Nap of the Day: Will the real Vitorio Piel please stand up?

The market told us that Wednesday's selection, In The Age for Dan Skelton, wasn't going to win and it was right. He finished a distant third after, in my view at least, failing to see out the trip on deep ground. I would give him another chance on a sounder surface.

Harsh conditions are once again expected at Punchestown on Thursday - if it even goes ahead - where the Nap of the Day is in action.

Clearly, there was a lot more expected of Emmet Mullins' VITORIO PIEL on hurdling debut at Punchestown last month.

The five-year-old son of Spanish Moon was backed into 8/13f in County Kildare but finished over 18 lengths off the pace in sixth of 13.

On the surface, a bitterly disappointing return. However, after reports his right-hind heel was struck into, forgiveness is easy to come by.

He's much better than he was able to show that day. That's evidenced by his emphatic bumper success on racecourse debut at the Punchestown Festival back in May.

The selection finished a comfortable six lengths clear of Martin Brassil's €160k recruit It's Only A Game, who was 12 lengths ahead of stablemate Ladbroke Grove. I can see that form working out nicely.

Afterwards, Mullins suggested the winner had been working particularly well at home, going on to call him a "fair bullet" for novice hurdles this season.

So, if you put a line through his last run, we're looking at a hugely exciting prospect in what looks a weak maiden hurdle.

That's perhaps a little harsh on Yeshil for Henry de Bromhead. The Simon Munir & Isaac Souede-owned son of Diamond Boy was runner-up for Stuart Crawford in the 2024 Goffs Defender Bumper at the Punchestown Festival and his eighth on debut for new connections, in a maiden at Leopardstown won by Supreme hero and Arkle favourite Kopek Des Bordes no less, isn't bad form.

That being said, he was beaten 21 lengths and the closest finisher to him, Don't Tell Jack for Joseph O'Brien, hasn't done much since. That was also 322 days ago and he's not been seen on a racecourse since, so he might need the outing.

Yeshil aside, it's modest fare and there'll be a lot of head scratching if Vitorio Piel is beaten by one of those at Punchestown on Wednesday.

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