Recent winner has an excellent chance to follow up

Thurles on a freezing cold Thursday is an old Irish racing adage but it is likely to come true with a vengeance and the fog that has cursed recent Irish meetings could be shrouding the action again.

Another likelihood is a lot of short-priced favourites, but the handicaps do offer some betting opportunities, none more so than the www.thurlesraces.ie Handicap Chase (12.45), which has a stand-out contender in Smadynium.

The son of Smadoum was bought out of a Hexham selling hurdle after he won in late September, and on his first run for Shark Hanlon he could not have been more decisive when landing a lady riders' handicap chase at Fairyhouse a couple of weeks ago, running away from the final fence to beat Capture The Drama by 12 lengths.