Everyone loves a grey but neither Panda Boy’s colour, nor even his name, is going to be the basis of support for his chance in Easter Monday’s €500,000 BoyIesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.
A maximum field of 30 line up for Ireland’s richest jumps race due off at 5pm and live on RTÉ and ITV4.
It kicks off a ‘National’ glut with Aintree taking place next Saturday followed a week later by the Scottish version in Ayr.
So many options in the space of a dozen days appear to have had an impact on Monday’s big-race field with the English topweight Royale Pagaille clear at the top of the ratings.
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The Venetia Williams-trained star was sixth to Galopin Des Champs in last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and prior to that was runner-up in the King George at Kempton over Christmas.
The only other runner officially rated 150 or better is Espanito Bello, representing the Barry Connell-Michael O’Sullivan team.
Otherwise, it’s a notably compressed and competitive National field that won’t prevent suspicions about a similar line-up maybe being assembled for a fraction of the prizefund.
Nevertheless, identifying the horse able to land a €275,000 first prize is a quandary also expected to attract a bumper Bank Holiday attendance of over 15,000 for one of Irish sport’s great traditional dates.
Greys are always popular with casual racegoers and there are a handful to choose from in the big race. It is almost three decades since the last grey won the Fairyhouse National, Son Of War in 1994.
The legendary Desert Orchid also scored in 1990, giving the Irish National a better record than Aintree, where Neptune Collonges is the only grey to win in over 60 years.
Champagne Platinum is one of a handful of runners for JP McManus, who’s also responsible for the ante-post favourite Thedevilscoachman.
His chance will be boosted by forecast overnight rain keeping ground conditions on the soft side, while the same might apply to much of Gordon Elliott’s eight-strong team as well as Sam Curling’s Angels Dawn, winner of the Kim Muir at Cheltenham.
A lengthy list of big-priced Irish National winners in the last decade is topped by Freewheelin Dylan’s record 150-1 shock two years ago.
Between injuries and bans, there is a lengthy list of absent riders at the Easter festival, including the suspended JJ Slevin.
Slevin has been riding Panda Boy this season and trainer Martin Brassil, himself a previous winner with Numbersixvalverde in 2005, has turned to Ricky Doyle, who partnered Freewheelin Dylan two years ago.
Novices traditionally have a decent record in the race and Panda Boy will have just his sixth start over fences. Despite that, he already has big handicap experience having run third in the Paddy Power.
The niggle is how he hit the deck in his last start but that looks a blip and otherwise Panda Boy’s claims look to stack up better than most.
Brassil came frustratingly close to victory on a number of occasions at Cheltenham last month but the man who prepared Numbersixvalverde to also win at Aintree in 2006 clearly has his string in form.
With a little change of luck, Panda Boy may even prove to be the first leg of a potential National double as Brassil’s Longhouse Poet is a legitimate contender at Aintree on Saturday.
Willie Mullins has three chances to add to Burrows Saint’s breakthrough victory in 2019 with Paul Townend on another McManus hope, I Am Maximus.
He could have a preference for going left-handed but even if out of luck in the big race, Mullins looks to hold major claims on the rest of the Bank Holiday programme.
He has half the six runners in the €100,000 Grade Two McInerney Chase, where Easy Game will try to land the prize for a third year running.
Mark Walsh is on his stable companion Janidil and will also team with Tekao for Mullins in the Grade Two Juvenile Hurdle.
Patrick Mullins has opted for Il Atlantique rather than Ballyburn in the concluding bumper. He has chosen incorrectly already at this meeting, though, and this could prove a notable opportunity for one of the most famous names in the game, Pat Taaffe, grandson of Arkle’s jockey.
