Punchestown Thursday Tips: Back Monkfish to go one better

• Mark Milligan expects Willie Mullins to have another good day

• Monkfish to strip fitter this time

• Figaroc an each-way play

There's a slight change in pace for day three of the Punchestown Festival as we only have two Grade 1 races instead of the three we've been served up on each of the first two days.

That's not to say they aren't good ones, however, particularly the Champion Stayers Hurdle at 17:25, which has the potential to be an absolute cracker.

Teahupoo heads the betting on the back of his rather dramatic third-place finish in the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham last time, his placing upgraded to second by the racecourse stewards on the day before he was subsequently demoted again on appeal.

He clearly wasn't seen to best effect that day and it's not hard to see him reversing places with the winner, Sire Du Berlais, given his relative inexperience compared to that one, though I don't want to be with him at a short-enough price.

Sire Du Berlais himself is well into the veteran stage now but seems at least as good as ever, backing up that Cheltenham win with success in the Liverpool Hurdle last time, though it's asking an awful lot of this 11-y-o to complete the hat-trick in such a short space of time.

Klassical Dream also has strong claims having won this corresponding race last year, but he does need to put a poor Cheltenham run behind him. He was headstrong and very free to post prior to that race and I'd want to see how takes in the preliminaries before getting involved with this one.

Mullins may still have the winner

Nonetheless, I'm siding with Willie Mullins to take the race and am taking Monkfish to reverse recent form with stablemate Asterion Forlonge.

The pair finished first and second in a Grade 2 at Fairyhouse last month and I thought that was a belting run from Monkfish as he returned from the best part of two years off the track.

I'm a touch surprised connections have decided to stay over hurdles with him but there was nothing in that comeback run to suggest Monkfish has lost any of his ability and he'll surely come on for that run.

It's also worth noting that the Fairyhouse race was over 2m 4f and stepping back up to 3m here should be just what the doctor ordered for this strapping son of Stowaway. He was sticking to his task in the closing stages of that last run when he could easily have dropped away through lack of peak fitness.

There's plenty to like about Monkfish and he's unexposed as a staying hurdler compared to the majority in here.

El Fabiolo should dominate again

The other Grade 1 on the card is the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase at 18:35, and this really should be a lap of honour for Arkle winner El Fabiolo facing just three rivals, two of which are from his own stable.

Saint Roi finished a distant third to El Fabiolo in the Arkle and it's hard to see exactly what he can do to reverse the form, while Dysart Dynamo crashed out at the second last fence in the same race having typically gone freely through the contest.

The final runner, Indiana Jones, would probably need a Spielberg-style script written for him to have any chance of beating the favourite and is more than likely booked for last place if the other three run their races.

To sum up, El Fabiolo should win, and we can afford to sit this one out and watch him do just that.

Mullins to get day off to a good start

The opening 2m handicap hurdle (15:40) has a wide-open look to it but Figaroc comes into the race less exposed than most and looks worth an each-way bet with five places available on the Sportsbook.

Willie Mullins' 8-y-o is low mileage for his age and wasn't seen to best effect when fourth to Telecon in a novice handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse last time.

The first two home were up there throughout and Figaroc deserves plenty of credit for coming from the rear while also posted very wide. He was one of only a pair that made any sort of impact from off the pace that day and he should get a strong gallop to aim at in this contest.

The form of that contest has also been franked by Telecon running a really good race in a competitive opening-day handicap here, where he finished fourth to Bialystok.

Granted luck in running, Figaroc should put up an equally bold show.