Two horses to follow at Fairyhouse on Friday including an 8-1 each-way chance Fairyhouse stages a seven-race card on Friday, the meeting having been rearranged from the 11th of this month when it was abandoned due to unraceable track conditions. Sadly, the fixture is once again subject to a 7.30am precautionary inspection, with the ground already described as heavy and further rain forecast. Should the meeting get the go-ahead, it’s a varied and competitive card; the staying handicap hurdle at 12.31 is particularly competitive. Our expert has given his best bet and next best for the race. Selection: Cullig Next Best: Kingkong Ciergues Cullig should strip fitter for last month’s return With underfoot conditions likely to be extremely testing, stamina is going to be crucial, particularly over this trip, and it’s debatable if many of the 11 runners are going to be in their element. However, CULLIG did run a good race on soft ground at Cork in the spring and the recent good form of the Patrick T Foley yard is a real plus, the handler having hit the target with two of his six runners so far this month. The selection opened his account when tackling this trip for the first time off a mark of 84 at Cork in March, turning the 11-runner race into a procession and coming home 20 lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer. He held his form really well afterwards, beaten a neck off a 13lb higher mark at Naas on his next start, before finding just one too good once again, back at Cork, following another 3lb rise. He may have been in need of a break when running well below that level at Wexford in May and very likely needed the run when beaten 17.5 lengths into fourth on his reappearance at Tipperary last month. Eased 1lb since then to 103, that run should have put him spot on for this and at 8-1, he represents good each-way value. Kingkong nearing a first win under rules Phillip Rothwell’s Kingkong Ciergues remains a maiden under rules after ten attempts, but he’s been knocking at the door of late, including when runner-up off a 2lb lower mark over this course-and-distance at the start of the month on soft/heavy ground. That was his first try at this trip and, although he was collared near the finish, he seemed to get the trip well enough and travelled supremely strongly into contention, still on the bridle jumping the second-last. He remains open to improvement as a stayer, so he is an obvious danger. Lough Nigara finished one place and two lengths behind Kingkong Ciergues here last time and has to enter calculations. She’s still a maiden, but she’s shown clear improvement since having a hood applied. Lightly raced for Eoin Griffin and remains on a workable mark, 3lb below her peak of 93. Ground a worry for most River Vale is sure to attract interest, having opened his account under rules off this mark in a 2m6f chase at Thurles on good ground last month. However, he showed very little on his only outing on a testing surface and stamina isn’t guaranteed over this far. The Arthur Moore-trained Miracle Man is only 5lb above April’s course-and-distance success, but he’s yet to manage a place in four outings on soft or worse, so is readily opposed on that basis. Karl Thornton’s Where’s Frankie, the only other course-and-distance in the field, warrants respect; the addition of a first-time tongue-tie certainly has no negative for the nine-year-old, who reverts to hurdles following a couple of comprehensive defeats over fences this term. He’s not the horse he once was, but is very well treated over hurdles, 8lb lower than his current chase mark.
