Equinties - Punchestown day 3

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PUNCHESTOWN DAY 2 REVIEW

He’s just the king, isn’t he?

No, we’re not talking about the RacingBlogger, we’re talking about GALOPIN DES CHAMPS.

At a track that has never been his favourite, GDC won his first Punchestown Gold Cup, and boy he was impressive!

He looked a completely different animal to the one that finished second to INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN in the Gold Cup, which is actually quite scary. He was still good at Cheltenham, but he wasn’t good enough. Yesterday, he was very good.

Yes, he maybe got a freebie, but he travelled better and jumped better, which was surprising on a quick surface.

As if his legacy needed solidifying anymore, yesterday really did help. He put the Punchestown curse aside, he put the Gold Cup loss behind him, and he did it well.

He’s just a brilliant horse.

What else from the day?

Well, JASMIN DE VAUX did well to win the Grade 1 3m novice hurdle. Actually, Paul Townend did well considering he lost his irons.

He still needs to sharpen his jumping up next year, that’s clear, but if there is one to take out of the race, it could be the third, FLEUR IN THE PARK. He’s had a busy year, yet he still put in a performance like a fresh horse yesterday. He did a lot right, but he was just beaten by two nice horses. Over fences next season, he could be dangerous, especially with his mark of 135 (though this could be altered).

Oh, and the form that surrounds BAMINO FEVER looks red-hot. SWITCH FROM DIESEL keeps running big races, and CARRIGMOORNASPRUCE, a horse who finished third to BAMBINO FEVER at the DRF, won the concluding Grade 3 mares’ bumper.
BAMBINO FEVER is 3/1 for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival following yesterday’s Grade 1 success.

PUNCHESTOWN DAY 3

17.25 2M GRADE 1 NOVICE CHASE

Can MAJBOROUGH bounce back from the Arkle?

He ran a fine race at Cheltenham considering he’s only five and he belted a few fences. He tried to run the race out of his opponents in the Arkle, so when he made a bad mistake at the second-last, he was always going to be up against it.

He was considered the banker of the Festival for many, so he shouldn’t be discounted for losing, though he will need to sharpen up over his obstacles for that what the reason he lost.

ONLY BY NIGHT was ahead of MAJBOROUGH in the Arkle, and she gets 7lbs for being a mare. She looked like the winner for a while during the Arkle before JANGO BAIE flew past her at the end, so on that bare form, she has a chance. However, she’s been a non-runner due to good ground before, and her best form seems to be on softer ground. That isn’t something you want in a horse ahead of Punchestown.

RUBAUD was poor at Aintree, but he does like nice ground, so he should get his conditions. He received weight from BOOMBAWN and MARK OF GOLD when he won the Grade 2 Pendil Novices’ Chase, and he just got home that day. Back to two miles should suit, but based on his Kempton win, he probably needs to find 7lbs.

BROOKIE is interesting for Anthony Honeyball. The shrewd trainer ruined his very lenient mark of 135 when finishing second to KALIF DU BERLAIS in the Grade 1 Maghull Novices’ Chase, so he has to try races like this, but Honeyball seems to think he is smart enough to try these races in the first place.

Furthermore, he bolted up at Donny on good ground in March, and he put two lengths between himself and L’EAU DU SUD at Aintree. MAJBOROUGH and ONLY BY NIGHT were only three-quarters of a length ahead of L’EAU DU SUD in the Arkle, so on that form, he could be bang there. 

Honeyball is also 3 from 22 at Punchestown all-time. That gives a nice nod to his other runners this week, notably GABRIEL’S GETAWAY in the 15:05.

JEANNOT LAPIN is a big horse. Scratch that, he’s a very big horse.

And yet, he won at Leopardstown on good to yielding, and he was second to CHAMP KIELY on heavy at Navan, a piece of form that was boosted on the first day of the Punchestown Festival. He has 18 lengths to find with MAJBOROUGH based on their Leopardstown clash at Christmas, but he’s only six and could still be improving.

JESSE EVANS completes the field. He’s a fine horse who has some nice form over hurdles in the book. With his good form at Galway in the book, he could be working back from the Galway Festival. There’s a 2m2f handicap chase at the meeting in late July, so that could be for him

Verdict: No bets at Punchestown for a third day but we’ll be cheering on Honeyball in this. Good man for giving it a go.

18.00 GRADE 1 CHAMPION STAYERS HURDLE

The same Stayers’ Hurdle horses are taking on each other, with a few extra faces to chuck in there as well.

Let’s start with TEAHUPOO. He was fourth in this race two years ago, but he comfortably won this last year. That came on yielding, and while he would prefer softer ground, he should be able to handle it.

TEAHUPOO on nice ground is probably 5lbs below his best, and the Stayers’ was just not run to his preference lto. If you like him, 2/1 isn’t bad.

Speaking of ‘race not run to suit’, the same could be said for ROCKY’S DIAMOND in the Stayers’. He probably just did a bit too much in front on his first start at Cheltenham, and that caught up to him late on. Still, he finished fourth, and he could appreciate being back on a right-handed track.

HIDDENVALLEY LAKE gives owners Robcour a good hand in this race, and he arrives here on the back of a Grade 1 win in the Liverpool Hurdle.

It probably wasn’t the greatest Grade 1 lto, but he still powered away nicely, and that’s now three times he’s gone well on decent ground.

He’s fairly fresh with just the three runs this season. Interesting.

CRAMBO was ahead of HIDDENVALLEY LAKE in the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle at Christmas, though over the last two seasons, he has reserved his winning for Ascot in the Long Walk.

He’s been poor elsewhere, but returning to a right-handed track could work for him, and the first-time cheekpieces go on. He’s actually unbeaten in six races when going right-handed (cool stat), and he has no issue on better ground. He arrives here after a bad fall in the Stayers’.

ASTERION FORLONGE was second in this race last year and he is the choice of Paul Townend. When the options are him or WINTER FOG, that almost says enough. He has the ability to run a nice race, but he’s 11 and probably wouldn’t mind a bit of cut.

HOME BY THE LEE was hampered by CRAMBO when unseating in the Stayers’ though he was poor in Liverpool on his next start. He was a fast-finishing third in this race last year, so he’s not ruled out. Fifth run of the season.

Of the rest, it’s interesting to see WINTER FOG stepping back up to three miles. His form over two miles with BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD, STATE MAN, GOLDEN ACE, and DADDY LONG LEGS is pretty decent, and he has tried this distance before. He finished second in a Leopardstown handicap hurdle off 128 over three miles in December 2021, and he also won a conditions hurdle over three miles at Cork in July 2023. Big price.

Verdict: we haven’t liked this division for a while as it’s a low level one and quite often, the big boys are no shows. The books can’t give TEAHUPOO away today so for this verdict we’ll cheer on the raiders again and side with Fergal O’Brien’s CRAMBO!

RISK ON

No bets yesterday… no bets today as of yet. If there is one we’ll post it on X @equinties

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