TODAY’S feature race is the Boodles Champion Hurdle and it’s wonderful to have Lossiemouth back here to cement her status as the best two-mile hurdler around.

She gave us all such a memorable day with her brilliant win in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle and is a very consistent performer — she has won 14 of her 18 starts, only finishing out of the first two placings when she fell at Leopardstown, in the 2025 Irish Champion Hurdle.

Lossiemouth has never been out of the first two when she has stood up and she has won an extraordinary 10 Grade Ones. 

She is simply a marvellous mare who will have the measure of these geldings and bar she underperforms for some unforeseen reason, she will win this today to crown her season for Paul Townend and champion trainer-elect, Willie Mullins.

Lossiemouth is back to cement her status as the best two-mile hurdler around

And from hurdling royalty we look to stars of the future in the other Grade One on today’s card, the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle (6.0) over two and a half miles.

We will turn again to the Mullins yard for the answer, as he holds all the aces here. It’s very difficult to look past King Rasko Grey, our friend from Cheltenham, given that he should appreciate these drier ground conditions and considering the authoritative manner of his win in the Turners.

The third horse that day, Zeus Power, subsequently won a Grade One at Aintree so the form looks strong. King Rasko Grey is the only choice for me here.

The QuinnBet Novice Handicap Chase, again over two and a half miles, is at 5.25. I like the chances of JP McManus’s second string, Raglan Road, for Henry de Bromhead, who has already had one winner here this week.

He won over this distance in Down Royal last time out and has been raised five pounds for that effort, but he met significant trouble in running that day and I thought he did well to win in the circumstances.

Jockey Harry Cobden is going to have a really big year in these colours next year when he takes over as No1 rider in McManus’s green and gold hoops, and it might just be a nice way to end this season with a victory here.

The Glencarraig Lady Mares’ Chase at 4.50 is a Grade Two over two and a half miles and I just have to go with Dinoblue here. She is a mare that I’ve never quite been able to give the credit to, but she deserves it now.

She is a 12-time winner who has back-to-back victories in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chases at the Cheltenham Festival and she was pretty much seamless there last time out when beating Only By Night in what looked a comfortable display.

Dinoblue is a nine-year-old now and has been around the block but she is nothing if not consistent and I think she can bring up a sequence of four wins in a row today.

The Hunters Chase is at 4.15 and I’m going to oppose likely favourite Its On The Line, who is the defending champion. In fact, Its On The Line has been ruler of all he surveys here, winning this race for each of the last four years.

My pick for this however is Wonderwall, who, while a little bit disappointing at Cheltenham back in March, was a winner at Dromahane last time and of course won at the Cheltenham Festival back in 2025.

Trained by Sam Curling, he’s a horse that will probably appreciate the drier ground conditions and I’m willing to forgive his lacklustre effort at Cheltenham because before that, his form was very strong.

So I’m going with Wonderwall for all the Oasis fans out there – with a bit of luck punters will be singing that before launching into a verse or two of Raglan Road later on!

The other race I’m going to offer a selection for is the Stables Restaurant Naas Bumper, at 7.40 as I’m a big fan of Martin Brassil’s Cityofblindinlites.

He did a lot wrong and showed his inexperience on his only start at Leopardstown, but of course the winner of that race, The Mourne Rambler, went on to win the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham before finishing second here earlier in the week in a Grade One.

On that Leopardstown form, Cityofblindinlites holds Heldam, who reopposes here today, and I’m hoping he will have learned a bit from that experience. If he races more professionally, Cityofblindinlites will be hard to beat in the Bumper.