Betfair Official Blog

Punchestown Festival Betting: Day 5 Preview

Click here to view market

Wayne Bailey completes a quintet of Punchestown Festivals as he analyzes the card for Saturday's competition.

Well, it's almost over and the flat season will take centre stage from here on in. But before we put away our National Hunt formbooks, we've one day left at Punchestown. It's the first time the festival has lasted five days, so lets hope we can finish the season with a winner or two...

2:35 - Ellen Construction Chase

Enda Bolger decided to withdraw Garde Champetre from Thursday's La Touche, and letting him run here instead may prove to be a shrewd move. He won the cross country at Cheltenham last time out, and this race looks fairly easy in comparison. His stablemate Heads Onthe Ground is expected to go well, but Garde Champetre has that extra bit of class.

3:10 - Bewleys Hotels Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Mares Hurdle (Grade 3)

I'm really hoping La Vecchia Scuola makes the final cut for this race. Jim Goldie's four-year-old is turning out to be a cracking filly, and has been pleasing connections no end up in Scotland. If she doesn't make it in, it's worth siding with Willie Mullins' Clear Riposte who did nothing wrong on Tuesday, but simply got pipped at the line. She also has an entry in the Ballymore at 4:55, so I'm keeping a close eye on her.

3:45 - Whitewater Centre Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase

It's been a while since we've seen a win for L´Ami - three years in fact, but he's been showing some signs of improvement lately. Unfortunately, he fell in the Grand National, but I feel that he's not quite finished just yet, and should certainly be kept onside in the place market. Bothar Na is another horse that hasn't won in quite some time, but I rate this animal highly and want to keep him on my side too with a small win and place bet.

4:20 - Eventus Marquees Champion 4YO Hurdle (Grade 1)

The four-year-old race is one where Irish punters should put patriotism aside and stick with those horses trained across the water. In fact, this race has been won by a UK trainer seven times in the last nine renewals. Alan King's Franchoek has been unlucky lately, but can put things right here. He ran well when third last time out at Aintree, and this race looks ideal.

4:55 - Ballymore 25th Anniversary Hurdle (Handicap Hurdle)

The Ballymore is not a race that's been good to backers historically, with eight of the past ten winners all priced in double figures. As mentioned, Clear Riposte has an entry in this and I'll be following here whichever race (if any) Mullins puts her in. I also like the look of Silver Jaro, who shocked everyone at Cheltenham when winning at a Betfair SP of 86. This race suits him to the ground, and he's been treated fairly in the weights. A small win and place bet for me.

5:30 - Cox's Cash & Carry Champion Hunters Chase

Archies Lad is an interesting entry here. He's been improving all the time on the point-to-point scene, and went on to win his first race under rules well. I may well keep Christy Beamish on my side too, as he can't seem to put a foot wrong in both point-to-points and under rules. This looks like a very competitive race, and Agus A Vic shouldn't be too far off either.

6:00 - Peggy Barry-Walsh Memorial (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race

I made a decision early in the week not to get too involved in the bumpers, and I'm sticking to it today. Not a lot to go on here, so Artic Soul gets a token vote from the Colm Murphy yard, which has been doing well at Punchestown in recent times.

6:30 - 19th Running of the Diageo Ireland Punchestown Charity Sweepstakes

This is a charity race, which doesn't come under rules - so isn't particularly useful for betting purposes. That said, with the benefit of hindsight, Moscow Flyers win here last year at around 2.1 on Betfair was a steal. There's really not a lot to go on today, so I advise sitting this one out.