Winning at the Cheltenham Festival is not the be all and end all. The following trio are proof of that, as they seek further Grade 1 success at the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday. We have scored each of their chances out of five, alongside Paddy Power‘s new customer offer of Bet £10 Get £45 In Free Bets.
Sir Gerhard (4.15 Punchestown) 8/13
SIR GERHARD remains unbeaten over hurdles. With three victories out of three so far, he has looked the real deal, delivering on the promise of his bumper form.
Two of that hat-trick of wins have been at Grade 1 level. The first came over this minimum trip at the Dublin Racing Festival in February before he followed up in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham over 2m5f. His Cheltenham success was particularly impressive given how keen he was on the outside of the field.
Despite that, any remaining reserves of stamina, coupled with his enormous talent, got him home. The runner-up, Three Stripe Life, then went to Aintree and won a Grade 1 himself, so the form is extremely strong.
There are a couple of doubts, however. One is that though his jumping was assured at Cheltenham, he was much scruffier on his last start over 2m. The other is that his run at last season’s Punchestown Festival was relatively disappointing, as he finished third in the Grade 1 bumper behind Kilcruit.
Similarly, stablemate Dysart Dynamo is a worthy adversary here. He may have fallen in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, but he set a very strong gallop, with few signs that he was emptying when he feel. There is a chance he will set off on his merry way, put Sir Gerhard’s jumping under pressure, and really test him here.
Chance of the double? 3/5
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Energumene (5.25 Punchestown) 8/13
The best race on day one looks set to be the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase. The clash between Chacun Pour Soi and ENERGUMENE is on.
The Cheltenham hero was, of course, Energumene, who took advantage of everything falling into place to storm away with the Queen Mother Champion Chase. However, putting it like that does a disservice to a horse with immense talent.
He has been beaten just once over obstacles in his entire career when going down on his sword to Shishkin at Ascot in January. In softer conditions, he was much more equipped to handle Cheltenham than that rival.
Chacun Pour Soi was also in attendance that day, but departed with a cruel unseat before the race began in earnest. He has only ever been beaten once in Ireland and was magnificent in this race last season.
Energumene will have a real fight on his hooves to overcome his older stablemate, but he is undefeated on home territory. A changing of the Mullins guard has looked in order this season and it may well continue at Punchestown.
Chance of the double? 4/5
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Bob Olinger (6.35 Punchestown) 11/10
His unbeaten run may have remained intact, but BOB OLINGER’s reputation took a significant dent when he won the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.
Winning a Grade 1 by 40 lengths should have ensured the excitement surrounding him grew to new extremes. The trouble was that he would have been beaten by around half that margin had Galopin Des Champs remained on all fours after jumping the last.
Rachael Blackmore cajoled Bob Olinger into taking advantage, but even trainer Henry De Bromhead was stunned at what he had seen. He was certain that the “real Bob” was not seen that day, but the possible truth is that Galopin Des Champs is a freak and Bob may just be very good.
There is also every chance he is comfortably the second best novice chaser of this generation. However, he crawled up the Cheltenham hill that day and now faces half-a-mile further.
3m will surely stretch his stamina and there is no guarantee that he will have fully recovered from his Festival exertions. None of his rivals can be easily relied upon, but if there is ever a time to take this horse on, it is now.
Chance of the double? 2/5
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