Punchestown

Do any of the racing followers on here get excited about the Punchestown Festival? Got to admit that i dont,yes it has some quality stuff on offer but once the Whitbread or whatever its called has been and gone then thats the jumps done as far as im concerned.Cheltenham and Aintree are the two big ones for me.

I love the Punchestown Ferstival.....tho' I can't watch it this year as we no longer have Sky.

In the days before I went out to work I would watch every race from Punchestown, on ATR, I used to get very excited about it lol

The highlight of tomorrow's card is the Boylesports.Com Champion Chase with Sizing Europe, Big Zeb and Captain Cee Bee up against each other again.

I see Timmy Murphy is on Sizing Europe....a very nice spare ride for him..........read about it here

Sporting Life

Would love CCB to win this : )

Solerina

Had a litle look at the entries for tomorrow and i come up with these four to avoid;
4.20 Shot From The Hip-always liked this fella,disappointed last time but solid runs in good company beforehand and this doesnt look an overly strong renewal.
4.55 Wee Giant-Ruby doing 10-01 for this is a tip in itself.
5.30 Captain Cee Bee-ran a cracker in the Queen Mother,will love this quicker ground,massive chance.
6.40 Thegreatjohnbrowne-missed Cheltenham/Aintree,so comes here fresh,solid run at Leopardstown over Christmas,if he gets loose on the front end he'll take some pegging back

Never been a fan of this festival in all honesty, it's not just a case of after the lord mayors show ... Cheltenham, Aintree, everything should be packed away for the summer in the NH sphere and i just cannot ever get over excited about the prospect of lots of Cheltenham and Aintree reversals over the next few days (which more often than not is the case) ... Having said that, I will take note of the results although won't put a massive bearing on them for next seasons big races and the festival... or should i say this season. Glancing at the card for tomorrow, the ones thats stand out for me are -

4.55 - Gimli's Rock ew
5.30 - Golden Silver (as long as Townend switches him off like he did i the Tied Cottage)
6.40 - Quito De La Roque (one right out of the top drawer ... Festival 2012 winner !!!)

So there's three to avoid like the plague !!!

I have got more interested in Punchestown in recent years, especially with the feature race being run after I have left work, so its a quick pop in the bookies on the way home.

tomorrow's champion chase looks very tricky, but if Sizing Europe can get anywhere near his form at Cheltenham he will be hard to beat.

can't wait for the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle races though!

trouble is this is such a busy racing week (arguably the busiest of the year) with the Chester festival starting on Wednesday. Punchestown seems very late this year. Any reason for this ? maybe the late Easter

good tipping Grahame on Quito de la roque.
I was going to have a bet on that myself but forgot

the Gold Cup today looks fascinating
will this be Kauto Star's last race?
can Nacarat win again?
can McCoy win on Kempes?

really not sure but although Kauto Star has not won this year, he has managed 3rd place in both the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cups and should therefore not be discounted. He also managed to beat Nacarat at Kempton in the King George

Quito De La Roque did it well ... couldn't believe the price either. Unfortunately Golden Silver didn't perform, just had nothing to give when the big boys turned up the heat but what a superb finish between Big Zeb & Sizing Europe.
I think i'll give Punchestown a wide berth today, looking forward to catching some of the action, really hope this isn't a race too far for Kauto Star but can't really fancy anything there today ... definitely a watching brief !!!!

Well done with Quito De La Roque, Grahame : )

Agree about Kauto........I think he'll win today......I hope he's retired soon......he'd give someone an awful lot of fun,

Solerina

The people who are lukewarm about Punchestown actually need to attend the meeting. Then I promise they would become hooked and return as often as possible.

I think if it was held at a different time of the year I would be more bothered.

its just that to have it clash with a major flat festival seems to be a bit crazy.

the major races though yes I agree look superb, Kauto Star today, Quevega tomorrow and then one of the finest Champion hurdles for years on Friday

steveo77 wrote:its just that to have it clash with a major flat festival seems to be a bit crazy.

Don't think HRI will be overly concerned about Punchestown clashing with a flat festival in a foreign country!

I was more concerned when it used to clash with the Perth Festival. That caused me a great deal of angst and agonising choices.....

michael_o wrote:The people who are lukewarm about Punchestown actually need to attend the meeting. Then I promise they would become hooked and return as often as possible.

Hi Michael......as I said earlier when I had ATR I used to really look forward to Punchestown.....I love Irish racing : )

Solerina

Looking at Kauto Star, he really was not right today, a shadow of his former self. Now what for this wonderful horse .... He will get the summer he deserves but is this the last we have seen of him ???
If i'm being honest, i hope he is now retired as if he cannot realsitically win any of the top races, i.e. King George or Gold Cup, then i think a well earned retirement is the right thing to do.

I agree - retire him now.
he can then go out on a high. He is an all time great. let him enjoy himself now

Yes....surely they'll retire Kauto now......if he were mine he'd have been retried after his great run at Cheltenham this year.

Solerina

Just heard Clive Smith's interview and from what he said I'm fairly certain that Kauto will now be retired.

But I'm soooo pleased for Tom Doyle, finally landing a prize that his talents richly deserve. A lovely guy who has been scandalously under-used imo since he returned to Ireland.

michael_o wrote:Just heard Clive Smith's interview and from what he said I'm fairly certain that Kauto will now be retired.

But I'm soooo pleased for Tom Doyle, finally landing a prize that his talents richly deserve. A lovely guy who has been scandalously under-used imo since he returned to Ireland.

Thanks michael that's great news.....from what I was reading earlier I didn't think Paul Nicholls was making any plans just yet.
I think Clive Smith will do the right thing by the horse.

Agree about Tom Doyle : )

Solerina

We've got Hurricane Fly and Binocular today at Punchestown (5.30).......who's it going to be then?

