Racing at Leopardstown and Punchestown, the Welsh National and the FA Cup are the subjects of our weekend fancies.
By Niall Cronin
Horse-racing
The Coral Welsh National will have punters flocking to betting shop for a slice of a big price runner or perhaps the Tony McCoy favourite, Synchronised.
He’ll have a good chance if all goes to plan but I’m siding with ARBOR SUPREME for the big one at Chepstow on Saturday. It’s interesting that Willie Mullins has put him into this one and he’ll definitely want the trip. At odds of around 20/1 he’s well worth an each-way punt.
Back on home soil, I’m confident MISTER CARTER can win the juvenile hurdle at Punchestown on Saturday.
He has bags of class from the flat and it was a miracle he stayed up to win at Limerick the last day. He’ll take all the beating.
At Leopardstown on Sunday go with NEW PHASE for the Mcr Hurdle and HOLD THE PIN in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle.
Prima Vista will be hard to stop in the Mcr Hurdle but he has a 15lb hike in the weights and I think Dermot Weld’s New Phase will be up to it with Robbie McNamara in the plate.
In the following race, the Pertemps Qualifier, it’s Tony Martin’s Hold The Pin that has the ability to get home in front. He’s in off a nice weight and is a good each-way shout.
Football
The Premier League is given a rest this weekend, with the attention turning to the FA Cup instead. Despite the attempts of various TV networks to insist that the magic of the cup is still alive and well, it is nowhere near the competition it was in its heyday. What might give it an injection of glamour this weekend, however, is the meeting of bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Whether or not Roy Hodgson will be in the away dugout or not is very much in the balance, but in any case Liverpool badly need a win and we have a sneaky suspicion that they might pull it off this weekend. After a hectic Christmas period and a crunch game away to Spurs next weekend, Fergie is bound to shuffle the pack and may leave his side vulnerable to a second third round exit in two years.
Optimistic maybe, but I think Liverpool are worth a shout at 9/2.
JOE’s Punts:
Arbor Supreme (Chepstow, 1.45, 1pt e/w)
Mister Carter (Punchestown, 12.45, 3pts win)
New Phase(Leopardstown, 2.25, 3pts win)
Hold The Pin (Leopardstown, 3.00, 1pt e/w)
Liverpool to beat Man United (2pts)
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
