Well , day one of the Punchestown Festival didn’t fail to
excite and although the opening day of the meeting lived up to its reputed
unpredictability at times, the top quality racing and fantastic stories which
yesterday brought with it are unrivalled.
In the first Grade 1 of the meeting, Faugheen went off 1/2 favourite
and was a popular choice to get Mullins off to a winning start after a visually
impressive performance in the Neptune at Cheltenham. The race began with
Wicklow Brave shying away from the tape, running backwards and brining our longshot
of the day, Real Steel, with him, thus leaving them both with considerable
ground to make up. Ruby Walsh set a quick pace on Faugheen who travelled
beautifully and jumped fluently throughout.
It was on the turn for home that Ruby asked him to pick up
the pace a bit and Faugheen quickened, making his rivals look less than
ordinary, tearing away and finishing incredibly while barely breaking a sweat
and looking like he had loads left in the tank. If anyone doubted Faugheen’s
abilities over 2 miles, they were silenced by the unbeaten 6-year-old today,
who produced a simply breath-taking display.
The racing world were quick to react and it would have to be
argued that the suggestions that Faugheen could well be the best horse
currently in training over jumps were not completely unfounded. Yet again, the
Punchestown Festival has left a racing public dreaming of what is to come next
year, from a horse who, if he stays over hurdles, will have Jezki, The New One,
and My Tent Or Yours quaking in their boots at the thoughts of a clash at
Cheltenham next year in the Champion Hurdle.
There wasn’t much time to sit and marvel at the wonder that
was Faugheen - the feature race of the
day was the Champion Chase, an open affair involving several decent horses but
no Sire De Grugy, and no contenders to the class of last year’s winner,
Sprinter Sacre.
A fantastic Punchestown story – described as heart-warming
more than once today – was the victory of twelve-year-old Sizing Europe, an
old, reliable, consistent course specialist who never failed to bring his best
when he contested a race at Punchestown over his long and decorated career. He
was written off by us and many others in favour of other horses, and although
you might say that he got a bit lucky with plenty of other contenders being
hampered, nobody could begrudge Sizing Europe, Henry De Bromhead or other
connections one last win before it was announced that Sizing Europe would be
retired.
As for our two selections in the race, Module was pulled up
after being badly hampered by the fall of Shark Hanlon’s Hidden Cyclone, when
there was no way he could get back into the race. I was disappointed to see him
out as I had him down as the most likely winner and I would have liked to see
how he would have done against Sizing Europe, but that’s racing and we can’t
complain. Twinlight, on the other hand, is beginning to look like a bit of a
dodgepot – he ran well for the first half of the race, making the running for a
short period of time from the start but fading away later on and finding
nothing in the end.
Today’s feature race, though, is, on paper anyway, an even
better one – the Punchestown Gold Cup will feature Boston Bob and On His Own as
well as big names of the sport such as First Lieutenant and Long Run. Here it
goes…
5.30 – Punchestown Gold Cup – 3m 1f – Grade 1
Very strangely, there was actually no Grade 1 “Gold Cup”
race at Punchestown until 1999, but now the Gold Cup attracts some top quality
horses from all over Ireland and further afield, normally including some who
have run both in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Grand National. This
year is no different, with On His Own having been touched off by Lord
Windermere in what can only be called a strange Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Interestingly enough, last year’s winner, Sir Des Champs, also came 2nd
in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, albeit in a different style to On His Own. There’s
no doubt that he’ll be a major player today, with everything supposedly in his
favour.
Willie Mullins isn’t placing all of his eggs in one basket,
however, with Boston Bob also an interesting runner, coming into the race off
the back of a decent win in what admittedly a weak Melling Chase at Aintree. He
again disappointed at Cheltenham this year, but it was over a smaller trip and
he more than made up for it at Aintree. Ruby has interestingly chosen to ride
him instead of On His Own, which could suggest that Boston Bob, always held in
high regard by Mullins and connections, might begin to reach his full potential
now.
Lyreen Legend travelled very well in the Gold Cup at
Cheltenham and entered the tracker that day as one to watch on the next outing.
I was very disappointed to see that he was entered in this, though, as I’m not
sure that the race is suited to him and he will have a lot to do to win today.
If he does end up being the winner, we will simply keep watching him in the future
but I can’t back him today as he should have a lot to do.
After his run at Aintree where he was a firm second-best to
Silviniaco Conti, it’s no surprise to see that First Lieutenant has been given
relatively long odds today of 6/1. He’s a highly unpredictable horse and not
one that it’s really a good idea to back regularly. He wears blinkers for the
first time today which could well have him running to his best but I’ll have to
give it a miss. As for Long Run, who until this year had never failed to place,
he seems to be nothing like his former self this season and can’t really be a
bet today.
It would seem that On His Own is definitely the pick of the
top of the market but the one that excites me most is a value option available at
10/1. The champion jockey AP McCoy is a bonus always, but he seems to be in decent
form at the moment with a 35% win rate in the last 7 days. He placed at Punchestown
once in his last two runs there and I would hope that he might go one better
tomorrow against higher-rated opponents.
On trends, Argocat ticks more or less all the boxes – a recent
run, a certain level of consistency over his last two starts, proven over the
distance (or slightly shorter), enough chasing experience… It’s a big statement
but I really think that he could give these higher-rated and supposedly
superior horses a decent run today. That may sound like a stupid statement come
six o’clock tomorrow evening, yet courage is the name of the game and we’ll get
nowhere simply backing favourites in every race.
On His Own 7/2
Argocat E/W 10/1
(Same stakes. An alternative
to backing Argocat each-way, you could back him with Paddy Power who offer
money back if your horse comes 2nd or 3rd in the race).
UPDATE: If/when Black Hercules is a non-runner, we're going to back Shaneshill win and Patsio each-way. Get the 4/1 and 33/1 if you can. Both will be to level stakes. If Black Hercules stays in the race, our shortlist of three is too big and we won't have a bet.
As always, best of luck and don’t bet more than you can
afford to lose. I would suggest that you back On His Own with Paddy Power and
avail of their money back offer. Good luck.
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