Risk Material looks the best

The two-year-olds take centre stage on the second day of the Tralee festival with the £15,000 EBF Premier Nursery the most valuable…

The two-year-olds take centre stage on the second day of the Tralee festival with the £15,000 EBF Premier Nursery the most valuable race on the card. Such contests can sometimes be the punters ultimate puzzle but this time, it could be that we have to look no further than the topweight to find the winner.

On his name alone, Risk Material would hardly inspire confidence but thankfully we have the evidence of a Naas win in June and more significantly a good Nursery victory at Gowran 12 days ago to go on.

At Gowran, Risk Material also had to carry topweight but made light of it to lead inside the last furlong and beat Challenger Two by three parts of a length. Taleca Son and Gold Radiance finished further behind and although on today's weights Challenger Two should theoretically be able to reverse the placings with Risk Material, theory doesn't always apply.

Ten Tricks looked to have his big day at Galway while Grey Ciseaux won a poor race at Ballinrobe so it could be that Be Crafty, from the in form Declan Gillespie yard, may be the main danger to Risk Material.

READ MORE

It may also pay to rely on Aidan O'Brien in the Barrett Bookmakers Handicap Hurdle where he runs Vintners Venture who ran too badly to be true at Roscommon last time and is worth another chance.

Another tight contest looks to be the Kelliher Group Handicap over seven furlongs where some hardened handicappers take each other on. One of the least battle hardened in the field is Pelmeny who won for Michael Kauntze last season and whose first effort for John Oxx was a promising third to Celebrity Style at Gowran.

Pelmeny should improve for that run and can beat the unexposed O'Brien animal Grass Roots.

Dermot Weld runs Look West in the last and this Pleasant Colony colt should relish the five furlong hike in trip from his debut.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column