The Jump Zone: Featuring The Racehour, Donn McClean & Tanya Stevenson
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Punchestown Festival Tips & Angles
- Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 3.40 at Punchestown (Tuesday) - Slade Steel
- Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 6.00 at Punchestown (Wednesday) - Watch House Cross (each-way)
- Donn McClean's Angle for the Champion Chase - 5.25 Punchestown (Tuesday)
- Donn McClean's Angle for the Gold Cup - 5.25 Punchestown (Wednesday)
- Racehour Tips for Punchestown from Cian Kirby
Welcome to the The Jump Zone which features tips and analysis from Racehour regulars Donn McClean, Cian Kirby & Tanya Stevenson for all the upcoming National Hunt action.
As always, you’ll find the most up-to-date odds with horse racing betting sites, but don’t sleep on our tipster’s predictions as those odds could soon be snapped up by the betting public. Odds stated are correct at the time of publishing.
Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 3.40 at Punchestown (Tuesday) - Slade Steel
The last time I went to Punchestown was 1989, sadly not this wonderful festival though. I was working for SIS and sending the prices across to the betting shops.
I feel so privileged this industry has given me so much and I’ve worn more hats than a millener could make!
So many great horses have run in my time and let's hope there are many more to witness.
Willie Mullins consistently sets his own milestones, he’s already won this Champion Novice Hurdle nine times. The first of which was only 16 years ago in 2009 with Hurricane Fly.
The last time the reigning Supreme Novice Hurdler won was in 2019 with Klassical Dream. So I know what’s up against my pick and the favourite Slade Steel.
His only defeat over hurdles came against the might of Ballyburn.
Yet, if you scour all the horses behind it, they include Absurde, Daddy Long Legs, and Boher Road, all of whom have won impressively since. And then he franked that form at Cheltenham.
He hasn’t run since, where some of his rivals have. Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore are in form and they have a big chance to win the first graded races of the week.
Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 3.40 at Punchestown (Tuesday) - Slade Steel
Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 6.00 at Punchestown (Wednesday) - Watch House Cross (each-way)
Here’s a horse that has plenty of room to manoeuvre on the handicap mark.
He has shown plenty of versatility with trip as well. Capable from two miles up to three miles and he ran a great trial for this at Cheltenham in the Trustatrader Plate.
His last two jumps were more novicey than they were tired. And he was still in contention at the second last but for those errors.
The gelding proved he travels well in a big field. In total he has just had 17 races, winning four, two of those over the bigger obstacles.
He has run at Punchestown before, in a novice hurdle where he was beaten 10 lengths by El Fabiolo.
Fast forward to this season and in October he was third to Sharjah in a Grade 3 at Tipperary, then an unheralded sixth in the Troytown Chase to Coko Beach and Limerick Lace.
He probably found the three miles at listed level too much, and against the likes of Meetingofthewaters a little harsh, but once again was bang there until three out.
This appears to be an ideal opening and opportunity and he could be value each-way.
Tanya Stevenson's Tip for the 6.00 at Punchestown (Wednesday) - Watch House Cross (each-way)
Donn McClean's Angles
Champion Chase - 5.25 Punchestown (Tuesday)
Banbridge has raced nine times on ground that has been officially described as yielding to soft or worse, and he has won just twice.
Those two wins were gained in a maiden hurdle and a novice hurdle, both races run on summer soft ground.
By contrast, he has raced 10 times on ground that has been officially described as yielding or better, and he has won seven times, two Grade 2 contests and one Grade 1 among those seven wins.
There is rain knocking around the Punchestown area these days, but it looks like the ground for the opening day of the Festival on Tuesday will be good to yielding or yielding or thereabouts, and that should be ideal for Banbridge and his prospects of landing the Champion Chase.
Joseph O’Brien’s horse looked good in winning the Silviniaco Conti Chase in February at Kempton on his debut this season, and he goes into Tuesday’s race fresher than most, having raced just twice this season.
He is dropping back down in trip to an extended two miles for the first time since February last year, but he is a pacey horse and his jumping off goodish ground is fast and accurate.
It is obviously a hot race, but he doesn’t have much to find with the top-rated horses in the race on official ratings, and the fitting of cheekpieces for the first time could elicit a little more improvement over the minimum trip.
Gold Cup - 5.25 Punchestown (Wednesday)
Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow are set to go toe-to-toe again in the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday, and it looks like Fastorslow may have been under-rated by the market again.
These two are old rivals, and you can understand why the market has put Galopin Des Champs in as favourite.
Willie Mullins’ horse is a supremely talented staying chaser, he is a dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner now, but Fastorslow won this race last year, and Martin Brassil’s horse again came out on top when they met in the John Durkan Chase earlier this season.
It was a real shame at the time that Fastorslow departed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before they had really started to race, we will never know how he would have fared, but, in the context of Wednesday’s race, it means that he was spared a hard race at Cheltenham.
He goes well at Punchestown, and it may be that he will have the measure of his old rival again on Wednesday.
Cian Kirby's Racehour Punchestown Selections
Champion Novice Chase 6.00 Punchestown (Tuesday) - Monty's Star @ 9/4
Henry De Bromhead has never won the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase but that could all change when Monty's Star lines up in the penultimate race on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday.
The Walk In The Park gelding was always going to make a better chaser than hurdler and despite only running three times this season he has looked very progressive with each run.
A seasonal debut third-placed finish at Fairyhouse was followed up with an easy five-length win over course and distance at Punchestown in December, where he reversed form with Three Card Brag.
Monty's Star found Fact To File too hot to handle in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham but that is the best form on offer and with low mileage on the clock, this looks like an ideal opportunity for him to bag his first Grade One success.
Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle 4.15 Punchestown (Wednesday) - Better Days Ahead (each-way) @ 6/1
A high-class field of eight runners go to post for the Grade One Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle and it looks like it will develop into a battle between Mullins and Elliot as they have the first five in the market with betting sites.
Dancing City heads the market and rightly so after his impressive Aintree victory but he has had two tough races in a row which may have left a mark.
Stellar Story was a shock winner of the Albert Bartlett and his from prior to that was patchy so he certainly has a question to answer if he can back that win up.
Better Days Ahead was an impressive winner of the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle and he can take the step up to graded company in his stride.
That race has been won by some top horses in the past such as Sir Des Champs, Don Poli, Banbridge, and Galopin Des Champs, with the latter going on to complete the same double Better Days Ahead will try and emulate.
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