Punchestown Festival 2014 - La Touche Cup and Best of the Rest

It is said that Aintree is a ground for Cheltenham compensation but this week Punchestown has ben the ground for offering plenty of just reward and it was great to see Graham Wylie’s support for the game get rewarded handsomely with the winners of the Gold Cup with Boston Bob and Champion Bumper in Shaneshill. Rewarded for switching his horses to Paul Nicholls and Willie Mullins after the ignominy of Howard Johnson’s incredible mistreatment, he had genuine reason to contest his second place in the Gold Cup but received what some might call positive karma for accepting the result and also his continued support for the game with two of the biggest winners of the week.

There was a badly damaged wallet – thankfully saved by a football club by Madrid for the second time in the week thanks to the joy of ante post betting  -with On His Own (who came back lame in his off-fore) but there is little surprise in seeing him landing big races, as he threatened to do last year as a novice but for jumping issues, and while hindsight is a wonderful thing it’s not a surprise to have learned of his breathing operation. Talk of a Gold Cup tilt is entirely reasonable, and 16’s in a place is a fair price for all that he hasn’t won two of the strongest contests ever run this spring – he made very short work of First Lieutenant when things got serious in the home straight.

Onto today’s action, on what has to be one of the most difficult cards seen this year, it is a great surprise to see the La Touche Cup (4.50) as one of the least competitive races of the day but there does look to be an absence of quality to the race that gives Duke of Lucca a fine chance of giving Phllip Hobbs the perfect warm-up for Fingal Bay’s bid later. Fourth in the Cheltenham equivalent, his short head success at Aintree last time out over three miles is the best recent form of the field by some distance and while he is 7lbs higher today, he holds a clear advantage over all but Quantitiveeassing – whose second to Carlingford Lough in the Galway Plate is the best handicap form in the field – and will take the beating today if over a very hard Aintree race.

Earlier, in the Three.ie handicap chase, one of the most competitive races of the week, Art of Logistics is one of many who can bounce back from a poor Cheltenham effort to go close here. Things have not gone right for him since landing a 2m2f Grade 3 earlier in the season but this is much closer to his best trip – the likely strong pace should suit him well -and off 136 if he puts in a decent round it’s fair to say that we haven’t seen the best of him just yet.

Favourite Ned Buntline has a fine chance if repeating his Cheltenham effort but at 3/1 he is very short for such a deep race and offers no value. In the 3 mile handicap hurdle (6.40), Off The Charts is potential value if in the form that saw him go off just 8/1 for the same race that Our Man Zebo went so well in (the form of which was boosted yesterday) and the first time visor may also have positive effect, so he is worth watching closely in the market and taking a chance on at 20/1.


And ahead of Saturday's racing, take the early 5/2 about Triumph winner Tiger Roll following up his Festival success with another win here. Gordon Elliot's charge was a dominant winner at Cheltenham once organised and came home three and a half lengths to the good of Kentucky Hyden with third and subsequent Aintree winner Guitar Pete further behind. The Mullins pair of Abyissal and Adriana Des Mottes bring potential to the field but Tiger Roll has had only three runs and there could be yet more to come from the horse with the best form in the race. 

Advice

2 pts each/way Art of Logistics, 4.15 Punchestown (9/1 general)

1 pt win Duke of Lucca, 4.50 Punchestown (2/1 general)  

1 pt each/way Off The Charts, 6.05 Punchestown (20/1 general) 

4 pts win Tiger Roll, 4.20 Punchestown (Saturday, 5/2 general)