Horse Racing: Craig Levein hoping Degas Art can score at Perth

CRAIG Levein has a leg of Lucinda Russell’s admirable chaser Degas Art, and the Scotland football manager and his co-owners are fancied to taste more success on the second day of the Perth Festival.

Degas Art chalked up two wins in 2011, the second of them at Perth, and he has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks. A victory at Kelso last month was swiftly followed by another at Carlisle and he returned to that same Cumbrian venue to make it a hat-trick of wins on 7 April. In such form, it should pay to stick with the son of Danehill Dancer and he can bring up a four-timer at Scone today in the Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer Handicap Chase, although he will have to up his game again as he steps out of his novice company.

Mesanwhile, day two of the Punchestown Festival eventually got under way later than anticipated and minus two scheduled races over fences yesterday, with an 8am inspection already called for today’s action

The County Kildare track had been bracing itself for a wet week and the situation was bleak heading into the second day. With lashing rain and strong winds causing officials serious cause for concern, the decision was made early in the afternoon that neither thetote.com Punchestown Gold Cup or the Guinness Handicap Chase would be able to take place as the chase track was deemed unraceable.

Both of those high-profile chases have been rescheduled to be run on Saturday’s card, with the Gold Cup given an off time of 4.25pm and the Guinness Handicap Chase scheduled for 5pm.