Sunday Racing Tips: D’Allier can lead them home at Fairyhouse

There’s a little something for everyone on Easter Sunday, with six meetings taking place across Britain and Ireland. We have four National Hunt fixtures, some Flat racing on the turf and an all-weather card to boot.

Cork gets us underway with a competitive eight-race card while Fairyhouse’s Easter Festival continues, with further meetings from Plumpton, Bath, Market Rasen and Southwell also on the agenda. We have three strong fancies to follow for our Sunday Racing Tips and they include a Willie Mullins runner in a graded novice event at Fairyhouse. The horse in question was an impressive winner when last seen and should take the step up in grade in his stride.

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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

14:40 Fairyhouse - Leader d’Allier @ 4/5

Willie Mullins is leaving it late to usurp Gordon Elliott at the top of the trainers’ championship in Ireland and he still has a deficit of around €400,000 to make up. He’ll be hoping for a successful Fairyhouse Easter Festival and LEADER D’ALLIER can help with that.

The French import was very useful in bumpers for previous connections and managed to win five of his six starts in that sphere. That included a Grade 3 success at Vichy on his final start for Mathieu Pitart back in July, where he recovered well from a slow start and stayed on.

He made his first start for Willie Mullins in a warm maiden hurdle at Leopardstown on Boxing Day and found only Ballyfad too good on that occasion.

The son of Cokoriko improved to win a Punchestown maiden hurdle by nine lengths after that and he’s ready for the step up in grade.

15:50 Fairyhouse - Oldschool Outlaw @ 7/4

Gordon Elliott looks well set to strike in the first of two Grade 1s on card at Fairyhouse. OLDSCHOOL OUTLAW is the clear and obvious candidate in the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle and she found only one too good at the Cheltenham Festival last time.

The winner, White Noise, got the run of the race that day but Elliott’s mare kept on well to finish second, despite not having the pace to catch her rival. It therefore seems likely that 2m4f can facilitate further improvement and there could well be more to come from her.

She beat Bambino Fever on her hurdling debut at Naas in December, proving stronger in the finish than her Champion Bumper-winning rival and there was no fluke about that victory. She was impressive when winning a Grade 3 next time out and it will take a smart one to beat her here.

16:05 Plumpton - Mondo Man @ 6/4

Gary & Josh Moore’s MONDO MAN was very smart on the Flat in his native France and he finished second in the Group 3 Prix La Force for Pia and Joakim Brandt and was a four-length fifth in the Prix Du Jockey Club on his next start.

He showed promise as a juvenile hurdler and was runner-up behind Lulamba on his first start for the yard, before finishing third by a length-and-a-half in a Grade 2 at Kempton.

Surprisingly he didn’t get off the mark until February but he did so in style in a course and distance maiden hurdle. His rivals couldn’t live with him that day and he drew further and further clear in the closing stages to score by 33 lengths.

After following up in the Imperial Cup last month, he has been hit with a 10lb rise but he looks capable of winning more races before the handicapper catches up.

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