Troytown Chase tips: 28-1 chance on the Glory trail

Andy Stephens suggests how to bet £20 on the feature race at Navan on Sunday, live on Racing TV. And click here for our video on the Navan Gallops Morning.

Eighteen runners have been declared for the BAR 1 Betting Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan on Sunday and half them are trained by Gordon Elliott.

The Grade Three contest has been dominated by Elliott since 2014, with the trainer taking the spoils on seven occasions. And an eighth success this weekend may be looming.

Here’s how I would bet £20 on the €60,000 contest.

SEARCH FOR GLORY

RaceiQ Jump Index: 7.5 Odds: 28-1.

So close, yet so far: Search For Glory made a bold bid in the Ultima

Four of Elliott’s seven Troytown winners have been ridden by conditional jockeys, while claimers have upstaged their more senior weighing-room colleagues in the past three editions. Indeed, they rode the first three home in 2023; and the first two 12 months ago.

Search For Glory will be partnered by 3lb claimer James Smith, and when trying to weigh up Elliott jockey bookings it is worth keeping in mind this will be the fifth time they have teamed up in the past year.

The combination might well have won the Ultima at Cheltenham in March but for going their separate ways at the final fence. That left the way clear for Johnnywho, Jagwar and Quebecois to fight out the finish, with the winner going on to finish a fine fourth in the Grand National. It’s a strong piece of form that puts him firmly in the picture here.

Search For A Glory subsequently disappointed in the Irish National but was almost certainly past his best for the year. His Cheltenham run was not a one-off as he had previously been runner-up in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas.

The nine-year-old, one of six Gigginstown House Stud challengers, lacks a recent run and made no impact on his comeback in this race last year, but conditions were bottomless and he was minus the blinkers he’s worn ever since. His overall record when fresh is encouraging, given he had previously won first time out three campaigns in a row.

Bet365 make him a standout 28-1, and a general 25-1 elsewhere. He’s worth an each-way play with five places on offer.

Suggested bet: £2 win and £5 each-way at the 28-1 on offer with bet365 (five places).

THE ENABLER

RaceiQ Jump Index: 7.5 Odds: 11-2.

The Enabler, like Search For Glory, is another Elliott-trained contender owned by Gigginstown and is disputing favouritism with stablemate The Wallpark.

The latter is able to run off a mark 13lb lower than his hurdle rating and is being equipped with first-time cheekpieces with Jack Kennedy in the plate. However, RaceiQ rate him the most inefficient jumper in the field, with the eight-year-old having lost 70 lengths with his jumping in his first six starts over fences.

By contrast, The Enabler is a solid jumper who remains unexposed over fences, having had only six starts over the bigger obstacles.

And he’s already hinted he has a big staying handicap chase in him, having finished sixth in the Fulke Walwyn & Kim Muir Chase before being third in the Irish National.

He did not seem to quite get home in either race after travelling strongly. His Finishing Speed Percentage at Cheltenham, for example, was only tenth best, and at Fairyhouse his final furlong was more than 3sec slower than the winner after he had been only 0.23sec slower than him over the previous two furlongs.

The return to 3m promises to suit and, if nothing else, he looks a much safer proposition than The Wallpark 

Suggested bet: £3.10 win on The Enabler at 11-2. Effectively a saver. We get our money back, at the least, if he wins.

KINTURK KALANISI

RaceiQ Jump Index: 7.5 Odds: 12-1

Kinturk Kalanisi has been on my radar since early last year when he split Three Card Brag and Captain Cody in a beginners’ chase here at Navan, with Now Is The Hour back in fourth.

He was travelling strongly when unseating his rider two out in the Leinster National (trading about 11-8 in-running at the time) and also ran well for a long way in the Irish National only to be betrayed by a lack of stamina.

He picked up from where he left off at the start of last season when an eye-catching third in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown but then the wheels fell off. He was found to have bled when disappointing next time before signing off with subdued efforts at Naas and Punchestown.

Having slipped another 2lb in the ratings, he is too well-handicapped to ignore returning from a break, and 7lb claimer Harry Sexton is back aboard him for the first time since the Paddy Power. He finished a length-and-a-quarter behind Search For Glory that day and is now effectively 10lb better off.

Suggested bet: £2.45 each-way of Kinturk Kalanisi at 12-1 (five places).

Racing TV encourages responsible gambling - to find out more click here to head to our dedicated website page.

How RaceiQ's Jump Index works

RaceiQ: Lengths Gained Jumping