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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

Bottler'secret set for Grade 1 assignment in Punchestown

Mon 29th Apr 2024, 08:52

Bottler'secret Bottler'secret
© Photo Healy Racing

Gavin Cromwell is looking forward to trying top-level company with Bottler'secret in the Grade 1 Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown on Saturday.

The Dragon Pulse gelding is two from two over timber and was an impressive winner in a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle at Fairyhouse over Easter.

Bot his wins have come on testing ground, but Cromwell is hoping he'll be adaptable if the ground comes up on the better side at the weekend.

"He has come out of Fairyhouse well and seems in good form,” said the Danestown handler.

"I'm looking forward to running him in the four-year-old hurdle on Saturday.

"When he handles dig in the ground so well, conditions could be different for him.

"On good ground on the Flat he might lack a gear, but over hurdles hopefully he should be okay."

The consistent Path D'oroux is another who could form part of the Cromwell team for the final festival of the National Hunt season.

The Coastal Path gelding was third in the Red Rum Handicap Chase at Aintree having also filled the same position in the Grand Annual at Cheltenham.

Cromwell said: "Hopefully, we will have a few with chances.

"There won't really be a whole lot from Cheltenham I don't think.

"Path D'oroux is a possible maybe. He has been very busy, but there is a race in him. He seems to have come out of Aintree well, he has been everywhere."

The seven-year-old gelding holds an entry in the Listed Frontline Security Handicap Steeplechase over an extended two miles at Punchestown on Thursday.

About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.