Beroni

22-Nov-2009

Beroni has a lot in his favour, and he is well over-priced in my book at 12/1. Willie Mullins inherited this fellow from the now-retired Michael O’Brien, and there are few better at finding improvement in new recruits than Willie Mullins …

Beroni was a progressive novice chaser for O’Brien last season, finishing third to Blueberry Boy in a good handicap at the Punchestown Festival off a mark of 118 on his last outing. On his only start since, his first for Mullins and his seasonal debut, he ran out a nice winner of a two-and-three-quarter-mile handicap hurdle at Galway on soft ground at the end of last month …

Beroni had a nice progressive profile towards the end of last season, he has run just six times over fences to date, he is only seven, and he gets to race off a mark today that is just 1lb higher than the mark off which he raced at Punchestown in April. He handles the ground, he has every chance of staying the distance, he has a lovely racing weight of 10st 7lb and he has Paul Townend for company. All looks set for a big run ...

It is a slight concern that Ruby Walsh seems to prefer Polmar (although Willie Mullins has said this morning that Ruby didn’t mind which one he rode) but, although he is a year younger, he doesn’t appear to have the same scope for progression as Beroni has. Townend is top class, and Ruby’s absence has probably added a point or two to Beroni’s odds …

BERONI WON (ADV 12/1, SP 7/1)

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