'He's a horse I've always thought a lot of' – find out what the trainers think in this hot handicap hurdle

Tounsivator's triumph in the Royal Bond was well and truly franked on Friday when Romeo Coolio, the horse he beat that day by two and a half lengths, bolted up in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle. That would suggest his current mark of 144 might underestimate him.

That was the last time Tounsivator was allowed to run as a novice, but he does have some strong handicap form in open company and went down by just a short head at the Galway festival off a mark of 129 in August. He's 15lb higher now, but is a much-improved model these days.

Gordon Elliott runs five in his quest to pick up the juicy winner's prize of €59,000 and surely the pick of his quintet is Sa Fureur, who is back to try to exploit a much lower hurdles mark after winning a Listed handicap chase at Navan in great style off a mark of 143.

His chase mark is now up to 152, so he must have huge claims here off a hurdles rating of just 133.

The Listed handicap hurdle from Naas last month could have a big bearing on the outcome here. On that occasion the Philip Rothwell-trained The Busy Fool made all under a well-judged ride from 7lb claimer Tiernan Power Roche and had three-quarters of a length to spare over Park Of Kings, who reopposes on better terms here (7lb better when you factor in Peter Smithers' claim). That could be enough to see that form reversed.

Of those at bigger prices, one who catches the eye down the bottom is Ms Agartha Yeats. She is unexposed and, given she has an RPR of 122 on her CV from Navan in November of last year, a mark of 120 here could be workable.

She is 3lb out of the handicap, but the fact Michael O'Sullivan is booked instead of a claimer suggests connections might not think she is too badly treated. She has an each-way squeak in a very open race.

'I feel we need to engage with the public and fans, and get people into the sport' - O'Sullivan is happy to put himself out there if it helps racing's cause

Michael O'Sullivan: interesting booking for Ms Agartha YeatsCredit: Patrick McCann

What they say

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Maxxum, Jigoro, Lucky Lyreen, Sa Fureur and Harsh
Sa Fureur looks to have a great chance. He's run really well on both occasions this season and I was delighted with the way he saw out his race over fences at Navan. I would say two and a half miles is his trip and he seems in good form since Navan. We're hopeful. Maxxum likes Leopardstown and has carried big weights to victory before. He's always dangerous, but it's a big ask giving so much weight away to good horses. Jigoro ran well the other day at Limerick and we'll see how he comes out of that. Lucky Lyreen is a talented horse but needs to bounce back from two poor runs. Harsh could have an each-way squeak. I thought he ran well at Fairyhouse and he's coming along nicely.

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Mr Percy and Comfort Zone
Comfort Zone ran well at Galway on his last start over hurdles and comes here in good shape. Mr Percy lacks experience, but he's unexposed and has a nice, progressive profile. It looks a competitive handicap but he could run a nice race here.

Philip Rothwell, trainer of The Busy Fool
He's a horse I've always thought a lot of and we've been nursing him along gently to allow him to have shots at races like this. He's got a nice racing weight and our horses have been running really well over Christmas. We might not be winning as many races as we would like, but we've had a whole host of seconds and they are all running nicely.

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