Irish Form Book An Uaimh Steeplechase (Grade 3) Preview

The feature race at Navan on Saturday is a grade 3 conditions chase over 2m 4f. The contest brings together a field of largely exposed graded performers and a couple on the upgrade. Mansony, Watson Lake, Chelsea Harbour and Sky’s The Limit are solid performers in these events but on recent form the quintet have probably had their best days. On the other hand, we have the highly regarded Rare Bob, the National contender Backstage and the comeback kid Glencove Marina.

Backstage is one of the better horses at these weights and he is sure to be at his peak with Aintree less than a fortnight away. It would not be a surprise to see Gordon Elliott’s charge win on Saturday but at the same time connections will not want to leave their race behind them and give the horse a hard race. Similar sentiments apply to Glencove Marina who had a hard fall on his recent comeback and will almost certainly be given a ride where getting round will be the priority.

Rare Bob has been talked up as a potential Gold Cup horse of the future by Dessie Hughes and after his recent reappearance he should be spot on for Saturday. Already the highest rated runner in the race it will be disappointing if he does not prove good enough to beat this largely exposed field.

Summary: Rare Bob is the most likely victor with Backstage and Glencove Marina the ones most likely to take advantage of any slip ups from the Hughes runner.

Posted by John on March 26, 2010. Filed under Race Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.