JIMMY FITZGERALD and Mark Dwyer team up with Uncle Ernie in today's Oliver Freaney, Dan Moore Handicap Chase on the final day at Fairyhouse. It is the 11-year-old's first Irish visit and he performed well to finish a 10 lengths third behind Arctic Kinsman and Time Won't Tell on unsuitably fast ground at Aintree on Grand National day, having lost ground when hitting the third last. That effort followed another good run when similarly placed behind Kibreet at Cheltenham
Uncle Ernie likes a cut in the ground and if the promised rain does not arrive in time to make an appreciable difference the going remains perfectly good and should not inconvenience him. However, he has not won this season and is naturally not as sharp as he was. Fitzgerald and Dwyer last combined to win at Fairyhouse when Tickite Boo justified favouritism in the 1987 Power Gold Cup but they went very close to winning yesterday's big handicap hurdle with Nijmegen
Jessica Harrington runs her two good servants, Brockley Court, to be ridden by John Shortt and Oh So Grumpy (Conor O'Dwyer). The former was tailed off before being pulled up in the Grand Annual Chase but at Punchestown in January just got the better of the 20lb conceding Klairon Davis in a two miles handicap chase.
Oh So Grumpy, a former winner of the Galway Hurdle, is at his best on good ground and he ran one of his best races over fences when finishing third, beaten less than a length behind Coulton and Clay County - who later defeated Uncle Ernie at Haydock - in the Martell Aintree Chase a year ago.
Richard Dunwoody rides Monalee River, third last time out to Royal Mountbrowne in the Leopardstown Chase and prior to that a disappointing second behind Love and Porter at Thurles. Doonandoras, who beat last year's winner Who's To Say last time out at Punchestown, where he had earlier won a beginners' chase, can handle any going and represents the Grand National winning team of Arthur Moore and Frank Woods. At his best I would favour Oh So Grumpy.