A small field of just 5 runners, set to line up for the Grade One, Tattersalls Ireland Champion Novice Hurdle.
Pont Alexandre lined up for the Neptune at Cheltenham as the 6/4 favourite, on the back of two easy wins, in soft ground graded races. The better ground probably didn’t suit him, but his jockey did him no favours either, by setting such a slow pace, on a horse that looked all about stamina. He went over 30l slower to halfway, than the leaders in the Coral Cup. When the sprint for home started, he predictable got out speeded by The New One, who went on to win, with Pont Alexandre beaten over 8l in 3rd. In the circumstances the horse probably did as well as you would expect, and the softer ground tomorrow, is almost certainly in his favour. Whether his overall form entitles him to be 4/5 is debatable.
Un Atout went to Cheltenham having won all three previous starts, all on soft/heavy ground. The official going for the Supreme Novices was soft, but it’s likely it was more like good to soft. Having sat second to the winner, Champagne Fever from the start, he was still travelling well when hitting the 3rd last hard, it didn’t cost him much ground, but surely had an energy cost, and he came off the bridle soon after. He was still bang there rounding the home bend before weakening to be beaten 18l. He definitely rates as better than the bare result, the softer ground tomorrow will suit, and this fine looking horse, may also improve for the step up in trip.
Ubak was a shock winner of a grade two at Aintree, when the two favourites disappointed. He hadn’t previously looked to be up to much, and I wouldn’t be in a rush, to suddenly rate him a top class prospect, for winning a race that seemed to fall apart a bit. The others rather stopped from the second last, and he is surely flattered by his margin of victory, over horses that would fall a long way short, in a race like this, in any case. His action suggests he should be okay on softer ground, but that remains to be proved, and he did seem to enjoy the better ground at Aintree.
Sizing Rio has got well beaten the last twice, since winning a grade 3 at Navan back in November, while Mullaghanoe River will find this a good deal tougher than the maiden hurdle he won last time.
To my eye there’s little between the two favourites, yet Pont Alexandre is 4/5 while Un Atout is 3/1 with
6.05 Punchestown – Champion Novice Hurdle – Tips
3 pt win Un Atout at 3/1 BOG with Coral
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Stakes are on a scale of 0-10. Further details can be found in Free Horse Racing Tips – Staking and Betting Bank size Recommendations
BOG stands for Best Odds Guaranteed, which means if you take a price and SP is better, you get the SP.
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