The Mandarin’s Sunday Selections for 9th March 2025

The Mandarin’s Sunday Selections from Naas

Bar One Racing “100% Acca Boosts On Self-Service Bet Terminals” Kingsfurze Novice Hurdle (Grade 3) 2.40
Pleasington (nap)
British raider Pleasington makes plenty of appeal for this Grade 3 contest. Olly Murphy’s lightly raced Shantou gelding has stepped up a notch this season, winning a maiden at Leicester and a Novices’ Hurdle at Lingfield by an aggregate of 20 Lengths in his last couple of runs. Bypassing Cheltenham and making the trip over to Naas suggests the travel is worthwhile for a try at a Black Type contest, so the hat-trick seeking Pleasington is preferred to the Willie Mullins pair of Belloccio and Gaucher, while Gordon Elliott’s Relieved Of Duties needs to bounce back from an underwhelming run in a Listed Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown last month. John McConnell’s Cloonainra may prove to be the biggest danger, but with conditions to suit, Pleasington gets the vote to make it a 2025 hat-trick.

Bar One Racing “Guaranteed Overnight Prices” Beginners Chase 4.12
Olympic Man
Despite some chancy jumping in two starts over fences to date, it’s worth giving Olympic Man another chance over fences. Danny Mullins is back in the saddle, and will be hoping to get Olympic Man into a better rhythm to address those jumping issues. Henry de Bromhead’s Foxy Girl was put into a Rated Novice Chase on her introduction to fences, so this is certainly an ease in grade, while Gavin Cromwell’s Ballysax Hank also has something to prove on his first try chasing. Olympic Man is surely good enough to win this sort of race, especially with some more assured fencing under Danny Mullins.

Bar One Racing Leinster National Handicap Chase (Listed) 4.45
Tyre Kicker (nb)
Although Gavin Cromwell’s Tyre Kicker only ran just seven days ago, he’s given another chance here to win at this extended trip. To be fair to him, he looked all the way the danger to winner Monbeg Park, before that rival ran across him one out, never giving the selection any passage at all, so with a better slice of luck, Tyre Kicker can make amends. Kinturk Kalanisi put in a decent shift to chase home Three Card Brag in a Beginners Chase at Navan the last day, and Tom Gibney’s unexposed chaser looks to be on a good mark with Anna McGuinness’s 7lb claim adding to the case for.Ted Walsh’s Any Second Now is entering the veteran stage now, so Martin Brassil’s Panda Boy is the best of the rest, but Tyre Kicker has a good chance here.

The Mandarin