50 to 1 winner Silver Jaro and Paul Carberry picked up some flak for his exaggerated waiting tactics. However Tony Martin's horse had pulled very hard on the way to the start and in the end Carberry appeared to be hanging onto not very much.
A more relaxed Psycho today will be a major player off this mark and Fairyhouse could suit the comparatively lightly raced horse better than Cheltenham.
Willie Mullins gives his 18-year-old son Patrick the leg up on C'est Ca in the Grade Three juvenile hurdle and the Leaving Cert student's 3lb claim could be valuable to a horse who has been impressive in wide-margin wins on his last two starts.
Only six line up for the Grade Two novice hurdle and Jered looks to have an obvious chance after skipping a number of engagements at the Cheltenham festival. Any slip by him, however, could be exploited by the versatile Made In Taipan.
