The final grade one of day two is the Weatherbys Champion Bumper. The bumper was introduced in 1992, with Willie Mullins being the most successful trainer of the race with eleven wins. Mullins has trained three of the last five winners, but not as you might have expected. Kilcruit, Appreciate It and Carefully Selected were all beaten but went off as his number one selection. The progeny of super mare Quevaga, Facile Vega heads the market at 5/4 in places, but is followed close behind by the promising looking American Mike and Redemption Day. The bumper gets a bad rep sometimes, but this year it looks like a cracking race with a big three and some decent horses at the higher prices.

• Only two favourites have won the race in the last ten years – all our Facile Vega fans (including me) laugh nervously.
• The last four-year-old to win the race was Cue Card in 2010.
• Jamie Codd has ridden two of the last five winners.
• Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliot have trained the last five winners. Three for Willie and two for Gordon. As mentioned, all three of those for Willie were not his number one runner.
• Six of the last ten winners have had at least three runs – Facile Vega has two.
• Eight of the last ten winners have had a Racing Post rating of at least 138 – Redemption Day is rated 133 by the Racing Post.

Weatherbys Champion Bumper – 5:30pm March 16th

It will be a romantic occasion if Facile Vega can tank up the hill just like his mother did on six occasions. He is currently 5/4 but seems to be drifting back in the market after being hammered in after his win in the grade two Goff’s Future Stars race at Leopardstown on February 6th. He looked a real superstar that day as he quickened away lovely in the home straight, destroying some impressive horses like Sandor Clegane in the process. He won that race by 12L and the hype train that was already speeding along went into complete overdrive. The win mixed with his pedigree sent punters wild, if they hadn’t been going already. It was definitely the most impressive visual performance by any of the horses entered into this year’s bumper. I’m keen on him and so is Dan, but the stats above do plant a seed of doubt in my mind. The bumper is a wild race and with 24 runners, anything can happen. Willie wins the race with his second and third string more than with his captain. Both Kilcruit and Appreciate It won the Goffs Future Stars in 2021 and 2020 respectively and went on to lose the bumper in their subsequent race. Facile Vega will have to be a proper superstar to take down this grade one, with the level of competition in it, but I think that’s exactly what he is.

The big competition for Facile Vega and a mover and shaker in the market is American Mike. Currently at 9/4, moving in from 4/1 in the last two weeks, the Gordon Elliot trained prospect has been hammered in by every pundit on the preview circuit saying that, at the prices, he is a better bet than Facile Vega. He seems to have lost a little value, but he also has some impressive performances to his name. He romped home in Future Champions flat race in Navan in December. He won with ease and the time was very good. That performance got a big boost when second that day, Battling Bessie came second in a grade two mares race in Leopardstown in February. Connections have been raving about him and Jamie Codd is super sweet on him. He seems to be the big challenger to Facile Vega, but Willie still has some bullets left in chamber that can’t be ruled out.

When Patrick Mullins was interviewed after Facile Vega’s win outstanding in Leopardstown, he said that Redemption Day ‘is up there with him’. The Tim O’Driscoll owned five-year-old is currently at 4/1 after a lovely win in Leopardstown in December. He won on the bridle that day and has been kept fresh since then. While that win was very impressive, it’s hard to judge a horse too much off one run. The stats say that the more runs the better, but they also say that the outsider wins more than the favourite. He is also an exciting prospect and someone who certainly should be considered.

After that, there isn’t many horses that catch the eye, in respect to what they done compared to the big three. James’s Gate won well on debut and at 12/1 wouldn’t be out of the question for a place if you could get four places. Rachael Blackmore and Willie Mullins team up on Houlanbatordechais at 50/1 and its Rich and Susannah Ricci’s only runner in the race.

Weatherbys Champion Bumper

• Jack’s pick: Facile Vega 5/4.
• Dan’s pick: Facile Vega 5/4.

J.

Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

• Jack’s pick: Sir Gerhard/Dysart Dynamo. 9/4.
• Dan’s pick: Constitutional Hill (Nap of day one) 2/1.

Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase

• Jack’s pick: Haut En Couleurs 6/1 E/W.
• Dan’s pick: Edwardstone 2/1.

Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy

• Jack’s pick: Honeysuckle 1/2.
• Dan’s pick: Head to the Mill House Bar, order a pint of stout and give the mare a shout.

Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle

• Jack’s pick: Martello Sky: 10/1 E/W.
• Dan’s pick: Queen’s Brook 9/1 E/W.

Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle

• Jack’s pick: Sir Gerhard/Dysart Dynamo. 7/4 & 5/1.
• Dan’s pick: Sir Gerhard/Dysart Dynamo. 7/4 & 5/1.

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase

• Jack’s pick: L’Homme Presse 5/1. Beacon Edge E/W 16/1 if LHP doesn’t run.
• Dan’s pick: Bravemansgame 7/4.

Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase

• Jack’s pick: Shishkin 4/6.
• Dan’s pick: Shishkin 4/6.