Preview of Sunday's action at Naas Racecourse

The Jumps season returns to Naas this weekend with its first fixture of the Winter campaign with the highlight on Sunday’s eight-race card being the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase.

Racing at Naas gets underway at 11.50am with a novice handicap chase and rounds off with the mares bumper at 3.45pm over the two-mile trip.

Read below to discover the latest tips for Nass’s card on Sunday and a full meeting preview courtesy of BoyleSports, who offer the latest Irish horse racing odds throughout the season.

The opening contest on the card is off late in the morning on Sunday with ten runners tackling the 0-123 rated handicap chase at 11.50. The in-form trainer Henry de Bromhead can make a winning start to the card with Ballybrack Wood, a very promising and low-mileage six-year-old what landed a career-best when scoring at Tramore on debut over fences 31 days ago and is sent into handicaps for the first time off a lenient-looking mark. Of his rivals, Andys Flame for the John McConnell team rates the main danger, a very good fifth in a Cheltenham handicap at the Showcase Festival and this is a much less demanding assignment.

A field of 13 will head to the start for the two-mile maiden hurdle to mark race two on the Naas card (12.20). What is usually a very informative maiden going forward, Spasiba from the all-conquering Willie Mullins yard is fancied to strike having been a useful winner on the Flat and a good second for previous trainer Philip Enright on hurdles debut and now in the hands of the Closutton maestro, looks primed to kick on.

Race three of the meeting (12.50) is a small field novice hurdle as just four runners will head to the start and trainer De Bromhead can bring up a quickfire double on the day with Wonleg, a winner of a Roscommon contest 41 days ago and clearly has more to offer, while race four on Sunday (1.25) can go the way of Lieutenant Mayne for the McConnell yard, third in his sole points start last year and a subsequent winner of two of three bumpers earlier this season, now sent hurdling for the first time.

The Listed Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle marks race five on the day and plenty are in with a shout as 11 runners take on the two mile and four furlong trip around Naas (2.00). The Mark Fahey-trained Happy Jack is having an excellent season and last posted a fine second in a Gowran Park handicap so gets the nod ahead of The Busy Fool, back up in trip here after a fin win in a Tipperary handicap hurdle six months ago and returns for his season reappearance here.

Up next is the feature race of the day, the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase, at 2.35. A small field of five will take it on over the two miles but it is a field that is very high in quality. Top-class chaser Marine Nationale, winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham last year and among the favourites for this year’s Arkle, is very much the one to beat for trainer Barry Connell with just one blot on his resume and that was last time out in the Irish Arkle nine months ago. Course and distance winner Qulixios has been off for seven months but can’t be ruled out with the De Bromehead team in such good nick.

The penultimate race on the Naas card sees another field of five head to the start for the two-mile beginners chase (3.10) with the nod going the way of Farren Glory, who should be hard to beat on the back of a promising second at Wexford on chasing debut a fortnight ago and was the winner of the Grade 1 Royal Bond over hurdles last year at Fairyhouse, while the finale on the card (3.45) can go to the Declan Queally-trained Carrigmoornaspruce, a promising second in a Listowel bumper 44 days ago and is taken to go one better in this Flat contest.

Naas selections - Sunday 

11.50 - Ballybrack Wood 

12.20 - Spasiba 

12.50 - Wonleg 

1.25 - Lieutenant Mayne 

2.00 - Happy Jack 

2.35 - Marine Nationale 

3.10 - Farren Glory 

3.45 - Carrigmoornaspruce