Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 23 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Wayne Bailey takes a look ahead to the last big jumps meeting of the season...

The UK National Hunt season draws to a close this weekend at Sandown, but jumps fans have one last festival to look forward to as the Irish season culminates with Punchestown next week. It may not receive the same attention as Cheltenham, but from a punting point of view, Punchestown is one of my favourite festivals simply because there's less speculation, gossip and guesswork involved compared to its Cotswolds equivalent. Indeed, a lot of the runners will have already raced on the big stage at Cheltenham or Aintree, so we've a good idea of their ability and the form study is a hell of a lot easier in my opinion.

The festival runs from Tuesday to Saturday, and this year, organisers have decided on the later start time of 3.45 on most days which gives us a more of a chance to swot up in the morning time! Here's a look forward to some of the key races...


Tuesday, 6:05 - Kerrygold Champion Steeplechase (Grade 1)
The festival received a massive boost yesterday when Paul Nicholls announced that he's going to supplement six-year-old superstar Master Minded for this race. The master of Ditcheat has sent 11 raiders to Punchestown over the years with six of those being successful, so without doubt, all of his horses will be heavily supported. The British challenge in this race has been very strong in the past decade despite representing just a small number of runners. The market hasn't been too far off in recent times either, and it's best to stick with horses priced in single figures. If Master Minded lines up, he's sure to be very short but I certainly won't be opposing!

Wednesday, 6:05 - Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup (Grade 1)
Each of the past five winners of this contest ran in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham so make sure you've a few of those animals on your shortlist. It's been a good race for punters in recent times with four of the past five renewals going to the favourite. Once again, Paul Nicholls has done well here with Neptune Collonges winning in 2007 and 2008. For those that like the thrills and spills of in-running betting, it may be noteworthy that eight of the last then winners were all front-running or prominent sorts.

Thursday, 4:55 - Avon Ri Corporate & Leisure Resort Steeplechase for La Touche Cup
A fantastic race as a spectacle and incredibly, cross-country specialist Enda Bolger won every renewal from 1999 right through until 2007. He missed out last year when 25/1 outsider Oh Jackie spoiled the party (priced [108.0] on Betfair), but needless to say, Bolger's entries deserve serious attention.

Thursday, 5:30 - Ladbrokes.com World Series Hurdle (Grade 1)
It's interesting to note that the last five winners of this contest all came straight from Aintree so it's worth paying attention to such horses. British raiders have won eight of the last 12 renewals, although us Irish like to claim the Ferdy Murphy and Jonjo O'Neill victories as our own! This is a tough staying hurdle race, so good recent form (win or place last-time-out) is a must.

Friday, 6:05 - Land Rover Champion Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)
Willie Mullins has done well in this race in the past few years, and is sure to have a couple of strong contenders in 2009. It's been a tough race for the layers with the last ten winners priced in single figures (half of those being favourites). Horses that ran at Fairyhouse at Easter have performed well, so keep some of those on your shortlist. Previous winners of this race include Asian Maze and the one-and-only Istabraq.

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