2.50pm Daily Punchestown update from Greg Wood
Some of the Grade Ones at Punchestown this week have felt more like exhibition events than serious horse races, with Un De Sceaux and Douvan in particular needing to do little more than raise a gallop to follow up their wins at the Cheltenham Festival, and the betting suggests that it will be more of the same when Faugheen lines up for the Punchestown Champion Hurdle.
For a Champion Hurdle winner, Faugheen can be less than fluent over the obstacles, but he cruises and quickens like an all-time great and is now unbeaten in nine starts under Rules. That total includes four Grade Ones, and also a single bumper at this track back in May 2013, when Faugheen accelerated 22 lengths clear of Josses Hill. Ten months later, Josses Hill was beaten four lengths into second place by Vautour in the Supreme Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Faugheen faces just three rivals today, and two of those are 100-1 shots. The only possible danger to his 10th straight success is his stablemate Arctic Fire, last seen when taking a crashing fall at the last in the Aintree Hurdle as he moved alongside the eventual winner Jezki.
Jezki can be a difficult horse to pass on the run-in, as he showed in the three-mile hurdle here yesterday, but Arctic Fire certainly seemed to have his measure before his sudden exit. He also has only 3lb to find with Faugheen according to Timeform’s ratings, having stayed on strongly to finish one-and-a-half lengths behind the winner at Cheltenham.
Arctic Fire (5.30) has also been improving steadily all season, albeit with a series of placed efforts in Grade One company rather than victories. It will be a surprise if he finds enough to beat Faugheen this evening, but whether his chance of doing so is less than 20 per cent, as the odds suggest, is another question. At odds of 5-1 in what amounts to a match, he definitely represents some value after a week when Mullins has already notched two Grade One wins with second strings.
Assuming he will take the feature race one way or another, Mullins should complete a Grade One double with Nichols Canyon (6.05) in the Champion Novice Hurdle. Nicky Henderson’s Snake Eyes (6.40) and Burn And Turn (4.55), successful in the same race last year, are others to consider on the undercard.
11.15am O’Brien’s Found taken out of Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas
Ante-post favourite Found was not among the field of 13 declared for Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien had announced that she had suffered a setback in the lead up to the race but was hoping the filly would make the line up.
However, a tweet from Coolmore on Friday morning confirmed the bad news for those who had been backing the Prix Marcel Boussac winner through the winter.
It read: “One declaration from Ballydoyle for Sunday’s 1000 Guineas NewmarketRaces Qualify [to be ridden by] Joseph O’Brien.”
O’Brien also failed to declare Together Forever, the winner of the Fillies’ Mile.
Friday’s best bets, by Tony Paley
David O’Meara has become a trainer to note in recent seasons and it would be no surprise to see him notch a double at Musselburgh today. Regal Dan (4.00), one of the trainer’s new recruits who has shown much-improved form for the up-and-coming handler, is still well handicapped for the seven-furlong handicap, while Takafol (4.35) should go one better than when second at Catterick last week on his first race in handicap company.
Tipping competition, day four
Our winners so far:
Monday
Croquembouche 4-1
Great Minds 6-4
All Talk N No Do 7-2
Tuesday
Steve Rogers 3-1
Some Article 10-1
Felix Yonger 5-1
Wednesday
Sperry 4-1
Mizzou 4-1
Don Cossack 5-2
Thursday
Jacksonslady 10-1
Rosie Crowe 7-2
Jezki 5-2
And our leader is …
slackdad38 +18.50
… who was already second before picking Jacksonslady. Other good scores: DaveKerr91 +12.50, factormax +12, wiggy12 +12, Mai11 +6, 72luca +6, dean055 +5, waltersobchak +4, chris1623 +4.
For today’s thrilling climax, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 4.20 Punchestown, 4.25 Chepstow, 6.40 Punchestown.
Yes, it’s a pity not to have either of the Punchestown Grade Ones but they both have odds-on favourites and are so dominated by one stable as to be terribly unattractive for the purposes of this competition.
This week’s prize is a copy of The Druids Lodge Confederacy, by Paul Mathieu, which recounts the amazing century-old story of five gentlemen gamblers who tried to make the game pay through the use of a remote stable on Salisbury Plain where the staff were locked in to ensure secrecy. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -12.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day (TODAY).
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
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