The Irish horse racing broadcaster has five selections for the final day of the Punchestown Festival.
PONIROS / caused one of the greatest shocks of all time at the Cheltenham Festival when winning the Triumph Hurdle on his jumps debut at 100/1, but Willie Mullins’ youngster can prove there was no fluke about that success by following up in Saturday’s Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at 16:50.
A smart flat handicapper for Ralph Beckett, the Golden Horn gelding was certainly pitched in at the deep end for his hurdling bow and showed his inexperience with some sketchy jumping. However, he managed to latch on to the leaders’ coat-tails turning for home and stayed on powerfully up the hill to collar market leaders Lulamba and East India Dock. The former reopposes here but there will surely be huge improvement to come from Poniros on the back of that experience and it will be disappointing if he fails to confirm his superiority.
CADATHARLA / remains a maiden over fences after six starts but the step up to a marathon trip for the first time may help him to get off the mark in the 3m7f handicap chase at 15:05. A promising hurdler a couple of seasons ago, Colm Murphy’s rangy seven year-old always looked the type to do better at this game but he has been rather hit-and-miss since switching disciplines. However an encouraging recent pipe-opener over the smaller obstacles ought to have left him spot-on for this assignment and jockey Gavin Brouder rode a winner for the owner earlier in the week.
It could be a big day for JP McManus, with CANAL END / (16:15) and RAGLAN ROAD / (17:25) also holding strong claims in the other two valuable handicaps on the card.
The latter was a highly creditable third to Wodhooh in the Martin Pipe Conditionals Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham and makes plenty of appeal in the Lawlors Handicap Hurdle off an identical Irish mark, though his yard admittedly has been quiet over the first three days.
Canal End meanwhile should take plenty of beating in the Palmerstown House Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase after belatedly getting his act together to notch a first chase win at Navan last month. Still attractively treated despite a 9lb rise, he was well fancied off bottom weight in the Irish Grand National only to miss the cut by one and obviously faces a much easier task here.
Finally, watch out for THREE BY TWO / if she makes it into the line-up off the subs bench for the opening Howden Cross Country Chase (14:30). The mare appeared a shade unlucky not to win Thursday’s La Touche Cup and has performed well when backed up quickly on a couple of occasions at this meeting previously.
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