It might be Menorah.....tho' I can't see the Fly being beaten today.

Anyone having a bet on this race?

Solerina

if I am going to have a bet then it will probably be on Hurricane Fly. it is almost a better line up than Cheltenham though!

Punchestown is a great festival, I had the pleasure of running some properties in Ireland around 8 years ago and managed to manipulate my visits over there with this and the Galway festival for a couple of years.
Not sure I like the late afternoon/evening move though, I'm sure it works well for those who attend the meeting but it creates difficulties for those of us who work and travel around peak times.

I actually think the timing is good, it allows Cheltenham and Aintree horses time to recover and stand their ground.
I was gutted Garde Champetre was pulled out yesterday, I hope there's still a top race left for him before he goes out to grass, have to question why the ground was allowed to firm up so much though.

As for today, some cracking racing, The Fly will be very hard to beat but at 4/7 or thereabouts I'd struggle to get too excited.
Take So Young to bounce back after his Cheltenham defeat, this is a serious horse....

Solerina wrote:We've got Hurricane Fly and Binocular today at Punchestown (5.30).......who's it going to be then?

It might be Menorah.....tho' I can't see the Fly being beaten today.

Anyone having a bet on this race?

Solerina

I think the firmer ground will suit Binocular.

Wouldn't bet the FLY at odds on, thats asking for trouble.

Hello children,sorry ive been off for a while,cricketing commitments for the last 3 nights im afraid.Seen a little of Punchestown but cant say im bothered if i see it or not,will watch the big hurdle at 5.30,wont have a bet but id take all the big guns on and have a pop with Starluck.Finished close up behind Peddlers first up the Fighting Fifth before going on a chasing career which hasnt seemed to work.All the big names had hard races at either of the Festivals and Kauto proved that this place can be a bridge too far after a hard race and at the current odds i rate Starluck a sporting little dabble.

Shows how much notice ive taken of Punchestown.....Starluck didnt even run!
The Fly was imperious today even allowing for Binocular having to make the pace,he is the best theres been for quite a while and after he demolished that lot today it probably puts into context how good a performance Peddlers produced against him at Cheltenham to even get him off the bridle.

Grizzly wrote:
Not sure I like the late afternoon/evening move though, I'm sure it works well for those who attend the meeting but it creates difficulties for those of us who work and travel around peak times.

I'm glad you mentioned this, Grizzly, I thought I was going nuts when I read the times of the races.....is this the first year it's been moved to the evening?

I'm pleased Hurricane Fly won today.....I love Binocular too tho' and was very disappointed that he didn't get the chance to defend his title at this year's Cheltenham Festival.

I haven't managed to watch any of Punchestown.......and I won't see any of tomorrow's racing either......my life as it is at the moment doesn't allow for watching much racing.

But I love keeping up with it all on here and reading all your posts....so thanks : )

Solerina

I think this is the third year Solerina.
It would be so much of an issue but the feature races are usually 5.30/6.05 which I'm sure is inconvenient for many.
It must work or they wouldn't do it I guess...

Grizzly wrote:I think this is the third year Solerina.
It would be so much of an issue but the feature races are usually 5.30/6.05 which I'm sure is inconvenient for many.
It must work or they wouldn't do it I guess...

Thanks Grizzly : )

Solerina

If ever there was a Festival that dilutes itself then its Punchestown,some really top notch action mixed with some total dross.They could condense it into three days and make it a real quality racing fest.

racingnut

Agreed, but this is modern day commercialism, look what they've done to the best of them all, Cheltenham.
It's only knowledgeable racing enthusiasts and those working within the industry that may complain about quality of races/duplication etc, your average racegoer out for a day with his/her mates won't care one bit that there was a bumper the day before or that the 2.4m novice chase is the third of the week.
The only people who suffer from this are ante post punters !

Grizzly,

agree to a certain extent with you about Cheltenham but I still feel there is enough quality over the 4 days - if it ever went to 5 days then that would kill it. Also the fact that it remains weekdays only. The Gold Cup would die a horrible death if it had to compete with other sports on a Saturday afternoon

Steveo

Debated this countless times with many many people, Cheltenham will squeeze whatever that can out of racegoers and sponsors, they have somehow (and I do believe the quality has been dilluted in some areas) created 27 races (from a previous set programme of 18), they are only 3 races away from making it a 5 day festival if they choose to return to 6 races per day.
The money at stake is huge, not just for Cheltenham but for the betting industry and the local economy in general.

Winners like Captain Chris and Bensalem had 4 entries at the festival, with engagements only confirmed 2 or 3 days before, if you create a 2m 4f handicap novice chase and a 2m 5f novice chase as well as existing fixtures like the Arkle and the RSA you create an absolute ante post bloodbath.
How many of those races was Reve de Sivola entered for this year before they decided to run him in the old W Hill chase ?

As for the Gold Cup, as long as they avoid a clash with 6 Nations Rugby I think a Sat race woudl be a success, I don't want to see it but I think it opens up a whole new line of opportunities with overseas viewers, increased sponsorship etc.
The National has been competing against prem lge football forever and wins, I'd expect the Gold Cup to do the same, but as I say, I'd prefer it to be left as is....

Cheltenham is supposed to be having a £30m make-over.......I hope they don't then extend the Festival to 5 days in order to help pay for it.

Solerina

Solerina

Not sure it'll become a 5 day festival but what they may choose to do is shift to a Wed-Sat format.
As I mentioned earlier, the Saturday racing opens up a heap of opportunities to draw in new/wider audiences, the financial upside is huge for the industry and I think Cheltenham are accutely aware of this, I don't think the local economy gains an awful lot from it as it's the same number of people for the same length of time, but sponsors will be queueing up if they knew their brand was being beamed to a host of new countries.