It’s Day Three of the Punchestown Festival on Thursday, with Cheltenham Festival winners Teahupoo and Gaelic Warrior set to feature on a top-quality eight-race card.
Our tipping experts, Alan Kelly and Charlie McCann, have free Punchestown tips on-site, including a 12/1 selection.
Alan Kelly - 4:15pm Punchestown - Enniskerry (Each-Way)
Irish trainer Barry Connell will be pleased to see the end of this season, the stables’ star performer Marine Nationale failing to make the Cheltenham Festival following a setback. The six-year-old William Munny looked an exciting prospect for the stable when winning a Pro/Am Flat Race at Naas in February and they have a good chance of taking this valuable Listed contest with ENNISKERRY (Each-Way).
Despite being the oldest horse in this extended two-mile handicap at the age of 10, the son of Jeremy will be having just his fifth start over fences, the mount of Michael O’Sullivan having won his first two chases at Galway and Roscommon back in 2022.
Following a break of 200 days, Enniskerry won a maiden Flat race at Leopardstown last summer before reverting back to the bigger obstacles for a crack at the Galway Plate. Seventh of the 22 runners in that valuable contest, Enniskerry held every chance until weakening late-on over that extended 2m 6f trip.
The selection has a good record fresh and will be more at home over this much shorter distance. At a double-figure price, Enniskerry gets the each-way vote ahead of Willie Mullins’ Blood Destiny and the potentially well-treated Pinkerton from the Noel Meade stable.
Charlie McCann - 7:05pm Punchestown - Spindleberry
Cheltenham Festival winners Gaelic Warrior and Teahupoo are the stars on show on day three of the Punchestown Festival. Both will be long odds on, however, and make little appeal as betting mediums.
There are no prices available in the market without Teahupoo in the Stayers’ Hurdle, but if Home By The Lee were 6/4 or better, I would be interested in the Joseph O’Brien-trained horse who finished third at Cheltenham. This right-hand track and better ground will suit.
In the listed 2m mares’ hurdle SPINDLEBERRY travelled powerfully when runner-up to stablemate Jade De Grugy in a 2m 4f Grade 1 at Fairyhouse over Easter.
She was ultimately no match for her highly regarded stablemate but she is unlikely to bump into anything of that class this evening and receives weight from many of her chief threats.
Willie Mullins saddles five of the sixteen-runner field, but Paul Townend’s chosen mount is Spindleberry. The drop back to the minimum distance is a slight concern, but she looked like a class act at Fairyhouse and gets the vote.
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