Key Points
- Today’s betting tip has been targeted for this race
- The form from his penultimate win has worked out well
- His trainer has a great record with his Irish raiders
We move into a new month, but we continue at the 2026 Punchestown Festival on Day 4. This penultimate day’s action looks like a cracker in terms of a spectacle but a tough day for punting, at least for those who look for value away from the top of the market like me. However, I think I have found a great bet at a double figure price in the Novice Handicap Chase and that is the selection for today!
Are you discovering my
free horse racing tips
for the first time? If that is the case, where have you been?! All jokes aside, I’m RacingGav and I’m the resident horse racing expert here at Betting.co.uk. As well as publishing daily and antepost betting tips, I also produce content that includes horses and trainers to follow, big race trends, educational guides! If you would like to check out some of the latter, I’d recommend starting with
how to read National Hunt form, and
the impact of track bias, as both can help you identify winners for the remainder of the season.
Betting advice
- 17:25 Punchestown -
Norn Iron
@ 12/1 (5 places) -
1pt each way
bet365 has the best odds and place terms!
As I write this article, the
best horse racing odds
of 12/1 for Iron Norn are on offer at bet365, plus they are paying five places. As well as great value on the price, they also have a superb new customer offer for those who do not currently have an account with them. If you bet £10, you’ll get £30 in free bets. Well worth checking out.
Norn Iron can give Harry Derham his third Punchestown victory!
It’s fantastic to see some British trainers having a crack at the Irish on their home turf, and Harry Derham is one of them. I think Norn Iron has a great chance of bringing him another Punchestown Festival winner, and here I’ll explain why!
Norn Iron has been targeted for this race
Norn Iron’s trainer, Harry Derham mentioned publicly that “This race has been the plan for quite some time with him”
which is exactly what you want to hear about a runner in a big Handicap. I expect this race is the end of season goal for a few horses, but I’d rather back one who has been campaigned for it, than one coming here as an afterthought.
Plenty will try to pick holes because Norn Iron’s last two wins were in small fields. However, with his style of running I think having him covered up in a bigger field could bring about more improvement. Interestingly, both of his recent wins were at Sandown, which is a similar track to Punchestown. Both are right-handed, and both have an uphill climb to the line. I think Norm Iron has had a lovely preparation for this race and he could have plenty more to show us.
Speaking of Norn Iron winning his last two races, it’s interesting to take a look at the form. His latest victory isn’t anything to write home about form wise as neither of his opposition in the three strong field have been seen again since. It didn’t look the strongest of races but he cannot help what turns up to oppose him. All Norn Iron can do is beat them in great style and he certainly did that, asserting at the finish.
The race I find more interesting is the run before, which was another small field of just five runners. However, this one looks much stronger than perhaps it did at the time. Of course, Norn Iron himself went on to win next time out. So did the second horse - Risk De Pluie and he was second the time after off a 7lb higher mark too. He was then sent off favourite for a handicap at the Scottish Grand National meeting but could only finish fourth. The fourth horse from the race - Rip Wheeler has form figures of 1241 since the Sandown race, franking the form nicely. Even the fifth horse - El Granjero has franked the form, as he was second next time out before going on to win the Highland National up at Perth on his next start.
To summarise, that penultimate race for Norn Iron has had 12 runners come out of it with five wins and two places produced. If you look at the next time out runs alone, the five runs have produced three wins and one place. It’s not like Norn Iron scraped home that day either, he won comfortably by five and a half lengths.
Harry Derham does very well with his Irish raiders
I love to see a British trainer go and take it to the Irish on their own tracks, and Harry Derham certainly isn’t afraid to. He has sent 11 runners to Punchestown during his short training career, achieving one win last year, and he has one under his belt already this year. At the 2025 meeting he won a Listed Handicap Hurdle with Ascending Lark, and this year, he landed Grade 1 honours with Le Frimeur earlier in the week. Overall, that’s a strike rate of 18%, and to a £1 level stake, he is currently +£17.00 after those two winners at prices of 8/1 and 18/1.
It’s not just Punchestown that Harry Derham has conquered this side of the Irish Sea. Despite sending just four runners over to Fairyhouse, he achieved one win and two fourth places, again producing a profit to £1 level stakes. The winner was in another Listed Handicap Hurdle at Washington back in December 2024, and he won by a comfortable five lengths. It’s clear to see that Harry Derham is not sending horses over to Ireland for a day out, he wants to compete against the home team.
It’ll be tough to top the Grade 1 success of Le Frimeur earlier in the week, but I’m sure Harry Derham would be delighted to double his tally and secure a second winner. He has already proved that he can win Listed Handicaps this side of the water, and hopefully he can strike again in this €100,000 Listed Novice Handicap Chase. At a price of 12/1, five places, and a lovely racing weight of 11st 1lb, I’m certainly willing to back Norn Iron and find out!
Can Harry Derham strike again at Punchestown?
He’s targeted him for this race and I feel his experience of winning twice around Sandown will stand him in really good stead for the test he’ll face today. This will be a completely different type of race with a huge field of 22 runners rather than the small fields he faced in Britain but if anything, I think it could bring even more out of the horse, with him having more to follow and aim at here. The fact he’s been targeted at this race and the form of the penultimate run only fuels my confidence further. As I said in the previous section, Harry has proven he’s not just sending these horses over for a day out and hopefully he can reinforce that point here with Norn Iron.
In terms of negatives, the lack of big field race experience is certainly one. However, Le Frimeur lacked experience and that didn’t stop him winning a Grade 1 for Harry Derham earlier in the meeting. I do also appreciate that his last two wins have come on Soft ground, so he’ll have to prove that he’ll be just as happy on the better ground that he’ll face here. That said, he has previously won on Good ground, so he looks pretty versatile to me. Finally he has to prove he can handle a 7lb rise for his latest win, which now takes it to a 15lb rise for his last two wins. However, he looks to be a rapidly progressing horse and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think there could be plenty more to come from him.
When you take all of the aspects into consideration, I think he looks a superb each way bet at 12/1 with five places being paid. So much so that I’m happy to play a strong 1pt each way. I’d be pretty disappointed if he wasn’t at least going close in this race and I do genuinely believe he could scoop the top prize!
Take your pick from these fantastic free bet deals!
We’ve compiled a list of our recommended bookmakers and their current
betting offers for horse racing. With only a modest deposit needed, there are some great rewards on offer, so be sure to check them out!
Want more RacingGav content? Join my Discord!
While I produce several articles per week for Betting.co.uk, the vast majority of my content is exclusive to members of my Discord server. It’s the only place where you can access all of my betting tips and much more!
My Discord launched back in January 2024 and it’s still going now, so I must be doing something right!
April 2026 has been fantastic, with nine winners on the board at 14/1, 40/1, 14/1, 2/1, 16/1, 7/2, 3/1, 3/1 and 9/1 as well as many more big priced places!
I’m sure you are wondering how much all of this will cost you? Well, it’s just £14.99 per month - less than 50p per day!
Alternatively, you may prefer a longer-term commitment for savings:
- Quarterly: ÂŁ34.99 (saves ÂŁ9.98)
- Bi-Annually: ÂŁ74.99 (saves ÂŁ14.95)
- Annually: ÂŁ149.99 (saves ÂŁ29.89)
I’m so confident that you’ll enjoy the Discord that I offer
a 7-day free trial. And I’m also confident that my tips will make a profit, so if you join and don’t make a profit across your first 30 days, I’ll refund your subscription fee!
If you want to know more, my DMs are always open on X – @RacingGav
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
by Racing Gav
3 hours ago
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
by Racing Gav
4 hours ago
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
