KILARNEY'S four-day meeting gets under way this evening but the most valuable race of the entire fixture is tomorrow's Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle which can go to the Norman Williamson-ridden Reasilvia.
As hardy and consistent mares go, Reasilvia is almost a model as she has proved recently with two victories on the flat at Ballinrobe and Listowel. After the latter success, Edward O'Grady immediately nominated tomorrow's race as Reasilvia's main target and in the circumstances it's probably best to ignore a subsequent disappointing effort on the flat at Clonmel.
It's as a hurdler that Reasilvia has mainly forged her name and considering some of the imposts she has had to shoulder in the past, Reasilvia will feel like she is carrying a featherweight.
Another mare whose best recent form has been on the flat is Mayasta and, with Frank Berry having his team in such good form, she must be respected. But Reasilvia gets the vote ahead of her and the topweight Mystical City, who is hardly likely to relish the rain-softened ground.
The opening mares chase tomorrow looks an ideal opportunity for Charlie Swan's mount, Greenflag Princess. This one absolutely hacked up in a bumper at Tipperary on Thursday and with three point to point successes behind her this year, her jumping should be well up to the required standard.
Williamson also looks to be the man to get today off to a winning start as the Tom Taaffe-trained Snow Falcon should win the opening maiden hurdle. His second to Grimes at the Punchestown Festival with the likes of Circus Star, Stylish Allure and Quakers Field strung out behind him looks much too good form for any of today's opponents.
Taaffe has another useful hurdler in Dromineer, who beat Hill Society at Fairyhouse only to disappoint in his Punchestown engagement. Today he tries to break his flat duck in the Killarney Vintners Maiden and Michael Kinane looks a significant booking for a horse whose purely flat race opponents are hardly brilliant.
There is little between Poker School and Outflanker on the form they showed behind Sharavati at Listowel but there doesn't appear to be any obvious reason why Chades O'Brien's horse cannot again keep the one-length distance between them in the River Rock 3-Y-O Maiden.
