Boylesports.com Hurdle – Betting Preview

There’s a host of quality racing at Leopardstown this weekend, with the feature race being the Boylesports.com Hurdle. Here we preview the runners for this exciting race and question whether anyone can beat Scottish Boogie.Boylesports.com Hurdle – Antepost Betting:Scottish Boogie – 5/1 Plan A – 10/1 Citizenship – 12/1 Staying Article – 14/1 Temlett – 14/1 Askthemaster – 14/1 Cass Bligh – 16/1 Make A Track – 16/1 What a Charm – 16/1 Peak Raider – 16/1 Cothrom Na Feinne – 16/1 Mister Carter – 20/1 Zaarito – 20/1 Beau Michael – 20/1 Dul Ar An Ol – 20/1 Sweet My Lord – 25/1 Quiscover Fontaine – 25/1 Strain Of Fame – 25/1 Leah Claire – 25/1 Pires – 25/1 Little Green – 25/1 Bar – 33/1When thinking of all the valuable two-mile handicap hurdles staged throughout the year in Britain, Ireland’s corresponding programme feels a bit sparse. Whereas the diet in Britain starts with the Greatwood and runs to the Swinton via the Ladbroke (admittedly an Irish race in the old days), the newly-named Betfair Hurdle and the County, in Ireland only the Galway Hurdle and the Boylesports.com Hurdle really register on the grand scale of National Hunt racing.That said, the sheer competitiveness of the two races mentioned above makes up some of the ground lost. There may not be a horse in this week’s boylesports.com Hurdle with an Irish Turf Club rating of more than 139, but there are plenty who can have pretensions of climbing higher than the handicap level in the years, or even months, to come.Current favourite for the race, Scottish Boogie (5/1), looks destined to be in handicaps for the foreseeable future, even if by design rather than chance. It’s fair to say he’s been typically slow to come to hand for one trained by Charles Byrnes, for all he won a maiden at Killarney in May. Since then, he’s made a transition to handicaps which, although yet to yield a win, has offered more than enough to think he’s got such races in him. His latest outing came in a steadily-run race over the same course and distance, where he did well to make third from an unpromising position. He’s clearly respected, but whether there’s much value about him at 5/1 in a race such as this is another matter.It seems that Plan A (12/1) is prominent in the betting for most good handicap hurdles. His return in handicaps of one win from five runs tells only part of the story, as he’s finishing placed in the Fred Winter and seventh in the Galway Hurdle along the way. The way he’s been campaigned during the winter suggests this race has long been on the cards, and his run at Limerick on Boxing Day suggests he might just be peaking at the right time.Looking at Scottish Boogie’s aforementioned run at Leopardstown over Christmas, it’s difficult to see why Citizenship is almost three times his price. Jessica Harrington’s gelding finished runner-up that day, and was nearly as poorly placed as Scottish Boogie. He admittedly wasn’t quite so good on the Flat, but with the weights still in his favour he’s well worth keeping onside if you fancy the favourite as value. While we’re here, it’s worth mentioning that winner Cass Bligh (16/1) is also entered in this race, but with conditions much more in his favour that day chances are the pair immediately behind will turn the form around.If any horse from this field is to be progressing into black-type contests in the near future, it makes sense that it will be top weight Staying Article (14/1), who unlike most top weights is still very much unexposed. Indeed, he’s had only one outing in a handicap, which he won by three parts of a length from Montan. The manner in which he stayed on that day suggests Staying Article will need stepping up in trip sooner rather than later, and the short Leopardstown straight is hardly likely to help if he comes off the bridle sooner than others.Askthemaster (14/1) has been going the opposite direction from what you’d expect of a candidate for a race of this type, though he got back to winning ways when running out a ready winner at this course on Boxing Day. Just 7 lb higher now and with better form looking back, Askthemaster has the battle-hardiness to make an impact, but whether he’s got quite enough in hand to win is another matter.On the face of it, Make A Track (16/1) will have to pull out an improved performance to make a winning handicap debut, but it certainly couldn’t be ruled out from Charlie Swan’s gelding. Third behind a couple of really promising sorts in a Grade 2 back in November, he beat a subsequent winner at Gowran last month and, assuming he can handle two miles with equal aplomb again (will stay further), there’s no reason to think he can’t do himself justice.There are plenty lower down the list worth considering for one reason or another. Quiscover Fontaine (25/1) looks very well treated on his chasing form, and a recent hurdle win over this course and distance (held off Pires, who’s also in this race) would suggest he can emulate much of that form over the smaller obstacles, even over the minimum trip (fourth in Irish National in April). Willie Mullins won this race last year with Final Approach and, with the possibility of returning champion Tony McCoy back in the saddle, he makes some appeal at 25/1.Beau Michael has come in for support in recent days, even though it wouldn’t be apparent to look at his form figures. The reasoning behind his strength in the betting is presumably the fact he’s been dropped in the handicap for doing little wrong, and it would be true to say that 119 leaves him attractively treated, especially considering he was beaten around six lengths by Quiscover Fontaine and Pires last time and now receives weight from that pair.Call it a long shot, but there could be mileage in keeping Moville onside. Martin Brassil’s charge has come down in the weights and is clearly thought to retain plenty of ability given he was well backed (went off favourite) at Naas earlier this month. He couldn’t get there from off the pace that day, but a strongly-run race will suit his type and at 40/1 it would be wise to keep the faith for small stakes at least.It’d be perverse, bordering on masochistic, to try and pick out an individual horse in the Boylesports.com Hurdle such is the fiercely competitive nature of the race. For what it’s worth, I see Citizenship (14/1) and Moville (40/1) as the best value in the field, but in truth it’s the sort of contest in which solving the puzzle yields every bit as good a feeling as collecting your winnings from the bookies. Enjoy the challenge; races like this don’t come around too often.