Punchestown Racing Tips: La Malmason should be tough to beat

• A Punchestown NAP and Next Best from Timeform

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Punchestown Nap - 13:50 - Back La Malmason

La Malmason shaped with plenty of promise when third behind a talented pair in Found A Fifty and Colonel Mustard in a good-quality beginners' chase at Down Royal in November and she built on that to run out a cosy winner on her handicap chase debut at Cheltenham in December.

La Malmason travelled strongly at Cheltenham, looking well ahead of her mark, and she was always finding enough to fend off the runner-up, scoring with more in hand than the margin of three-quarters of a length would suggest.

The style of that success offers hope that La Malmason has more to offer after only four starts over fences and this looks like an excellent opportunity against more exposed rivals.

Punchestown Next Best - 15:55 - Back No Fussing

No Fussing has been in good order and ran her best race yet when runner-up here last month, finding only an unexposed and improving rival too strong.

No Fussing made good progress from the second-last to lead at the final flight but was unable to hold off the renewed challenge of the well-backed favourite who edged ahead close home.

She pulled five lengths clear of the third, who was 12 lengths ahead of the fourth, and the suspicion is that a similar effort is likely to be good enough here off just a 2 lb higher mark.