Punchestown Day One Betting Preview Part 1

We’ve got a massive slate full of Grade 1 jumping action coming from Ireland as the Punchestown Festival kicks off in earnest this Tuesday. The highest-rated jumps horse in the land kicks will be on display on day one and the mighty Sprinter Sacre looks to keep his unbeaten streak alive and solidify his place as a genuine shout for one of the greatest contenders of all time. 

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Unbeaten since falling at Cheltenham back in 2011, Sprinter Sacre has switched over to  the chasing circuit and never looked back - now being considered nearly unbackable by virtually every punter, he’s expected to go off quite short again in the Boylesports.com Champion Chase. 

That’s especially impressive when you consider that he’s tangling with Sizing Europe again in a race that he’s had on a platter in the past. There are some other really solid contenders lining up as well like Cue Card, Foildubh and Days Hotel - who was a beaten favourite last time out at Fairyhouse. 

Also keep your eye on Finian’s Rainbow, who was a fourth-place finisher to Sprinter Sacre in the Melling Chase at Aintree. 

With the field now whittled down to a mere eight contenders, keep your eyes peeled for another couple of withdrawals as we get closer to the off. 

The first Grade 1 of the day runs at 4:20 and we’ve got the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle with twelve talented contenders set to line up at this point. There is an awful lot of form coming into this race and, unlike the Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham, there isn awful lot more races under their belts by the time they actually get to Punchestown. With more predictable form, it makes the race much more interesting from a betting perspective.