Rachael Blackmore celebrates on A Plus Tard
Rachael Blackmore celebrates on A Plus Tard

Punchestown festival day one tips & preview | Donn McClean: A Plus bet


Donn McClean is with us all week tipping on the Punchestown Festival and A Plus Tard features among his best bets for day one of the meeting on Tuesday.

Donn's Best Bets

This year’s Punchestown Festival is replete with intrigue, as it usually is, and one of the most intriguing contests on Day One is the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase.

Delta Work is a worthy favourite. Gordon Elliott’s horse quickly morphed into one of the top staying novice chasers in the country this season. He won his beginners’ chase at Down Royal, he beat Le Richebourg in a thrilling Drinmore Novices’ Chase at Fairyhouse, and he won the Neville Hotels Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas by eight lengths.

He was beaten in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham last time, but he didn’t really have the run of the race that day, and he wasn’t beaten far by two high-class rivals in Topofthegame and Santini in a high-class renewal, the three of them clear.

That said, he may not have that much in hand of A Plus Tard. Henry de Bromhead’s horse was seriously impressive in winning the Close Brothers Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He went smoothly through his race for Rachael Blackmore, he travelled like the most likely winner from a long way out, and he came clear of his rivals over the last two fences.

That was just a novices’ handicap chase, and he was racing off a handicap rating of 144, but it was a highly competitive race, and he could hardly have won any more easily than he did. It is interesting that handicapper raised him on the back of that performance to a mark of 160, which is actually 1lb higher than Delta Work’s mark.

This race is not just a match. It is a deep race. Getabird has lots of latent talent. He was a high-class novice hurdler last season, he won the Grade 2 Rathbarry and Glenview Studs Hurdle at the Fairyhouse Irish Grand National meeting, and he was travelling well when he was badly hampered at the second last flight in the Grade 1 two-and-a-half-mile contest at this meeting last year.

Willie Mullins’ horse has raced just twice over fences to date. He won his beginners’ chase at Punchestown in December, and he may have beaten Hardline in the Grade 1 Matchbook Novice Chase at Limerick over Christmas has he not made a significant mistake at the final fence. We probably haven’t seen the best of him yet, and it is obviously a positive that he is going right-handed again today.

Chris’s Dream was disappointing at Aintree last time, but he is another talented young chaser, and he battled on well to beat Champagne Classic in the Grade 2 Ten Up Chase at Navan in February, when he had subsequent Kim Muir winner Any Second Now back in third. If he can bounce back to his Ten Up Chase form, he could run a big race today, as could Discorama, who was only just beaten by Le Breuil in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last time.

However, A Plus Tard receives the 5lb weight allowance from all his rivals. He is only five, he put up a career-best performance last time at Cheltenham, and he has the profile to go higher still. He is a hugely exciting individual, and he could go very close today.

Quick can dampen Dream hopes

It is correct that Klassical Dream is favourite for the Grade 1 Herald Champion Novice Hurdle. Willie Mullins’ horse was seriously impressive in winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. He travelled well through his race for Ruby Walsh, he moved easily to the front at the fourth last flight, and he came clear of his rivals in the home straight. It was the performance of a horse who was significantly superior to his rivals on the day.

The Dream Well gelding hasn’t been beaten since he has joined Willie Mullins, and he has improved with each run. He will be ridden by Ruby Walsh today, and he has had a seven-week break since Cheltenham. There are lots of positives.

However, he is short, he is odds-on, and the sharper track today, combined with better ground than the ground that he encountered at Cheltenham, may not be ideal. While his three wins in Ireland have been gained over the minimum trip, he had to dig deep to get the better of stable companion Aramon in the Chanelle Pharma Novices’ Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown in February. Also, it wasn’t until the rains came at Cheltenham that he was confirmed for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle over two miles, as opposed to the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle over two miles and five furlongs.

His stable companion Quick Grabim could represent some value against him today. The Oscar gelding is a little bit of a forgotten horse this season. He didn’t win in two attempts over hurdles last season, but he has won three of his four races this season, and he wasn’t suited by the sedate early pace when he was beaten in the Grade 3 For Auction Hurdle at Navan in November.

He put that defeat behind him when he landed the Grade 1 Royal Bond Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December, when Ruby Walsh dictated the fractions from the front. A setback ruled him out of the Cheltenham Festival, so he goes to Punchestown a relatively fresh horse, and you can be sure that, from the day that it became apparent that he wasn’t going to make it to Cheltenham, he has been trained by Willie Mullins with today in mind.

Of course, it is not ideal that Ruby Walsh rides Klassical Dream instead, but it may have been a marginal call, more marginal than is suggested by the discrepancy in their respective prices, and Pall Townend is a top class rider.

www.donnmcclean.com


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