'This is a suitable race for him' - Darasso takes aim at Listed chase

Thursday: 1.32 Thurles
Equuip Foal to RACE Transition Year Programme Chase (Listed) | 2m6f | 5yo+ | RTV

Joseph O’Brien will hope to break the dominance of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott in this Listed chase, with Darasso holding an advantage over his main rivals of a recent run.

No trainer has won the race other than the leading Irish duo since Henry de Bromhead's victory with Home Farm in 2014.

Darasso, who was third last time out in the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase when three lengths behind Blue Lord, drops in class and ran well over this distance when second in the Galway Plate in July. He was fourth of four in this race in 2020 but has some high-class handicap form in the book and faces three opponents who haven’t run since at least April.

Last year’s winner Cilaos Emery makes his seasonal reappearance for Mullins off topweight and has run well in small-field conditions races in the past.

Mount Ida comes back down in trip for Elliott having unseated her rider in both the Grand National and in the Irish version at Fairyhouse. She won well on her seasonal reappearance at Clonmel last season after 222 days off before going on to win a Grade 3 at Fairyhouse six weeks later. Her best form has often come when running fresh and she will prove a danger should her jumping be on song.

Stablemate Escaria Ten is a course winner over 3m1f and is lightly raced having had only four runs since finishing third in the 2021 National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham. The five-strong-field is completed by the Robert Widger-trained Indie Belle, who has plenty to find in this company.

Darasso will have to buck another trend as just three winners in the last ten years had already run that season: Noble Prince (2013), Alpha Des Obeaux (2018) and Presenting Percy (2020).

What they say

Joseph O’Brien, trainer of Darasso
He’s been a solid performer in the past few seasons and ran well last time out at Clonmel. We think this is a suitable race for him and hopefully he’ll be able to collect some prize-money.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Cilaos Emery
This looks like a hot race. He should handle the track but he’s not well treated by the conditions of the race. We’d be happy if he came home in the first three.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Escaria Ten and Mount Ida
They’ve been working well at home and we’re hoping they can go well. Escaria Ten has an entry for the Welsh Grand National.

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