The Grade 1 John Durkan Chase at Punchestown on Sunday has a stellar field of 10 declarations. We preview each runner here, alongside Betfair‘s new customer offer of £50 in Free Bets when you bet £10 on racing this weekend.
It was an exceptional performance by ALLAHO in the Ryanair Chase at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival. Very few horses have ever won an open Grade 1 so emphatically, let alone at the pinnacle meeting of jumps racing.
So powerful was his effort in that race that he was tried over two miles in the Punchestown Champion Chase. There was no disgrace in finishing second to stablemate Chacun Pour Soi in that race, especially as it ensures he returns up in trip for this contest.
He will almost certainly run a better race than 12 months ago when lost in the fog as the ground will likely be sounder than heavy. However, a word of caution must be sounded as he has never won his first race of the season.
Given Willie Mullins was toying with him running over two miles once again, he probably will be fitter this time around and it’s clear he now excels from the front. If he can apply those tactics, we know he will be difficult to pass. If he is on song.
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Racehorses become popular either for their brilliance, their looks, or occasionally, their reputation for mischief. More than anything, ASTERION FORLONGE falls into the latter category.
He often looked as though he’d take half the field off the track when fourth in the 2020 Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Festival. His tendency to jump right wasn’t totally cured over fences, although we didn’t get to see that on two occasions where he fell.
He has now completed on his last four starts and two big pluses for him are that he has won on both of his seasonal debuts and in both of his completed chases at Punchestown. The most recent of those saw him hack up in a novice handicap at the Punchestown Festival off top weight.
He’s Graded quality if he wants to be and these conditions suit him absolutely perfectly. He just has to stay on his feet to take advantage of them.
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A run of 11 starts unbeaten finally came to an acrimonious end at the Cheltenham Festival. As such, this season has turned into a redemption mission for ENVOI ALLEN.
That also owes to him having been pulled up lame at the Punchestown Festival, bit his avid fans will argue that neither of those two defeats should count for much. He returned in Grade 2 company at Down Royal recently and routed his opposition by 22 lengths on the bridle.
That the runner-up was rated only 90 owed to some of Envoi Allen’s more feted rivals underperforming. Nevertheless, this is a totally different proposition and we still don’t truly know how he will cope with this quality of race.
What we do know is that he’s never completed a race behind a rival and that does set a serious challenge for those against him. However, he is surely the wrong price given the class of some of his opposition here.
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So often a bridesmaid on the big occasion, FAKIR D’OUDAIRIES has begun to learn the winning habit in recent races.
He was a very easy winner of the Melling Chase at Aintree in April and beat some very useful rivals on return in the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase. That leaves him as the second highest-rated in this field and that should be a fair reflection of his ability.
He is still only a six-year-old, so should have room for improvement yet. He got closest to Allaho in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham too, but has a big advantage of race fitness over that horse today and should appreciate conditions.
Ultimately, he’s as reliable a performer in this lineup and there’s a lot to like about his chances.
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This will be the sixth Grade 1 in a row for FRANCO DE PORT so you cannot knock the company he’s been keeping. Nor can you challenge the results: he has won one of the five he’s contested so far and finished second in two others.
Although his victory came over only a little further than two miles, that owed to him staying on off a strong pace. More evidence that he would prefer a step up in trip came at the Cheltenham Festival where he was totally outpaced in the Arkle.
Thereafter, his best effort probably came at Fairyhouse’s Grade 1 Exchange Gold Cup Novice Chase when second to stablemate Janidil over 2m4f. He beat Asterion Forlonge that day and can clearly compete at this level, although he is one of the least likely winners here.
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JANIDIL was kept in Ireland last season, but he is a useful operator and, like most of this field, is a Grade 1 winner already.
That came at Fairyhouse at the expense of stablemates Franco De Port and Asterion Forlonge. His manner of victory was a shade cosy in the end as well; he was clearly superior on the day and 2m4f on yielding ground looks to suit him perfectly.
It will be interesting to see how he is campaigned, as his one notably poor performance came on heavy ground at Limerick on Boxing Day. A sounder surface at intermediate trips could be for him, albeit his Grade 1 is probably the weakest among those with wins at the top level.
He was soundly put in his place by Energumene at Punchestown over two miles at the end of the season and stepping into open company might bring about too many challenges for him for now.
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This is an interesting change of tack for KEMBOY, who has not raced over a trip this short for over three years.
In that time, he has won four Grade 1s over three miles, including Irish and Punchestown Gold Cups and a Betway Bowl at Aintree. The only course over which he has never consistently performed is Cheltenham, which will perhaps leave him perennially underrated.
That is certainly the case here, as he is generally a double-figure price for this contest despite having achieved far more than any other horse in this field. It was only earlier this year that he beat Gold Cup winner Minella Indo in the aforementioned Irish Gold Cup triumph.
Even over this trip, he is more trustworthy than a number in this field, including a couple of those ahead of him in the market and an each-way effort is not out of the question.
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It’s remarkable that MELON has only ever won four races, for he has been a genuine Grade 1 horse over hurdles and fences for five seasons.
Now entering his sixth, and his third over fences, last year was perhaps disappointing, especially in the way it tailed off. He simply couldn’t live with Allaho’s remorseless gallop in the Ryanair and was then pulled up relatively early in the Betway Bowl at Aintree. As such, there is now a soundness question attached to him as well as form.
That said, he was as close to his biggest ever win last season when a two-length third to A Plus Tard in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. Had he jumped more fluently on the run-in, he may just have had enough momentum to carry on in front.
Now a nine-year-old, he is no more likely to win at the highest level than before and this race looks really strong.
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The rank outsider, but probably the horse to have made more of a significant imprint on horse racing history than any in this field. Perhaps even more than any in recent years.
MINELLA TIMES was, of course, the horse who Rachael Blackmore rode to victory in the Grand National. As brilliant as that was, National experience would not be high on the list of credentials for this race.
He would certainly be unexposed in this company and he improved massively last season. A rating of 159 suggests he’s earned his place here. That said, Aintree will almost certainly be the plan again and a win here would be an almighty surprise.
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TORNADO FLYER ran five times last season and in four of those he achieved an RPR of over 160. Only when a non-stayer in the Savills Chase did that number drop below.
His best three efforts all came at this intermediate trip, including when second in the bizarre renewal last year shrouded by mist. How he really travelled is a mystery, but the bare result was excellent.
That was on heavy ground, but in running on to be third to Allaho in the Ryanair, he achieved more than ever before in his career. He’s also a good horse first time out, so he could make his presence felt even in this company. Another for whom conditions will not be better all season.
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Big Race Verdict
The two Cheveley Park runners, Allaho and Envoi Allen both have star potential beyond this field, but the former has never won first time out and the latter is facing by far his toughest test to date. As such, FAKIR D’OUDAIRIES and Asterion Forlonge appeal more, with slight preference for the former being more reliable and having had a run. Willie Mullins runs seven of the 10 runners, and Kemboy and Tornado Flyer would be decent each-way bets in what looks the highest quality race so far this season.
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