2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Preview – DS
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Preview
Willie Mullins had a great start to the week at Punchestown. It wasn’t quite as good for us, unfortunately. To be fair, No Looking Back and Man O Work both ran well and they weren’t a million miles away from placing. Henning drifted like a barge shortly before the off and ran accordingly. Hopefully Day 2 proves to be more profitable, 2023 Punchestown Festvial Wednesday selections are below.
3.40 – Adare Manor Series Final Handicap Hurdle (95-123)
With Ben Harvey a notable booking, Gold Speed could go well at a price in this handicap hurdle for conditional jockeys. Adrian Murray trains this 10yo son of Gold Well and he has a first and a second from three previous runs at Punchestown. The win, his last over hurdles, came off a mark of 116 and with Ben Harvey’s claim he is effectively in off 2lbs lower today.
He beat Bread And Butter by a nose in that race in September 2020 when conceding 5lbs and he is 8lbs better off with that rival today. He hasn’t been seen for two months since a below par run at Fairyhouse but that isn’t a worry. This horse goes well fresh, as he demonstrated when beaten a nose at Navan off 116 on his seasonal reappearance back in November.
Two runs ago he was beat 10L when 5th of 18 at Naas off 119 so it is not as if he’s been completely out of form this season. In fact, three of his four runs have been more than decent. He is versatile tactically and if he can repeat the level of form he showed on his first three runs of this season, he is more than capable of running into a place at odds of 20/1.
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Tip: Gold Speed e/w @ 20/1 (6 places) nap
4.15 – Irish EBF Auction Hurdle Series Final (4yo+)
A race that looks likely to be dominated by those at the head of the betting. On form Sandor Clegane should win. He’s the top rated at 141 and he ran a cracker in the potato race at Cheltenham. This looks a nice bit of placing by Paul Nolan and if his run in March didn’t take too much out of him, he should justify his odds of around 6/4.
The ground seemed to be drying out pretty quickly on Day 1 so maybe we will get Spring Ground earlier than initially anticipated. With that in mind, I’m going to take a punt on Rocco Bay. Trained by Peter Fahey, this 7yo has failed to fire in three runs this season on yielding/heavy ground. She has zero chance on those poor efforts but on her final two runs of last season, she won a good ground bumper in Bangor and a maiden hurdle on good at Limerick.
Mark Walsh Booked
Maybe this mare doesn’t come to hand until the latter part of the season. If that is the case, you can put a line through her three runs this season and it is interesting that Mark Walsh, on board for her sole win over timber, is back in the plate.
The horse she beat 4L at Limerick, Senecia, won by 11L next time out and is now rated 128. The 3rd has also won races since so while it isn’t top class form, it isn’t terrible. The way she has been campaigned suggests she has been targeted at this race and at 40/1, hopefully she’ll run a big one for e/w backers.
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Tip: Rocco Bay e/w @ 40/1
4.45 – Louis Fitzgerald Hotel Hurdle (4yo+)
Imagine was a horse that I thought would improve markedly for better ground in the latter part of the season. Even though he didn’t get his ideal conditions at Cheltenham, he still ran a grand race in 5th off 139 in the Martin Pipe. He was sent off favourite in that race, which suggests connections thought he had a bit in hand and with Danny Gilligan taking 7lbs off, he could be hard to beat, especially on drying ground.
One that could outrun his big odds is Eye Van for Ray Cody and 7lb claimer Niall Moore. This 9yo son of Yeats is relatively lightly raced for his age and he has a couple of snippets of form that might be good enough to earn a place here. In February he ran a great race at Thurles in a Novice behind Riaan and Spanish Harlem, beat 1.25L for the win.
He has run very well on three of his five runs this term, all going right handed. At Fairyhouse, another right handed track, 24f on heavy proved too taxing a test and he probably didn’t enjoy going left handed at Navan on heavy over 22f last time out. His form figures at 19/20f going right handed read 32213, he has finished 2nd and 4th on his two previous visits to Punchestown and at 25/1, Eye Van is the e/w selection.
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Tip: Eye Van e/w @ 25/1 NB
5.20 – Irish Mirror Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)
After she ran such a massive race for us at Fairyhouse I can’t desert Whatcouldhavebeen today. Jarlath Fahey’s mare chase home Ashroe Diamond at the Grand National meeting, landing place money at odds of 66/1. She was 5L behind the winner but she was 17L clear of the third and it could be telling that Fahey has turned to Sean Flanagan who replaces 7lb claimer Aidan Kelly in the plate.
This mare ran well on her last visit to Punchestown when 4th in a Listed race. It wasn’t Kelly’s finest hour in the saddle and with a kinder trip she’d have finished a lot closer to the principals. She now steps up to 24f for the first time and on her staying on efforts over 13f on the flat last summer on good ground, the new trip could eke out more improvement.
Clearly, both Gaelic Warrior and Affordale Fury both have much stronger form and Fahey’s charge will need to take a big step forward to trouble those two. Apart from that pair, she is the only one in here with placed G1 form over hurdles in the book and with her weight for sex allowance, she looks overpriced in comparison to Salvador Ziggy, Embassy Gardens and Favori De Champdou. Winning might be too big an ask but at 25/1, hopefully Whatcouldhavebeen can nick some more place money.
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Tip: Whatcouldhavebeen e/w @ 25/1
5.55 – Punchestown Gold Cup (Grade 1)
Will the Mullins Benefit continue in the feature on Wednesday. The bookies reckon so as they have made Galopin Des Champs the prohibitive 4/11 favourite. Any doubts about his stamina were emphatically answered in the Gold Cup in March and now some people are saying that this easier test might not suit him. That is rubbish in my opinion, this horse is a weapon at anything from 20f to 26f and the only hope his rivals have is that this may be one race too many.
The most likely beneficiary if that is the case is Bravemansgame. He has won going right handed so there are no worries on that front and he won’t mind the ground. The son of Brave Mansonnien is a top class horse, as his rating of 172 suggests, the issue is that Galopin Des Champs is just better. If they both run to the same level that they did at Cheltenham, there is only going to be one winner and it won’t be Paul Nicholls’ charge.
Top Two Well Clear
It is impossible to look past the top two. Envoi Allen has to improve plenty to trouble either of them and Hewick took a heavy fall at Cheltenham when he looked to be beaten. Fastorslow looks a potential improver back on better ground and his second to Corach Rambler was franked at Aintree. He wasn’t off a yard in his previous tries at G1 level so it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. If you can get 3 places e/w on him, that might be the play but with just six runners, we’ll sit this race out. No bet.
2023 Punchestown Festival Wednesday Tip: No Bet
7.05 – HSS Hire Handicap Chase (Grade A)
Just nine runners here and three trained by Willie. Another 1-2-3 on the cards? You wouldn’t bet against it. Gallant John Joe is the most likely to spoil the Mullins party but the bookies haven’t missed him. This trip will suit better than the 23f he tackled here last time out over timber and he has winning course form over hurdles. He hasn’t won a race since 2019 though and no doubt at least one of the Mullins runners will prove too good. Another race I’m happy to swerve, no bet.
