Limestone Lad Hurdle Preview - 'Don't rule out Bacchanalian' Naas hosts an interesting seven-race card on Sunday and there are a couple of Grade 3 races on the card, the most significant of which is the Limestone Lad Hurdle. Run over two miles, this race is named after the legendary Irish hurdler and was previously called the Bank Of Ireland Hurdle. Several nice horses have won it over the years, including the ill-fated Champion Hurdle winner Espoir d’Allen in 2019. A field of eight has been declared and our expert has previewed the main event, whilst also providing a couple of selections to consider. Will it be a Willie Mullins tribute race once again? Willie Mullins has won seven of the last 10 renewals of this race and that includes each of the last three. Recent history also suggests that Paul Townend is the jockey to follow, as he has ridden five of the last six winners. Big guns Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry De Bromhead are all represented, but there are also some smaller trainers with decent chances amongst the field. Five or six-year-olds have won seven of the last ten renewals, which suggests you want to be on the look out for a progressive improver. The age trends are against Bring On The Night, as only two horses aged nine or higher have won it in the last decade. He was entitled to need the run at Punchestown last time out, but it’s hard to argue a strong case for the 100/1 shot. All of the last 10 winners who had official ratings going into the race won off marks of 140 or higher, which potentially doesn’t bode well for Declan Queally’s Bacchanalian. Townend will be on board Karbou, while the JP McManus-owned Kel Histoire will be ridden by Mark Walsh. Workahead was deemed good enough to run in the Supreme at Cheltenham last season, although he was very disappointing and finished last of the 11 runners and hasn’t been seen since. Elliott’s Farren Glory is probably a better hurdler than a chaser. Glen Kiln has been a consistent performer of late, but Harry Kelly’s seven-year-old is likely to find one or two too good once again. Cola Blaze is the outsider of the bunch and hasn’t shown anything since winning a Thurles bumper back in 2023. Kel Histoire can make a name for himself. Mark Walsh could be set to come out on top in the familiar green and gold McManus silks, provided KEL HISTOIRE is fit enough for this excursion. This French import won a 1m4f bumper at Saint-Brieuc for Alain Couetil and was subsequently purchased by Mullins for €200,000. He won a Cork maiden on stable debut, before finishing second to stablemate Salvator Mundi in a Grade 2. The occasion got the better of this son of Masked Marvel at the Cheltenham Festival after that, and he should be much more competitive in this lower grade. Don’t rule out Bacchanalian Naas’ Ballymore Novice Hurdle was won by the Declan Queally-trained I’ll Sort That and that result warns us against underestimating him. BACCHANALIAN was a fair juvenile hurdler last term and won a Grade 3 here by 11 lengths back in February. He needed the run badly at Fairyhouse last time out and the drop back in trip should help too.
