3.08 2m. 19 Declared. ITBA_official 2020 Awards M'dn H'dle (DIV II) of €12,000.00 4-y-o plus
1st - €7,200.00 2nd - €2,400.00 3rd - €1,200.00 4th - €600.00 5th - €360.00 6th - €240.00
FormscanBy Eamonn Murphy - It’s fair to say massive hopes were held out for MICRO MANAGE after he impressed greatly with a Curragh success in June 2019. Wouldn’t you know it with the world apparently at his feet then, he’s been winless since. In fairness the chestnut has been sidelined for spells of 434 days and 104 days in the interim, and contested a Group Three trial for, and then the Irish Leger itself in 2020. If you were ‘on’ at even money at Leopardstown at Christmas you may be less forgiving, but surely Micro Manage is worth another chance on hurdle outing number two. Champion jockey Paul Townend rides now, and the fitting of a hood could make all the difference. More importantly the opposition looks weak. New Ross handler Gordon Doyle was recently in the news as his family’s Knockmullen House Stud bred Grade One scorer First Flow, in partnership with Seanie and Kathleen Flood. Be My Hero starts off for Doyle here, but he needs to improve massively on what he showed for Henry de Bromhead. Meanwhile Stone The Crows has been bought out of the Iain Jardine yard to go jumping for John ‘Shark’ Hanlon.
A hurdle for four years old and upwards, maidens at startingWeights - 4-y-o 10st 12lbs 5-y-o 11st 12lbs 6-y-o and up 12st Mares allowed 7lbs