2012 Punchestown Festival Tuesday Betting Preview Part 2
- By A.J. Ryder on April 23, 2012 15:15 GMT
The third race is the 4:55 and it's a handicap hurdle going 2m over the going, which should still be rated soft at this point. The field for this one has just been clipped down to 28, which is still lengthy but far from the 48 runners who were still in the mix yesterday before the most recent withdrawal stage. People who follow the Irish National Hunt closely will be able to make a bit more sense of this one but there are a number of beaten favourites coming into this one.
The highest-weighted is Citizenship, who was last seen finishing well-beaten in the Vincent O'Brien at Cheltenham. Prior to that he had looked quite good at Leopardstown, capturing a score in late January and finishing a close second two days after Christmas.
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Taking a look further down the card, you'll notice that Citizenship has a Punchestown victory to his credit – at a tidy price as well.
Louisville Lip deserves a look as well, having not quite popped this season but still boasting plenty of upside.
The 5:30 is the Grade 1 Boylesports.com Champion Chase for a massive 140,000 guaranteed. Fan-favourite Captain Cee Bee is back in this one and he should be taking plenty of money from the betting public though it will likely be skewed towards the place bet and the bottom end of the forecast under Sizing Europe or Big Zeb.
The pair are expected to contest their latest face-off in a series that now spans four or five races. Big Zeb has been cooling off a bit later on in the season and Sizing still definitely has something to prove following his defeat at Cheltenham by the upstart Rock On Ruby. A bet on this race is a de facto bet for or against Sizing Europe. He should kick on and seldom loses two races in a row though punters will struggle to find him at a solid price.
Big Zeb beat Sizing here last year and boasts a fairly solid record at this course though he was beaten by a massive fifteen lengths back in February by none other than Sizing Europe.
