Kauto to be the Star on St. Stephen’s Day
By David Thorpe
 There really
is no time like Christmas for National Hunt racing fans with top quality
St. Stephen’s Day action on both sides of the Irish sea.
In the next couple of weeks The Irish Post will start the festive hunt
for the winners which will help get the New Year off to a flying start
for punters.
The biggest race of the Christmas period is the King George VI Chase at
Kempton on St. Stephen’s day but this year’s contest doesn’t
look to be the most competitive. It could be pointless to oppose Kauto
Star but the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Exotic Dancer looks to be the
best each-way bet in a race which is devoid of value.
Ireland plays host to the most interesting racing of this period particularly
the Bewleys.com Novices hurdle at Leopardstown. This race should establish
the pecking order for Ireland’s Champion Hurdle contenders.
Harchibald, Brave Inca, Ikitiaaf and Asian Maze all line-up and the winner
is likely to have their Champion Hurdle odds cut dramatically. Brave Inca
has been the most impressive of this quartet this season and is taken
as the best value bet in the race.
Ireland’s best novice chasers will be on show in the Durkan Novices
Chase with Vic Venturi, Schindlers Hunt and O’Muireachtaigh likely
to dominate proceedings. The best of that bunch at this stage of the season
looks to be O’Muireachtaigh who has yet to record his first victory
at the highest level. A nice each-way prospect might be the Robert Tyner-trained
Young Desperado.
We round off the first week of the Christmas preview with a look at the
Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown on December 27.
The Michael O’Brien-trained In Compliance will be looking to produce
a top quality performance to set him up for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold
Cup in March. In Compliance is the best bet in the race and is likely
to be chased home by Hi Cloy and Newmill, with the latter likely to need
more high quality gallops to get into his stride.
A horse to watch out for in the coming weeks is the novice hurdler Percy
Rock, trained by Tommy Stack in Ireland. An ultra-smart bumper performer
last season he cleaned up on his debut over obstacles at Gowran Park recently
with Conor O’Dwyer looking confident in the saddle.
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