It's the opening day of this year's Punchestown festival, and what a start we have in store for the five day horse racing extravaganza.
There are three Grade 1 races down for decision this afternoon, and Willie Mullins is of course the trainer of the favourites in each of those races. That's not a surprise considering the vast amount of wins the Carlow based trainer has clocked up this season, and with Ruby Walsh on board he has a man that knows every corner and fence of this racecourse like the back of his hand.
The feature race today is the Boylesports Champion Chase, and there is only one likely winner in this one. Although Vautour suffered a shock fall in his last run in Aintree less than three weeks ago, he is by far the strongest horse on the track today. The seven-year-old, with odds of 4/11, doesn't look like being beaten over the two mile distance and it appears that most punters will be looking out for who finishes as runner up.
Gods Own was the benefactor from Vautour's fall in Aintree and should challenge, but Nicky Henderson trained Simonsig is an interesting alternative. Though the 10-year-old has not had many runs in the past three years, he has impressed on the outings he has had. The two mile distance will suit a horse of his age, so an each way bet or backing him for second looks a decent punt here.
Yorkhill is the other 'banker' of the day, and it's hard to look past the brilliant six-year-old in the Champion Novice Hurdle. Again, it looks like a case of backing the second placed finisher behind the Willie Mullins trained favourite, and Ball Darc is an interesting proposition here. The Gordon Elliot trained five-year-old is probably the most consistent performer in the field behind Yorkhill, and he has won at Punchestown over the same distance before. Odds of 25/1 mean he is a horse that is definitely worth a look.
The third big race of the day is possibly the hardest to call. Outlander is the favourite going into Growise Novice Chase, but there is a strong field behind him that will definitely pose a few problems for the Mullins trained eight-year-old.
It's not hard to envisage Mullins doing a clean sweep of all three Grade 1 races today- the odds of which are just over 7/1- and Outlander does have a fine chance of winning this one, but it is certainly the most unlikely victor of the Mullins trio. This race could see the first big winner for the British, and Harry Fry's Henryville is in with a serious shot. After winning over a distance of 2m4f in Exeter last month, the eight-year-old should be well rested and raring to go here.
The first race starts at 3.40pm this afternoon, while the last one goes to post at 7.15pm.
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