WEDNESDAY

4M 1F PETER O'SULLEVAN NOV ICE CHASE (5%): Named after Sir Peter for the first time in 2008. J J O'Neill is leading trainer with 4 wins - all of which had run at least four times in current season and were placed at least 4^th on one of last two races. Of the last 9 winners all but one of them had finished 1st/2nd in either of last two completed outings with a 2^nd placed run last time seen in 6/9 winners. 7&8 year olds are the preferred age group having taken 7/9 races between them. With only 2/9 winners having SP's below 10/1 this is usually a race where punters need to think outside the box - particularly as many horses will be trying this marathon trip for the first time! Only 1/9 winners trained in Ireland.

2M 5F BALLYMORE PROPERTIES NOV ICE HURDLE (22%); 8/9 past winners had finished either 1st/2nd in last prep race with the other finishing 3rd. 6yo have best age group record with 6/9 wins - the rest were won by 5yo. Generally few real shocks with only one winner having SP above 12/1. 4/9 winners trained in Ireland with WP Mullins taking the last two renewals.

3M 1F ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE CHASE (22%); A 1st/2nd placed run in last prep race (within last 24-53 days) seems essential. 7yrs is best age group with 7/9 wins. No winner in last 9 yrs finished worse than 3rd in any of its last three completed races in current season. Whilst many pundits view winners of this race as a future Gold Cup winner there have actually only been 3 such winners in the last 25 years - namely Garrison Savannah (1990), Looks Like Trouble (1999) and Denman (2007). All won the Gold Cup the year after their Sun alliance wins! 2/9 Irish trained winners (both WP Mullins).

2M QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE (44%); All were placed 3rd or better on last completed run with last 8 winners finishing 1st on their last completed run. A race where many horses double up in the following year. P Nicholls is the leading trainer with 3 winners since 2004. 3/9 Irish trained winners.

Year	Form	Horse + Days since last run	Age/Weight	Jockey	Odds	Trainer	Field
2000	01/12/33	Edredon Bleu (39)	8 -12- 0	A McCoy	7-2	Ms H Knight	9
2001		Meeting Cancelled
2002	P/1244-1	Flagship Uberalles (95)	8-12-0	R Johnson	7-4F	P Hobbs	12
2003	11-1U11	Moscow Flyer (38)	9-12-0	B Gerraghty	7-4F	Mrs J Harrington (Ire)	11
2004	11-U221	Azertyuiop (32)	7-11-10	R Walsh	15-8	P Nicholls	8
2005	U1-1111	Moscow Flyer (45)	11-11-10	B Gerraghty	6-4F	Mrs J Harrington (Ire)	8
2006	P4-5431	New Mill (55)	8-11-10	A J McNamara	16-1	JJ Murphy (Ire)	12
2007	112-21U	Voy Por Ustedes (32)	6-11-10	R Thornton	5-1	A King	10
2008	1F-2U11	Master Minded (33)	5-11-10	R Walsh	3-1	P Nicholls	8
2009	1112-11	Master Minded (53)	6-11-10	R Walsh	4-11F	P Nicholls	23

2M 5F CORAL CUP H'CAP HURDLE (11%); 7/9 winners carried 10st 13lbs or less. All finished 6th or better on last completed outing with six of last seven winners following up on the back of a win in last race. P Hobbs is leading trainer with 2 wins whilst Irish trained runners have taken 3/9 races..

(FRED WINTER) JUVENILE HANDICAP HURDLE FOR 4YO (NEW RACE IN 2005) (10%);. All five winners finished 5^th or better on last outing (within last 37 days) with last four winning their last race also. Other common trend is that they had a 1st/2nd place on either of last two starts. Only 1/5 winners trained in Ireland.

2M NH BUMPER (22%); Irish trained runners have won 9/9 races with WP Mullins picking up 3 of these. 5yo is the preferred age group with 6/9 wins with all other winners aged 6yrs. Only 1 winner had not won their last race, finishing 2^nd instead in previous run. Interestingly very few winners of this race (apart from Florida Pearl) seem to become top flight hurdlers or chasers although Dunguib is trying to buck that trend this season!.Clearly the Irish horses are trained with this race in mind rather than longer term.