4.50 2m. 87yds. 21 Declared. Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1 ) of £80,000.00 4-y-o
1st - €45,016.00 2nd - €16,960.00 3rd - €8,488.00 4th - €4,240.00 5th - €2,128.00 6th - €1,064.00 7th - €528.00 8th - €272.00
Formscan - It is surprising that Willie Mullins is yet to win this contest, especially given his record with unexposed hurdlers at this meeting, but the Closutton maestro may have found the one to break his hoodoo in TEKAO. Third on his Irish debut behind a subsequent dual-Grade 2 winner in Comfort Zone at Navan, he improved to shed the maiden tag at Leopardstown over Christmas before running with plenty of credit behind Gala Marceau and Lossiemouth at the Dublin Racing Festival, having held a strong chance turning for home. The hood used last time is retained and a mark of 135 appears to be more than fair. Sir Allen won at Naas last month in a race that has thrown up the winner of this in three of the last four years. He commands plenty of respect along with Byker (third), who sports cheekpieces for the first time, and Metamorpheus (fifth), who were in behind on that occasion. Others worth noting are Punta Del Este, who shaped well on his UK debut at Haydock, and Perseus Way, who has mixed it with some of the better juveniles and may improve for this scenario, having won a big-field handicap on the Flat at Newbury in September.