RACING: Tomorrow's €130,000 Pierse Hurdle is the first big pot of the new year and Arthur Moore is ready to take his customary position in the Leopardstown spotlight.
No other trainer even comes close to Moore's record in the race under its various guises over the years. Be it known as the Sweeps Hurdle, the Ladbroke or the Pierse, Moore is always the man to fear and it's no change this time round as he saddles the ante-post favourite, Janidou.
The market leader races in the colours of JP McManus and just for good measure, Moore also has Junior Fontaine in contention too. They will be trying to join the roll of honour which features a remarkable six Moore-trained winners since 1979. The bulk of them occured from 1983 to 1988 and Graphic Equaliser landed the spoils in 1998.
Moore's hold on the race, however, has also seen a number of placed efforts since, including Janidou's third to Adamant Approach in last year's Pierse.
The horse has had just one run this season and Moore reported yesterday: "It wasn't particularly the plan to give him only one race. In the autumn we weren't sure if we'd send him chasing. He is in good form and we're happy with him but I'm not sure if he deserves to be favourite. Apart from last year's run, he has been pretty disappointing."
The Moore and McManus factors have contributed to that but it's still odd to see a horse heading the market that was beaten by over 50 lengths on his only start of the season.
That was at Fairyhouse in November and Junior Fontaine actually finished 50 lengths ahead of his stable companion. Yet Junior Fontaine is a general 16 to 1 shot, double Janidou's price. It reflects how open the race is and a 30-runner field, allied to having to run over the tight inner track, turns the contest into an extreme test for race fans.
The horse on the improve is Emotional Moment who has rocketed up the through the ratings over the past year. Mary Reveley trained Penny A Day to run third in 1997 and is double handed this time. Whistling Dixie looks the best of them and was an unlucky faller at the second last behind Chauvinist at Ascot.
Some Buzz is weighted to repeat course form with Evening Scent but the latter jumped poorly on that occasion and looks up to reversing that running. Another trainer double-handed is Tony Martin who has booked Mick Fitzgerald for the promising but relatively inexperienced Xenophon. Along with Tony McCoy's mount Mr Sneaky Boo this one was nibbled at during the week but in this case, punters might have targeted the wrong Martin runner.
A narrow Christmas winner on the course, Rare Ouzel has been racing over further than two miles and on ground a bit heavier than the forecast "yielding to soft". Nevertheless, he did show a startling turn of foot to overhaul GVA Ireland on his last start and did that despite giving a 10-length start into the straight and a last flight mistake.
The main support race is the Leopardstown Chase where the Gold Cup outsiders Foxchapel King and Rince Ri top the weights. Eskimo Jack will know how they feel having humped 12st to a smooth success at Navan last time but the progressive novice is now at the right end of the handicap. "He is a very promising horse but this is a different ball game and it will help us assess how good he is against these boys," Arthur Moore said yesterday.
Ballyamber is 8lb better off with Be My Belle for his Neville beating at Christmas and that should swing things his way in the Grade Three novice chase.
