'I've always liked him' - Found A Fifty out to confirm favourable Fairyhouse impression

Found A Fifty does not have a Cheltenham entry but that is down to inexperience rather than ability. 

The speedy son of Solskjaer was a late arrival to maiden hurdles, only making his jumping debut at Fairyhouse 29 days ago, but he created quite an impression there. 

The highly touted Parmenion and Tag Man were placed in competitive maiden hurdles at Leopardstown over Christmas, but Found A Fifty blew them away with slick jumping and a sharp turn of foot after the second-last. 

The winning time was quick and he earned an Racing Post Rating of 145 for the display, an exceptionally high figure for winning a maiden hurdle. 

To put it into perspective, leading Supreme fancy Marine Nationale got an RPR of 147 for winning the Royal Bond at the same track – a Grade 1. 

Gordon Elliott has won this Grade 2 three times in the last decade, most recently with Chosen Mate in 2019, and there is every chance he will add to that tally here. 

Indeed, you could argue Found A Fifty has more potential than Ball D'Arc, Hardline or Chosen Mate did when they won this. He looks to have a very bright future. 

Found A Fifty actually hit the minimum price of 1-100 in-running when beaten by Summer Melody in a Navan bumper on his debut under rules. 

The presence of Corbetts Cross in the contest adds significant intrigue. 

Corbetts Cross: on the way to winning at Fairyhouse Credit: Patrick McCann

The six-year-old is 8-1 with most firms for the Albert Bartlett and saw out every yard of the 3m trip when winning a handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse in January off a mark of 130. He has since moved from Eugene O'Sullivan to Grand National-winning trainer Emmet Mullins and it looks a strange move for his stable debut. 

That said, he has a touch of class and has won three of his last four starts so it would be foolish to underestimate him despite the trip. However, you would imagine Found A Fifty would have too much pace for him at the business end. 

Lily Du Berlais is a fascinating runner. She won the Grade 2 mares' bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2022 and returned to the same race last month. She could not live with Fun Fun Fun there, but there could prove to be no shame in that as her conqueror is a leading fancy for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper. 

Stuart Crawford has been keen to send her over hurdles for a long time and for him to pitch her straight into a Grade 2 over hurdles, rather than a maiden, speaks volumes. 

Jackpot De Choisel is the sole juvenile in the line-up. The wide-margin Ayr winner is 20-1 for the Boodles and 25-1 for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. This will tell us where we stand with him.

Walk With Paul did nothing wrong at Limerick but he only boats a rating of 118 and it would be disappointing were Found A Fifty not above that level. It looks his race for the taking and early odds of around 6-4 look value.

What they say 

Emmet Mullins, trainer of Corbetts Cross
The yielding ground at Naas looks suitable for him and we will see how that goes. We will be on weather watch with him for the festival as we won't be chancing him on fast ground and hopefully he has a big future ahead of him.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Found A Fifty
He's a horse I've always liked. We were obviously disappointed when he got beaten in his bumper but he was very good at Fairyhouse in what looked like a hot maiden hurdle beforehand. He's got a nice turn of foot and this is the next step on the ladder for him.

John McConnell, trainer of Jackpot De Choisel
He did the job nicely at Ayr. We were very happy with him there. The drying ground will certainly suit and this will tell us where we stand with him and whether we will be going to Cheltenham or not.

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