Punchestown Festival racing tips: Best bets for day 1 on Tuesday, April 30
Punchestown racecourse
The jumps season in Ireland says a long goodbye this week with five days of action from the peerless Punchestown Festival. We kick off with tips for day one on Tuesday, April 30.
Willie Mullins will seal another Irish trainers' crown, fresh from an historic championship success in Britain over the weekend.
There are three Grade 1s on the card on Tuesday, including the Champion Chase, as they race at Punchestown from 14:30-18:35 and Enda McElhinney has tips for all eight races for Planet Sport readers.
Don't forget to check out the full racecard, results and live odds in Planet Sport's racing live centre.
Good luck and please gamble responsibly.
(Please be aware selections could become non-runners after article's first publication)
Punchestown quick tips:
14:30 (Punchestown) Casey West
15:05 (Punchestown) Al Kalila
15:40 (Punchestown) Slade Steel
16:15 (Punchestown) Toto Too
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16:50 (Punchestown) King Rasko Grey
17:25 (Punchestown) Banbridge
18:00 (Punchestown) Monty's Star
18:35 (Punchestown) Burrows Drive
14:30 (Punchestown) Casey West
The festival gets up and running with the traditional Kildare Hunt Club Cross Country Chase For The Ladies Perpetual Cup and it looks a good opportunity for Philip Rothwell's Casey West.
He won at Clonmel in January after a good second at Down Royal over Christmas behind Romeo Magico and retains scope for better in this sphere.
This is a 16-runner field but there is no shortage of deadwood and he can topple last year's winner Three By Two.
15:05 (Punchestown) Al Kalila
Trainer Stuart Crawford enjoys an excellent relationship with top owners Simon Munir and Isaac Suede and may be able to provide them with a festival winner via Al Kalila in this Blood-Stock.com Full Circle Series Final Handicap Hurdle.
The five-year-old has shown improved form in previous starts at Ayr (second) and Wetherby (third), latterly in his first start in a handicap when the 2m5½f trip may just have worn out his stamina.
There should be more to come back down in trip and he can go well with JJ Slevin on board now.
15:40 (Punchestown) Slade Steel
The first Grade 1 of the meeting and Cheltenham's Supreme Novices' winner Slade Steel can back that up now in Punchestown's Champion Novices Hurdle.
He had perhaps more to spare than the winning margin suggested when seeing off Mystical Power in the Cotswolds.
The runner-up has since held off re-opposing Firefox at Aintree for his own Grade 1 score, but Henry de Bromhead's charge comes here fresher and still has more to come in all probability.
16:15 (Punchestown) Toto Too
Daddy Long Legs could be a key component here on handicap bow for Willie Mullins after a facile success at Ludlow last week.
He's shortlisted but recent Naas winner Toto Too is the preferred option for trainer Gavin Cromwell in the Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle.
He was returning from a break and won that with something up his sleeve, with a next-time-out Perth novice winner behind in fourth. Further progress is likely now.
16:50 (Punchestown) King Rasko Grey
A valuable bumper here and the ever-reliable Willie and Patrick Mullins axis could be hard to topple with newcomer King Rasko Grey.
He runs in the Galopin Des Champs silks and was picked up for the princely sum of €250,000 at the sales last summer.
The champion trainer has issued positive dispatches on this recruit and a winning racecourse bow is forecast.
17:25 (Punchestown) Banbridge
Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Captain Guinness locks horns once more with Cheltenham second Gentleman De Mee, while Mares' Chase bridesmaid Dino Blue is a rock-solid contender.
They all have their claims but Banbridge is fancied to banish memories of his Ryanair Chase flop on soft ground.
He's unexposed at this trip, having won easily at Cheltenham in November 2022 and chased home El Fabiolo in last season's Irish Arkle in two previous attempts.
With so many likely contenders, they could get racing some way out and Joseph O'Brien's charge could put his stamina to good use in that scenario.
18:00 (Punchestown) Monty's Star
A stamina-testing Grade 1 Champion Novice Chase here and one in which Monty's Star is fancied to confirm Cheltenham superiority over the likes of Sandor Clegane and American Mike.
Henry de Bromhead's charge was no match for Fact To File in the Brown Advisory, but that rival is clearly high-class and so it is hardly a stick to beat Monty's Star with.
He can grab some top-level compensation now under Rachael Blackmore, with his proven stamina taken to pile the pressure on the improving Spillane's Tower.
18:35 (Punchestown) Burrows Drive
Rules newcomer Unknown Entity is much-respected for the Mullins', while Gordon Elliott's Little Trilby and Spinola Bay are also noted along with Noel Meade's Colcannon, but a chance is taken on the Philip Dempsey-trained debutant Burrows Drive.
The son of Authorized cost €125,000 and should be ready to put his best foot forward here under Finian Maguire.
Don't forget to check out Bookies Bonuses' recently updated horse racing betting sites list if you need help picking the right bookmaker for the race day.
