IF NAAS passes a 7.30am inspection this morning then Captain Cee Bee will be the headline equine name among today’s two scheduled fixtures in Ireland, but Paul Townend will be the busiest jockey in action with a whopping nine rides between Naas and Dundalk. The 19-year-old rider has made a huge impression in the last 18 months, both on the flat and over jumps, including a hugely impressive Troytown Chase success on Beroni at the weekend.
Townend’s versatility will be illustrated again today as he could have a big chance of upsetting Captain Cee Bee’s comeback in the Beginners Chase at Naas aboard Zaarito before heading to Dundalk in the evening.
Captain Cee Bee, winner of the 2008 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, has his first start in 18 months and although the forecast ground conditions won’t be perfect for him, trainer Eddie Harty is just keen to get his stable star back into action.
“He has been working well and is in good nick. Conditions are not ideal but we need to get him out,” Harty said yesterday. “He has been back in since early autumn and been working well.”
Nevertheless, Captain Cee Bee will be conceding race sharpness to the likes of another former Cheltenham hero in Nicanor as well as Ruby Walsh’s mount Apt Approach and Zaarito who fell at the second last fence on his chasing debut at Thurles. Colm Murphy’s former bumper star had travelled well up to then and any impact to his confidence from that fall has every chance of being more than made up with Townend on board.
Oliver Brady’s stable star Ebadiyan goes in the Listed Hurdle after his return to action at Down Royal but he faces an up-and-coming opponent in Arabella Boy who drops back half a mile from his wins at Wexford and Fairyhouse.
Well-known names like Sky’s The Limit, Southern Vic, Perce Rock and the former Grand National runner-up, King Johns Castle, are towards the top of the weights in the handicap chase. The concession to the Cork winner, Orpheus Valley, however, could be beyond all of them.
The first of three successive fixtures at Dundalk will bring the 2009 flat season to a halt but Townend and Willie Mullins will bring a National Hunt vibe to the session when combining for Mourad in the 10-furlong conditions race. Third in last March’s Triumph Hurdle, Mourad boasts a 103 rating from his five starts with John Oxx, including two wins, and the good recent form of the Mullins team is encouraging.
Johnny Murtagh can continue his march towards the jockeys’ title with another winner for Ger Lyons on Wit And Wisdom in the six-furlong maiden.
