Naas Betting Tips: Back Flyer at 7/4 In Grade 1 Battle

Martin Pennington

January 3rd, 2019

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Quick Tips

• Back Tornado Flyer to Win at 7/4 with Coral
• Back Come To Me Each-Way at 8/1 with Paddy Power

Unbeaten hurdlers Tornado Flyer and Battleoverdoyen look set to clash for the first time in Sunday's Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.

The 2m4f Grade 1 has attracted a plethora of stars from trainers Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, their emerging stars vying for favouritism in the Naas Novice Hurdle betting, each quoted odds no bigger than 7/4.

Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle Details

The Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 registered as the Slaney Novice Hurdle and run at Naas since 1983. It's worth €90,000 and its winner almost always goes on to contest a Cheltenham Festival novices' hurdle.

Last year's winner Next Destination was third to Samcro in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle and went on to win another Grade 1 at the Punchestown festival.

The Case For Tornado Flyer

Trainer Willie Mullins has won six of the last eight Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdles, with only Death Duty’s 2017 victory for Gordon Elliott stopping him winning the last five.

Mullins star this time is Grade 1 bumper winner Tornado Flyer, who won his maiden hurdle on good ground over 2m4f at Punchestown last month. A notable feature of that effort was the six-year-old's tendency to jump left, which was emphasised by Punchestown being right-handed. Naas is left-handed should suit better.

The form of that win looks decent, with the well-held fifth Cuneo winning a handicap hurdle at Leopardstown off a mark of 126 next time out, and the seventh, Press Conference, scoring in maiden company.

Tornado Flyer has proven his stamina and wouldn’t be inconvenienced by any easing in the ground from the current ground description of good-to-yielding. He looks by far the best bet.

>> Back Tornado Flyer to Win at 7/4 with Coral

Is There Another Bet?

Battleoverdoyen (7/4 Paddy Power) comes into the Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle with a lofty reputation, having gone unbeaten in a point-to-point, bumper and maiden hurdle. However, the form of his maiden hurdle success could be working out better, with a couple of those in behind disappointing subsequently.

A better bet looks to be another Mullins-trained runner Come To Me (8/1 Paddy Power), who won a Punchestown bumper in 2016 then missed the whole of 2017. He arguably should have finished closer than sixth on his return to action last May.

Making his hurdles debut over 2m at Punchestown, he met trouble in running late on, but after a summer break, the seven-year-old made no mistakes when easily winning a 2m maiden on soft to heavy at Cork.

“Come To Me was still quite green through the race, Paul [Townend, jockey] said he can only improve," assistant trainer David Casey told the Racing Post. "He can go on to better things and he will have learned plenty from that.”

Some will say he was lucky to have been left well clear by the fall of Presented Well two hurdles from home, but it was hard not to be impressed with the performance and with the faller winning subsequently, in addition to the 17-lengths second placing, the form stacks up.

The way in which Come To Me stayed on suggests that this step up from 2m to 2m4f will suit, and he looks a solid each-way bet.

>> Back Come To Me Each-Way at 8/1 with Paddy Power