Punchestown Racecourse: preview and tips for day two of Festival

After a number of big guns stunned on day one The first day of the Punchestown Festival sprung up a couple of big surprises as Cheltenham Festival winners Kopek Des Bordes and Fact To File were both convincingly turned over as their seasons came to a close.

And there could be some more surprises in store on day two of the Festival, which gets underway at 2.30pm on Wednesday and the eight-race card rounds off at 6.35pm.

Read below for a full preview of the day two card at Punchestown, plus selections for each race courtesy of BoyleSports, who offer the latest horse racing odds.

There are plenty to consider in the opening race on the second day of action as a big field of 25 tackle the two mile and three furlong handicap hurdle for horses aged four and older (2.30). The Joseph O’Brien-trained Beyond Your Dreams was a decent ninth in the Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival in March and looks ready for this step up in trip so could be the way to go.

Race two of the afternoon is another two mile and three furlong hurdle contest and 16 runners are set to take it on (3.05). Champagne Fury was successful in his sole start in bumpers and has shaped promisingly since, including a second on hurdles debut 59 days ago for the Gavin Cromwell team so rates the main chance here. Of his rivals, Rockymountainbleu provides the big threat, stepping back up to a more suitable trip after a fourth at Naas when dropping down.

Willie Mullins could get off the mark for the day in race three (3.40) with Got Glory, though it is not a foregone conclusion given her record at completing races, but Mullins has won four of the last seven renewals of this race. He also had Kaid D’authie in this one, pulled up in the Baring Bingham at Cheltenham so has had the cheekpieces applied for the first time here to keep him on the straight and narrow.

The first Grade 1 on the card is up next at 4.15 with the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle and €74,999 heading the way of the winner of the two-mile and seven furlong contest (4.15). Jasmin De Vaux was a ready winner of the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham for the Mullins team and a repeat here should see her firmly in the mix once again. Fellow G1 winner Honesty Policy for trainer Gordon Elliott is the next best, a scorer in the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at the Aintree Festival and is unbeaten in three starts.

The Grade 1 bumper follows hot on the heels on day two at 4.50 with seven runners set for the off. Mullins holds an incredibly strong hand again with Bambino Fever, who beat the boys when she scored in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and is the clear one to beat. The Noel Meade-trained Colcannon can give her the most to think about, a winner of a Group 2 bumper at Leopardstown 88 days ago.

The feature race of the day, and arguably the week, is race six on the card with the Punchestown Gold Cup (5.30), another Grade 1 contest with a whopping €180,000 top prize and sees the return to the track for Galopin Des Champs, beaten when going for a three-peat of Cheltenham Gold Cup’s in March so, in some eyes, might have a bit to prove though he is still the clear class of the field. King George winner Banbridge is taken to finish behind the Mullins runner in second, while Spillane’s Tower can round out the top three for trainer Jimmy Mangan.

A Grade 3 handicap chase over two and a half miles marks the penultimate race on the card (6.05) with preference heading the way of Lightkeeper, who faces his toughest test so far over fences but can make it a hat-trick of wins here ahead of last year’s winner Let’s Go Champ, and in the grade 3 bumper finale (6.35) Seo linn gets the nod for the Paddy Twomey team, who is the selection on form having won a second straight Grade 3 bumper on the spin at Aintree 27 days ago.

Punchestown selections - Wednesday 

2.30 - Beyond Your Dreams 

3.05 - Champagne Fury 

3.40 - Got Glory 

4.15 - Jasmin De Vaux 

4.50 - Bambino Fever 

5.30 - Galopin Des Champs 

6.05 - Lightkeeper 

6.30 - Seo Linn