Day 2 - 2:05 RSA Chase Preview & Selections

The class of the RSA this year is fantastic, despite the fact that Coneygree’s connections have chosen to take a chance and run in the Gold Cup rather than staying in novice company.

Don Poli has impressed over fences so far but the National
Hunt Chase was Willie Mullins' preferred target

Don Poli heads the betting even though Willie Mullins made it clear that yesterday’s National Hunt Chase would have been his choice of target – Michael O’Leary and Gigginstown eventually had the final say and put him in the RSA. His Grade 1 winning form stands out with Adriana Des Mottes the only other horse with a Grade 1 win to her name – more on her later. Don Poli was impressive in beating Apache Stronghold among others after Christmas at Leopardstown, and his jumping looked to improve from his first start over fences to his second.

Kings Palace has three wins from three starts over fences, the first two of which were at Cheltenham and were eye-catchingly impressive. He only made one error of note in his jumping in these first two starts and looked a very nice prospect. However, he was less impressive at Newbury last month in a two-horse race, beating Vivaldi Collonges last time out. A two-horse race isn’t generally particularly easy for a horse to run in, but Kings Palace’s jumping errors were worth noting and he had to work slightly harder than expect for the win against lesser opposition.

Neil Mulholland and Barry Geraghty have a fantastic strike
rate - they team up with The Young Master 

Barry Geraghty and Neil Mulholland teamed up to win yesterday with The Druids Nephew, bringing their record this season to 5 wins and a runner-up from 7 runners together. They team up here with The Young Master, unbeaten in four starts over fences including two listed successes on his last two starts. There was also what could be some useful experience in the form of a Cheltenham success among his chasing victories. The horse he beat last time out, Houblon Des Obeaux, is a proven graded performer, while there were some subsequent Grade 3 placers behind him on his penultimate appearance.

I see the race as probably being between these three contenders – Don Poli has been impressive to date, Kings Palace has potential and a good track record and The Young Master has good form over fences and the Mulholland/Geraghty combo to his advantage.

Adriana Des Mottes is a good horse but in her own right but being French-bred is probably a negative in the RSA. Mullins hasn’t got a great record in the race (relevant for Don Poli too)with a lot of fallers in the past. She would probably prefer softer ground and a flatter track.

Apache Jack was disappointing last time out but probably would have performed better on better ground. He has made the frame in a Grade 1 contest over hurdles but hasn’t been seeing out his races since taking to fences, trailing off in both of his losses especially on his last start over 3 miles.

Adriana Des Mottes is the only French-bred in the field

If In Doubt is an interesting contender, unseating on his first start over fences but improving to the point of a listed win last time out at Doncaster in January. He might prefer softer ground and I’m not sure how he performs after a couple of months off, while his form at the end of the season has been bad in the past. He isn’t completely out of the equation by any means though.

Southfield Theatre has performed well since going chasing for the first time in October, with a Grade 2 win among his form of 1121. He will probably attempt to win this from the front which won’t be easy with The Young Master and Kings Palace known to employ similar tactics.

Wounded Warrior was beaten by Don Poli in a beginners chase at Gowran in November and will probably find it tough to reverse that form. He probably wants softer ground and a flatter track and he could be a better bet earlier on in the season.

The Ould Lad has run six times over fences this season, his only wins having come in class 4 races. He did finish 2^nd in a Grade 3 here before Christmas. In my opinion he’s overpriced at 66/1 but maybe not enough to back him, even as the longshot of the day – the negatives in his profile are significant; he’s likely to be an early peaker who doesn’t run well in the spring.

The same could be argued for Kings Palace who has been unsuccessful in the spring in the past. The Young Master’s long break before running might not be ideal but it wouldn’t put me off backing him at an each-way price instead of a win bet on Don Poli.

SELECTION: THE YOUNG MASTER E/W 5/1