Tramore, Monday 20 April 2026: Tips & Analysis

Tramore, Monday 20 April 2026: Tips & Analysis

A bank holiday Monday card at Tramore, and yielding ground sets the stage for a competitive eight-race programme on the Waterford coast. The day is dominated by beginners chase action and a pair of maiden hurdle divisions that are wide-open affairs. Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott both have runners, but the prices at the top of the market are not always the place to be on a card like this. Here is where the value sits.

6:42 — O'Driscolls Irish Whiskey Beginners Chase (2m5½f)

Thirteen runners in a beginners chase is a big field and a proper puzzle. Several of these are making their fencing debuts, which adds another layer of uncertainty.

Drop A Threat (Paul Townend, 7/4 William Hill/Boyle Sports) is the Mullins entry and commands obvious respect. He was a wide-margin point winner, Townend takes the ride, and the yard has had seven winners from 57 runners over the past fortnight, which represents decent strike rate. The hurdles form counts for little, but he was a natural over banks in the pointing field and the switch to fences may well unlock him. The price is short for an unproven chaser, but the profile is solid enough.

Gunnery Sergeant (Jack Kennedy, 3/1 Bet365/William Hill) is the Elliott yard's hope and the market makes this a two-horse race between the big stables. Kennedy's association with the yard speaks for itself, but the form figures of 4-7022 over hurdles are modest at best.

The angle worth taking at bigger odds is Faceman Each-Way (Cian Quirke, 10/1 William Hill/Unibet/Quinn Bet). Two hurdle wins last year, one of them at this very track on good ground, and he is out of the legendary Solerina, a mare who has produced jump winners consistently. He is rated 110, which is perfectly respectable for a beginners chase field of this nature, and a course winner here carries real significance at Tramore, a quirky, tight circuit that catches out horses who do not handle it. The David Harry Kelly yard has been quiet lately but this horse has the profile to outrun 10/1 on his fencing debut.

Selection: Faceman each-way at 10/1

4:42 — Maiden Hurdle Division I (2m½f, 17 runners)

Seventeen runners over two miles on yielding ground. Wide open on paper, though the market has already told you who to look at.

Hey Now (Mark Walsh, 3/1 William Hill) is respected. He showed solid form in a Naas bumper and built on that at Clonmel on his hurdles debut last month. Mark Walsh does not pick up spare rides without reason. That said, 3/1 in a 17-runner maiden with limited form on the clock is not the most compelling price.

The selection here is Le Tatoue Madrik Each-Way (Keith Donoghue, 7/1 William Hill). Gavin Cromwell has been in fine form over the past fortnight, five winners from 44 runners, and this horse looks to be the yard's first-string pick in the division. He was third at Fairyhouse in February on his best hurdle run, and cheekpieces have been added for the first time today. That addition from Cromwell is a deliberate move, not routine. Donoghue is a sharp jockey who knows the yard well. In a big-field maiden at 7/1, the each-way case is real.

Selection: Le Tatoue Madrik each-way at 7/1

5:12 — Maiden Hurdle Division II (2m½f, 16 runners)

The second division is equally open, but a couple of runners deserve closer inspection.

Le Questionnaire (Jack Kennedy, 6/1 Bet365/William Hill) was placed in both point starts in the UK and represents Gordon Elliott, a yard that is very much firing at the moment. The Fairyhouse hurdles debut was modest, but he was beaten a long way and the step to a smaller, sharper track at Tramore can suit horses who need a different test. Kennedy's presence is the biggest clue that Elliott thinks this horse is capable of better.

Lord Lackendarra (Dylan Whelan, 17/2 Bet365/William Hill) is worth a mention. He has run ten bumpers without winning but was not beaten far in several of them, including at this track. He unseated at the first on his hurdles debut last October but that is forgivable, and returning to Tramore where he has shown form is an obvious positive. The P J Breen yard has no recent record to go on, which is the risk, but the course form angle is genuine.

The selection is Le Questionnaire Each-Way at 6/1 with Bet365. The Elliott/Kennedy combination alone warrants respect, and the form from pointing is better than his hurdles debut suggested. In a 16-runner maiden, six places being paid would strengthen the each-way case further, but even at three places the price has appeal.

Selection: Le Questionnaire each-way at 6/1

Today's NAP