The 2022 Punchestown Festival has already treated us to three days of top-class action, and Day Four is now the focus of our Racing Editor, who has selections through the card – including in the feature Champion Hurdle. Check out his thoughts below, with selections available to back via Paddy Power, who are offering new customers an excellent sign-up bonus of £45 In Free Bets, when they place a single £10 bet on racing.
ALPHA MALE – (3:40pm, Stanley Asphalt Hunters Chase for the Bishopscourt Cup)
Day Four’s opener is the notoriously tricky Bishopscourt Cup Hunters Chase, but on paper at least, this really should be all about the top two in the market here – with ALPHA MALE favoured to get the better of An Droichead Gorm.
The latter has been sparsely raced in recent years but prepped for this with a victory under the flags at Monksgrange and there have been winners come out of that race since.
He may just lack the experience of Peter Maher’s charge, however, who absolutely bolted up in this race in 2018. Alpha Male has failed to add to that victory in his 14 starts since, but he’s looked somewhat unfortunate to bump into useful rivals in the last two renewals of this event, and with this likely to have been his seasonal aim once again, can be backed to belatedly get his head back in front.
Barry O’Neill gets a good tune out of this lad, and he should be staying on when others in the field have long cried enough.
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FRENCH DYNAMITE – (4:15pm, EMS Copiers Novice Handicap Chase)
Willie Mullins and Jessica Harrington have taken the last eight renewals of this event between them, and with the latter not represented in 2022, it is Mullins who aims to keep that run going.
Both Fighter Allen and Blue Sari represent the Champion Trainer here, but neither runner has the most convincing profile, with them ironically both disappointing in the same race at last year’s Punchestown Festival.
Mullins, therefore, may stand the best chance here with his lesser fancied El Barra, who has some classy early-season form to his name behind stablemates Blue Lord and Saint Sam. A winner at the Festival 12 months prior, he shouldn’t be dismissed with top claimer Jack Foley doing the steering, but may just lack the class of Mouse Morris’s FRENCH DYNAMITE.
This Robcour owned 7yo has some top-class hurdling form to his name which includes a fourth in the Grade 1 Champion Stayers Hurdle at this meeting. Sent chasing subsequently, French Dynamite has won two of his four starts in this sphere, accounting for hot favourite Ciel De Neige in a Thurles Grade 3 last month.
That win came over 2m2f, but that’s a long way short of French Dynamite’s optimum, and he’ll be far better suited by going back up in trip on ground that he appreciates. A chase mark of 144 is 3lb below his hurdles rating, and he clearly goes well here at Punchestown, so it’d be no shock to see him prove a class apart in this line-up.
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ELIMAY – (4:50pm, Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase)
It was heart in the mouth moment for ELIMAY backers at last month’s Cheltenham Festival where the mare just about got up to land the Grade 2 Mares’ Chase, having looked like a desperately unlucky loser in the same event 12 months prior.
On bare weights and measurements, Scarlet And Dove should be expected to reverse that form here, meeting JP McManus’s grey on 3lb better terms, but Elimay was going away at the line and therefore the additional yardage in prospect here looks likely to see her confirm that Cheltenham form.
Mark Walsh’s mount has a cracking record in chases against her own sex (6-9) and the last time she stepped out of mares only company she got to within 3l of her exceptional stablemate Allaho.
All ground seems to come alike to Elimay, and spring appears to be the time to catch her, so there’s plenty in her favour this afternoon.
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HONEYSUCKLE – (5:25pm, Paddy Power Champion Hurdle)
Not the clash with Constitution Hill that many of us had hoped to witness, but still a chance to see Kenny Alexander’s HONEYSUCKLE take to the track here in a bid to maintain her incredible unbeaten record.
She made it a sweet 15 from 15 under rules with victory in last month’s Champion Hurdle, and that form’s already received a healthy boost courtesy of the runner-up Epatante’s wide-margin Aintree win.
Honeysuckle admittedly didn’t look quite at her best when landing this prize last year, but she had a smart rival to contend with there in Sharjah and with respect to her opponents lining up here, they are not up to that level. So, receiving 7lb it would be a big shock to see anything but Honeysuckle leaving Punchestown with another win to her name.
A bad mistake three-out ended whatever little chance Adagio had in the Champion Hurdle, but if he cuts out the errors today and improves for the addition of cheekpieces it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see him chase the favourite home.
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STATE MAN – (6:00pm, Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle)
A fine race this, albeit it may prove one too many for Three Stripe Life, who has endured tough races at the Dublin, Cheltenham, and Aintree Festivals the last thrice.
