It’s possible that the step up to three miles will show Blow By Blow in a better light than at Fairyhouse, but I argued there that he was overrated on his standout effort at Cheltenham, and my opinion hasn’t changed.
In fact, the fact he ran well without troubling the judge seems to confirm that he’s a Grade 2/3 horse who looks a little outmatched at the highest level.
I’d recommend once more laying him for a place.
Bellshill ran a cracker in the Irish Grand National and certainly shaped better than his demoted fifth placing would suggest. On the other hand, that contest was absolutely brutal, with all the principals finishing very tired.
If Bellshill can run the same race here he would hold a sound chance, but that must be in doubt given the gruelling nature of his most recent run.
I’d not judge him harshly if he spat the dummy out here, and he looks a solid place lay with plenty of depth to this contest.
Blackbow might have finished closer if he’d settled at Cheltenham, but as we saw with Getabird on Tuesday, a growing tendency to pull hard is not easy to forgive, and I suspect he will be hard to settle again.
It’s not like his previous form was better than that shown by stablemates Relegate, Carefully Selected and Tornado Flyer, who filled the first three places at Cheltenham, and I would fancy the top pair to beat him again, all things considered.
Felix Desjy is another with little to find, and the feeling is that quotes of around 4.0 about Blackbow are much too short.
