Ferdy to be Leading Man

Ferdy to be Leading Man

Punting
Michael Duffy

THE Scottish Grand National is not as illustrious as its English or Irish counterparts but all the same a high class calibre of horse has won a lot of its renewals over the last decade.
This Saturday’s race at Ayr looks wide open at this stage and there has been plenty of money for Old Benny, who looks to have a serious chance at the weights based on his victory at Cheltenham.
Ferdy Murphy always seems to have one or two up his sleeve for this race and many fancy Noir Et Vert but I think his other entry, Leading Man, could be the one. He ran a fine race at Doncaster behind King Harald over four miles in February so the trip will not be a problem and crucially he likes it soft, as his victory over Sir Rembrandt at Wetherby at Christmas time advertised. He’s also likely to much fresher than many of his counterparts after a 10 week break so take Murphy’s eight year old to hold off Old Benny and Opera Mundi.
There is also some interesting racing at Cheltenham and Newmarket over the next few days so check out the selection box at the end of the column. One to watch out for though on Thursday is Native Royal who doesn’t look that well handicapped for Thursday’s listed mares handicap hurdle at Cheltenham. But Tom Hogan’s mare has three key elements in her favour. She’s significantly better on a left-handed course, has good form at Cheltenham and will enjoy the better ground. Native Royal had a nice spin around Fairyhouse on unsuitably soft ground two weeks ago, her first outing since running sixth behind Festival winner Nenunphar Collognes around the course since December. These mares events are hugely competitive and this is no different, but Hogan’s charge could be value. Also on Thursday, we’ll be hoping our fancy for the Derby, Twice Over, runs a nice race on his reappearance as he may find one or two too quick over this inadequate mile distance. Raven’s Pass looks to be the one to be on here.
SNOOKER
THE Snooker World Championship also begins this weekend and Stephen Maguire is the choice to get his hands on the coveted crown this season. The draw for the 2008 World Championship could have been kinder to him - he’ll have to beat Neil Robertson in the second round - but after that a semi-final spot beckons and he’ll be difficult to beat this time around. Ronnie O’Sullivan doesn’t seem to have the temperament anymore, and it could be that Mark Selby will emerge as his biggest danger. For some fun, Marco Fu at 25s could be value in the top break market.

HURLING
THE hurling season got the fillip it needed at the weekend with Galway beating Cork in one NHL semi-final and Tipperary shocking Kilkenny in the other. It is good news too for Furlong readers who are on the Tribesmen at 9/2, and have an opportunity to trade off for a healthy profit before the weekend.
Though Galway’s victory looked to have more substance about it (blowing away a stiff Cork side in the first half before almost doing a Devon Loch in the final quarter),  Tipperary’s achievement in going down to Nowlan Park and beating the All-Ireland champions is especially noteworthy. Joe Canning, however, makes Galway a different team. The Portumna man’s sideline cut on Sunday perhaps typical of the magic we can expect from him in the coming years. Canning and co can now land the hurling season’s first big title this weekend and anyone who also took the Furlong’s advice and took Kerry to win the National Football League at 4/1 is now sitting on a nice double.