Who To Follow At Down Royal On Friday

The first race of the day at Down Royal is the Maiden Hurdle that has seen the rise of some superstars over the years and we believe we have found another with Farouk D'alene for Gordon Elliott.

In March 2019 the gelding won a five runner point to point at Belclare by 18 lengths and was bought by Gigginstown House Stud for €260,000 and given to Elliott.

In December at Down Royal the youngster made his debut in a decent bumper and was just a class above the rest winning the 2m1f event by 18 lengths.

In February he then went to Naas for another bumper and in a different style he won the race, getting back up when headed to win by a head and that determination is what makes us think he will handle this extra distance today.

Elliott always has a superb record at Down Royal at this meeting and this year is no different with some superb chances across both Friday and Saturday.

Across the seven races the trainer has the favourite in almost every race and he will be looking to extend his excellent record at the track which has seen him have 11 winners and six places from just 43 runners, which gives him a strike rate of 25.58%.

Some of the horses that are being unleashed for another season include the unbeaten Envoi Allen, Supreme Novices' Hurdle second Abacadabras and exciting hurdle star Farouk D'alene.

The 21 year old rider fractured his left collarbone for a third time following a fall from Etincelle Lioterie in a novice hurdle at Limerick on October 11th and it was thought he would miss both meetings at Down Royal this weekend.

However, the 22 Grade One winning rider has made a sharp recovery and has managed to get back fit in just three weeks, which sees him riding for this meeting.

He sits on board all of Gordon Elliott's best chances across both the Friday and Saturday and if all their horses run to form he could come away with a huge number of winners.