Punchestown Festival betting preview – Day one picks and advice
It’s finally here, the 2024 Punchestown Festival. Five days of non-stop action where Cheltenham Festival scores look to be settled.
Day one brings us top-class clashes with the Supreme Novices Hurdle 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th go head to head once more along with the Champion Chaser Captain Guinness looks to back up his Cheltenham Festival win.
Who will perform to their best and who will feel the effect of a long season? Here we will find out as I give you the best horse racing betting sites and tips for day one of the Punchestown Festival.
🐎 Punchestown Festival betting tips
Now it's time to look at the main races of day one as well as some betting tips in the ultra-competitive handicaps.
Punchestown 3:40 - 2m Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle
The first grade 1 of the Punchestown Festival could well end up one of the races of the festival with the top 4 of the Supreme Novices Hurdle renewing their rivalry.
Slade Steel who got the better of Mystical Power up the Cheltenham hill will look to confirm that form, but will he be as effective back on better ground?
I think the score may well be 1-1 after Punchestown.
MYSTICAL POWER jumped the last in the lead in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle only to be outstayed by Slade Steel, but back on better ground, there is every chance that placings can be reversed.
The son of Annie Power has since won the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle at the Grand National Festival beating Firefox by 1/2 length, but the margin of victory does not reflect the dominance of that performance. I think they have learned now that the longer they hold onto Mystical Power, the more devastating his finishing kick will be.
If these tactics can be produced here, then he will be very hard to beat.
Betting: Slade Steel 13/8, Mystical Power 3/1, Tullyhill 13/2, Firefox 8/1, Ile Atlantique 18/1, Asian Master 20/1, 28/1 bar.
🐎 Bet on Mystical Power to win the Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle 🐎
Punchestown 5:25 - 2m Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase
If we are honest, even with the declaration of the current Champion Chaser in Captain Guinness, this renewal of the William Hill Champion Chase is missing a superstar.
But, someone has to win it, and I think I know who will.
Captain Guniesss finally got his Grade 1 success on the biggest stage of them all, but he will always be a horse that you will be willing to take on, and as much as I have a soft spot for him, I think he is one to take on here.
DINOBLUE who receives weight here being a mare is currently 2/1 favourite, and in my book is the one they all have to go and beat. Her form this season speaks for itself with a Grade 2 and Grade 1 win in Leopardstown over Christmas.
She comes in here on the back of a questionable ride from Mark Walsh in the Mare Chase at the Cheltenham Festival where she untimely got outstayed up the hill by Limerick Lace.
With a more prominent ride at a meeting where she tasted success last season, there is no reason why she can not see off her rivals and pick up her second Grade 1 of the season.
If Banbridge gets his ground he could give her the most to do if none the worst for his Cheltenham flop on unsuitable ground.
Current odds:
- Dinoblue 2/1
- Captain Guinness 7/2
- Banbridge 9/2
- Gentleman De Mee 6/1
- Saint Sam 14/1
- Dysart Dynamo 20/1
- 25/1 bar.
🐎 Bet on Dinoblue to win the William Hill Champion Chase 🐎
Punchestown 6:00 - 3m1f Grade 1 Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase
It’s a pity that we don’t get to see Fact To File here, but this still offers up a very competitive Grade 1.
There is not much splitting the field on ratings and that should lead to a close race here. It could be a matter of who is not feeling the effects of Cheltenham, and then you have Spillanes’s Tower who comes in here on the back of Grade 1 success in the WillowWarm Gold Cup, but that was one of the weakest Grade 1s you will see this season, but he does bring potential to the table.
The one I like here at a price is SANDOR CLEGANE.
He ran a huge race in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and if it wasn’t for two silly mistakes over the last two fences, he could well have finished a lot closer.
On that run he has just over 5 lengths to find with Monty’s Star, and with the return to a track where he tasted victory at last season's festival, there is a lot to be positive about that Sandor Cligane can show another jolt of improvement here.
Embassy Gardens may be overlooked here on the back of his below-par run at Cheltenham, but with Paul Townend back onboard you could see him resume his progress.
Current odds:
- Monty’s Star 9/4
- Spillane’s Tower 5/2
- Embassy Gardens 11/2
- American Mike 8/1
- Sandor Clegane 12/1
- Three Card Brag 16/1
- Salvador Ziggy 22/1
- Sharjah 33/1.
🐎 Bet on Sandow Cligane to win the Grade 1 Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase 🐎
Punchestown 4:15 - 2m½f Listed Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle
When you see something that is too good to be true, then more times than not, it is. But here I don’t think it is.
DADDY LONG LEGS, a horse who was fighting it out at the top of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle market after his maiden hurdle win at Thurles back in November. On the back of that he was sent off 9/4 favourite for the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas only to be pulled up on ground he clearly does not go on.
Back at the Dublin Racing Festival, it was a case of giving him a good experience behind stablemate Ballyburn. On the back of an 84-day break, he was one of Willie Mullins's charges to invade the UK to secure Willie the UK jumps trainer championship, and back on home soil we will see that a mark of 135 is a massive underestimate of his ability.
He is coming up against some lightly raced rivals here, but given what he showed on his debut, and the regard that the Closutton juggernaut holds him in, he can show that he is one of very few Willie Mullins horses that are well handicapped.
Current odds:
- Daddy Long Legs 5/1
- Toto Too 10/1
- Bialystok 11/1
- Jasko Des Dames 11/1
- Rath Gaul Boy 11/1
- Cossack Chach 14/1
- 14/1 bar.
🐎 Bet on Daddy Long Legs to win the Listed Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle 🐎
About the author
Andrew Halligan
My name is Andrew Halligan, horse racing pundit and founder of YouTube's The Finishing Line Podcast. Horse racing is a thrilling spectacle that captivates audiences around the world with its blend of drama and excitement. Whether you're a jumps or flat fan, I will use my experience of working within the horse racing industry to bring the best of what this sport has to offer.
You can follow Andrew on X (@Halligan88).
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