The ante-post favourites You Oughta Know and Three Card Brag head the 18 runners for the €200,000 Guinness Kerry National at Listowel on Wednesday following this morning’s declarations.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins’ You Oughta Know emerged as the leading contender for the Listowel feature with a 23-length success in a rated novice chase at Wexford recently. The Closutton handler is also represented by the two-time chase winner Arctic Fly and the novice Spanish Harlem.
Gordon Elliott is represented by Three Card Brag, a horse that had a luckless run in the Tote Galway Plate. Elliott also has the topweight Pied Piper among his declarations, along with Duffle Coat and Shecouldbeanything.
Cross-channel runner
For the third year running, the Guinness Kerry National has attracted a runner from across the Irish Sea and taking his chance on his first start for Mickey Bowen is the nine-year-old Light N Strike, formerly trained by Emma Lavelle.
Monbeg Park will have his first start for trainer Jack Foley with French Dynamite another running for a new trainer, Eric McNamara, a three-time winner of the race.
Former winner among reserves
Joseph O’Brien’s 2022 Guinness Kerry National winner Busselton is the second reserve but the dual purpose trainer will be represented by San Salvadorr.
The consistent Le Coq Hardi will represent Waterford trainer Henry de Bromhead who also has the first reserve in the Grade 2 mares’ novice chase winner Nara.
The Ken Budds-trained Cheltenham Festival runner-up Anyway finished in front of You Ought Know when victorious at Kilbeggan last June.
Padraig Roche’s Outside The Door had a wide-margin success last time, while Gavin Cromwell runs Thecompanysergeant.
The Guinness Kerry National features on a seven-race card at Listowel on Wednesday where the first race begins at 2.05pm.
The Harvest Festival at Listowel, which began yesterday, continues until Saturday with live coverage on TG4 and Racing TV each afternoon.
