Thurles makes changes to chase track as tricky second-last fence is repositioned

Regular viewers of jumps action at Thurles will notice a significant difference to the closing stages on Thursday afternoon's card, with the fixture set to be the first after a track reconfiguration that saw the often tricky second-last fence repositioned.

Thurles is a stiff jumping test and was found to yield the highest level of falls and unseats, relative to the number of runners, of any track in Ireland in a recent Timeform study on British and Irish racing's most demanding jumps circuits.

Thurles Thursday card

The fence in question previously arrived quickly as the runners turned into the straight and ran downhill, with 4-5 favourite Lord Royal one of two horses to come to grief in a beginners' chase there last week.

The fence has also caught out high-profile runners in black type races, including the superb Dorans Pride (sent off 1-2) in the 1997 Kinloch Brae Chase.

More recently, the 2020 edition of the Grade 3 Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase saw 9-4 favourite Sizing Pottsie fall and bring down Cheltenham Festival runner-up Dallas Des Pictons.

It will now be placed on the turn for home, after the third-last fence, which has been pushed back slightly. The final obstacle has been moved approximately 15 metres back from where it usually stands.

An IHRB spokesperson said of the adjustment: "All our clerks of the courses continuously review each of their tracks after every meeting. The second-last has been a fence that has had a couple of incidents over time, and in this instance Lorcan [Wyer, clerk of the course] felt it was worth exploring the repositioning of it.

"We're looking forward to seeing how the track rides. As is always the case, these things remain under review and we'll assess how it goes."

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