Flame Bearer has enjoyed an excellent season for Tipperary-based Pat Doyle, but this requires a further step up against two above-average Willie Mullins recruits, and it may just prove a bridge too far at this stage.
Last year’s bumper Champion Kilcruit should appreciate the return to Punchestown, and having failed to live up with the relentless early pace in last month’s Supreme could revert to prominent tactics back in slightly calmer waters here.
That could set things up for his strong-travelling stablemate STATE MAN, however, who has always been well regarded by connections and showed that support to be merited with a cosy win in the County Hurdle last time out.
It was very impressive to see such an inexperienced horse handle the hustle and bustle of a big-field handicap on Gold Cup Day quite as well as State Man did there, and in truth, it was the showing of one destined for greater things. Jockey Paul Townend retains the partnership here, and with the additional yardage not expected to pose any issues, this looks like State Man’s race for the taking.
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BILLAWAY – (6:35pm, Irish Daily Star Champion Hunters Chase)
David Christie only narrowly lost out to Willie Mullins’ BILLAWAY at Cheltenham last month, and he subs stable star Winged Leader for the fast-improving Vaucelet in a bid to gain his revenge, but unfortunately for him, the result is expected to remain the same.
Billaway has always promised plenty in this sphere and found himself not beaten far in any of the Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown Hunters Chases last season.
Connections have given the 10yo a lighter campaign this time around, and that paid off when he came with a rattle to land the St. James’s Place at Cheltenham last month. That made it 2-2 since fitted with cheekpieces, which are retained this afternoon, and his lighter 2021/22 campaign suggests that connections have always had half an eye on Punchestown with Billaway after the horse was beaten just a nose here 12 months ago when on the back of a far more arduous campaign.
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EL FABIOLO – (7:10pm, SalesSense International Novice Hurdle)
Willie Mullins has taken six of the last eight renewals of this event and with him holding the top four in the betting this time around, the prize looks almost certain to go back to Closutton once again.
Of his entrants, it is very difficult to get away from the claims of EL FABIOLO, who’s always seemed to hold a fairly lofty reputation amongst the Mullins novice hurdlers, justifying skinny odds to land a maiden hurdle at Tramore on stable debut back in January.
El Fabiolo found himself pitched into Grade 1 level at Aintree on his next outing when ultimately going down in a fierce battle with the highly-touted Jonbon (front pair 19l clear of the remainder). Paul Townend has previously nominated El Fabiolo as his strongest chance of victory at that meeting, so the performance did not appear to come as a surprise to connections, and it could be argued that the first-time hood applied may have just softened El Fabiolo up a little bit.
That headgear is discarded on Friday, and this represents a fairly significant drop-in class. El Fabiolo has upwards of 10lb in hand on official ratings and that would suggest that he needn’t be at his very best to go in here.
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GOLDEN WONDER’S – (7:45pm, Avison Young INH Flat Race)
Arguably the most open of the bumpers contests at this year’s Punchestown Festival, but given his trainer and jockey Don Chalant can be expected to prove popular with punters, especially if Mullins has already won a number of races on the Friday card.
He hasn’t really looked anything out of the ordinary in three starts so far, however, and preference instead goes to GOLDEN WONDER’S, who appears to have been targeted at this meeting by his shrewd stable.
Only midfield on debut at this Festival 12 months ago, Golden Wonder’s has caught the eye in both starts this campaign, falling two-out over hurdles at Limerick (when creeping into contention), before staying on for second at Leopardstown last month when back in a bumper.
That most recent run was interesting as Golden Wonder’s was given plenty to do from the back of the field but stayed on quite powerfully once the penny dropped, and that should have teed him up nicely for a tilt at this contest, which his trainer, jockey and owners won with Longhouse Poet back in 2019.
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Punchestown Day Three TTC Selections
ALPHA MALE – (3:40pm, Stanley Asphalt Hunters Chase for the Bishopscourt Cup)
FRENCH DYNAMITE – (4:15pm, EMS Copiers Novice Handicap Chase)
ELIMAY – (4:50pm, Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase)
HONEYSUCKLE – (5:25pm, Paddy Power Champion Hurdle)
STATE MAN – (6:00pm, Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle)
BILLAWAY – (6:35pm, Irish Daily Star Champion Hunters Chase)
EL FABIOLO – (7:10pm, SalesSense International Novice Hurdle)
GOLDEN WONDER’S – (7:45pm, Avison Young INH Flat Race)
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