Cristys Picnic, owned by a syndicate that includes actor Stephen Rea, will have the assistance of champion jockey Tony McCoy when he tries to win the Elan Midlands National for the second year running at Kilbeggan this evening.
The eight-year-old ran a promising pipe-opener at Wexford when a half-length runner-up to Viking Buoy, but even with the assistance of McCoy, a better value alternative could be Chelsea King.
Trained in Mallow by Tom Nagle, Chelsea King ran on Wednesday and took a Beginners Chase at Killarney by a length and a half from Jupiter Jimmy.
The bare form isn't much, but Chelsea King thrives on a fast surface and will wear the blinkers that his connections forgot to declare on Wednesday. Off 9-7, Chelsea King looks capable of scoring a quick double at the expense of Cristys Picnic and Shaihar.
Plettenburg Bay was given a hot assignment when pitted against Lanturn at Roscommon, and the opening maiden hurdle here looks a much easier option.
At that same Roscommon fixture, Cinnibar ran freely in a handicap hurdle but still managed to beat Oranbay by three and a half lengths. Jessica Harrington's horse bids to follow up in the Coola Handicap Hurdle and will be hard to beat.
