Ginger Joe - Punchestown Festival 2024 - Betting Tips for Day 2

Three more Grade 1s for Day two at Punchestown

Racing fans, there are three more Grade 1s on Day 2 of the Punchestown Festival and I’m back to bring you my best betsWednesday’s racing. I’m writing this prior to the Day 1 racing, but hopefully they have all done us proud. For the second day of Punchestown we have some fantastic action starting with the three mile Novice Hurdlers, where the Albert Bartlett winner, Stellar Story, is back trying to try for the Cheltenham/Punchestown double.

We then have the Champion Bumper, where the winner and runner-up from Cheltenham go head to head again. But this time around they have the potential threat of an unbeaten Barry Connell runner, who could be absolutely anything. He has been very impressive on his two starts to date and it will be great to see how he gets on against these more experienced rivals. Then later, we get to see dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs try to back up his Chelteham win with victory in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup. It is an unbelievable day of racing so let’s get stuck in.

£20 of free bets from Gold Cup sponsor Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes are sponsoring the Gold Cup on Day 2 of the Punchestown Festival and we have been given a fantastic offer to help us celebrate. Bet £5, and you’ll get £20 in free bets. With three more days of racing to go, it’s well worth getting a piece of this action.

16:15 - The Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f - Stellar Story

The first Grade 1 on Day 2 is the Group Novice Hurdle and it is an interesting race to figure out. Dancing City, who runs for the Mullins’ team, already has two Grade 1s to his name, but I don't know if this race suits him tactically, especially as I don't think there is too much more improvement in this one. He certainly has enough ability to feature here, but I feel he might be lacking a turn of foot when it’s needed.

Stellar Story was the shock winner of the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival this year, but he did it in style and I think he could be well suited to this race. There looks to be plenty of pace here, which he’ll relish and although he hasn’t run on ground quite this fast before, he’s shown us plenty of speed, so the chances are that he’ll prefer it, which gives him a big chance.

Better Days Ahead is another Cheltenham Festival winner, having won the Martin Pipe, but he now runs off a mark of 145 and this race might be beyond his scope. High Class Hero lost his unbeaten record when he was pulled up at Cheltenham and it really disappointed me. He was ridden from the back, which was an unusual tactic and he will prefer Punchestown, so with a better ride here he may do better, but he has far too much to prove for my liking. Lecky Watson is an interesting contender and generally a really solid type but he was a little underwhelming at Cheltenham too. I don’t have especially strong feelings on this race, but my vote goes to Stellar Story.

GJ Verdict - Stellar Story

16:50 - The Champion Bumper (Grade 1) 2m - William Munny

The Champion Bumper is a race I cannot wait to watch, as the Cheltenham equivalent of this race was quite the spectacle. Jasmin De Vaux lines up here looking to remain unbeaten after winning last month. He is definitely a horse that is set to improve and it is hard to look beyond him based on his Cheltenham performance. Romeo Coolio also ran a nice race at Cheltenham considering things didn’t go to plan for him that day and he could get a bit closer to the favourite this time around. You Oughta Know and The Yellow Clay both disappointed at Cheltenham, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that either of them could bounce back to form.

William Munny, running for Barry Connell, is a seriously interesting contender here though. He only just managed to win on debut, but he was green as grass, then he absolutely bolted up next time out at Naas, looking like he took a really big step forward. That day he looked like a real weapon and his turn of foot was electric, so he clearly has a lot of ability.

He’s at a bit of a pivot point now. If he gets within a couple of lengths of the top two in the market, you would see this is a massive run and it would set him up for a bright Novice Hurdle campaign next season, but if he manages to get past them, then it's fair to assume Barry Connell has another machine on his hands. Ultimately the favourite might prove to be too good, but my money is on William Munny for this one.

GJ Verdict - William Munny

17:25 Punchestown - The Ladbrokes Gold Cup 3m 1f - Galopin Des Champs

The Punchestown Gold Cup looks set to be another cracker. However, barring incidents or accidents, it’s pretty much certain that odds on favourite Galopin Des Champs has this one in the bag. He has won both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Irish Gold Cup for two years on the trot, plus multiple Grade 1s besides. He just needs to turn up and run his race here basically.

Second favourite, Fastorslow, did beat Galopin Des Champs in the John Durkan, but the latter clearly wasn't feeling at his best that day, which leaves that piece of form questionable. Hewick is an interesting runner, and it wouldn't be a total shock to see him finish second best here, despite his double-figure price tag. He has an incredible CV, which includes the King George VI Chase, so he is more than capable of producing the goods and I would love to see Hewick do well here. I backed Gentlemansgame at Cheltenham and paid the price, as he came up well short, but he will prefer it round Punchestown and could sneak a place on his best form, so he’s worth considering from an each way angle at his current huge price.

It's also great to see Corach Rambler taking his chance and he owes connections nothing. He has proven time and time again that he stays all day long and if the pace gets a little too hot up front, he could well pick up the pieces. Conflated is probably the only other horse that deserves a mention, but he is a bit hard to read these days and makes too many mistakes for my tastes. Ultimately, this looks like it will go the way of Galopin Des Champs, but behind him the field does look quite open, so there’s definitely some each way money up for grabs.

GJ Verdict - Galopin Des Champs

Betting tips for Day 2 at Punchestown

• 16:15 - Stellar Story
• 16:50 - William Munny
• 17:25 - Galopin Des Champs

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