Fairyhouse's Dan Moore Memorial is a Grade A handicap chase, run over 2m1f and worth a cool €100,000.
The race commemorates one of National Hunt racing’s sporting greats- Dan Moore. A former champion jockey, he then won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice as a trainer with L’Escargot, and also the Aintree Grand National with the same horse in 1975, famously halting Red Rum’s bid for a third-successive win in the race.
Unfortunately this year, Dan’s son Arthur does not train a runner in the race but he is represented on the same card by the exciting hurdler Brosna George (1.35 pm), and the novice chaser Crossed My Mind (3.20pm) for JP McManus.
Being a member of the Supreme Horse Racing Club must feel like being in dreamland at the moment with their syndicate horse Cadmium (nap) likely to go off the favourite on Saturday.
Their Willie Mullins-trained Aramon and Kemboy both won Grade 1 prizes at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival and members will be hoping the purple patch continues into 2019 at Fairyhouse.
Cadmium was an easy scorer on his previous outing in handicap company when bolting up at last season’s Punchestown Festival. Since then he has contested some top novice chase events.
Odds of 11/2 with Paddy Power look like quite a steal at the moment for a trainer-owner partnership that are riding the crest of a wave.
>> Back Cadmium to Win at 11/2 with Paddy Power
Duca De Thaix (4/1 BetVictor) is the most fancied of Gordon Elliott’s seven entries and it is easy to see why. The six-year-old has not been out of the first three since his seasonal reappearance in October and he was the comfortable winner of a Fairyhouse handicap chase here on his last start.
He has had plenty of racing already this season, but a 42-day break will certainly have helped and Elliott boasts winning the past two renewals of the Dan Moore with Ball D’Arc and Doctor Phoenix.
Keen-eyed race watchers will have spotted the Joseph O’Brien-trained Landofhopeandglory (nb) going particularly well when hampered two fences from home in the Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase at Limerick.
He went on to finish fifth and retains the same handicap mark of 130, meaning he'll carry almost bottom-weight of 10st 1lb. He's been popular in the betting already and is worth an each-way punt at 10/1 with BetVictor.
>> Bet On Landofhopeandglory Each-Way at 14/1 with BetVictor