Key Points
- Today’s betting tip has run some excellent races in defeat
- This horse looks to have ideal conditions in this race
- First time cheekpieces are applied to maintain focus
The fifth and final day of the 2026 Punchestown Festival is here and with it, the end of the National Hunt season in Ireland. It’s been a fantastic season of racing both in Ireland and in Britain and hopefully we can see it off with a bang! We hit the woodwork with Norn Iron yesterday as he finished a strong second behind Willie Mullins' runner Funiculi Funicula, but I believe today’s 16/1 selection can go one better.
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Betting advice
- 15:45 Punchestown -
Kinturk Kalanisi
@ 16/1 (6 places) -
1pt each way
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At the time of writing, the
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Kinturk Kalanisi deserves to land a big one!
It’s safe to say that Kinturk Kalanisi has been unfortunate not to win again since his victory over Hurdles in March 2024. I’ll cover that aspect in more detail later in the article, but he certainly deserves to get his head in front again. In this article, I’ll break down why I think he can bounce back today.
Kinturk Kalanisi has run some excellent races in defeat
It’s quite remarkable that a horse of Kinturk Kalanisi’s ability has only recorded one victory in his career, and that was in a Maiden Hurdle over two years ago. Considering that he has only finished out of the first three in five of his 13 races. Of his five finishes out of the frame he unseated once and was pulled up in the Irish Grand National. But of the races he completed, he has finished in the first three in 10 out of 12.
While he was a solid Hurdler, rated at 126 rated, he has taken his form to a new level over fences during the last two seasons. After finishing third on his Chase debut, he was only denied by a neck on his second attempt. He then finished second to Three Card Brag, who is now rated 155 over fences, with the pair racing off level weights that day, so that is something of a moral victory! In the Leinster National in March last year, he was going well when he made a bad mistake and unseated his rider at two out, with many believing he would have gone on to win. His season unfortunately ended on a poor note when he was pulled up in the Irish Grand National, where he was sent off at just 7/1.
After a 250-day break, he started this season with a huge run in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown. He led approaching the last fence, and was only headed on the run in, where he also suffered interference from Search For Glory, who finished second. That run was off a mark of 135 and produced a very strong RPR of 140. Off the same mark of 135 today, a repeat of that performance in calmer waters gives him every chance. His latest two runs do require forgiveness, finishing seventeenth and seventh respectively but he bled from both nostrils for the first run and the latter was on very testing ground.
Kinturk Kalanisi looks to have ideal conditions in this race
Whilst he has shown form on all different types of ground, showing versatility, I personally think that he is at his best on better ground. His career best effort came in the Paddy Power Chase earlier this season and that run was on Yielding ground, which is the same conditions that he’ll race today. The second to Three Card Brag was another of his best performances and whilst officially Soft that day, the time suggests it was certainly on the Good side of Soft, as the race was only 14.8 seconds slow. If we go right back to his second to Judicieuse Allen on his second start over fences, when beaten just a neck, that was also on Yielding ground.
His two best performances have come over trips of circa 3m and he has also shown the speed to run well over intermediate trips as well. Therefore, I think this trip of 3m 0.5f around a sharp track like Punchestown could be absolutely perfect for him. He has actually run well at the track previously too, finishing fourth, second and third in his three starts here. The latter was actually at the 2024 Punchestown Festival and came in a Listed Handicap Hurdle, finishing behind two smart hurdlers in Maxxum and Ashdale Bob.
As a general rule, Punchestown also suits horses that race prominently and we have certainly seen that across the first four days of the 2026 Punchestown Festival. In the Paddy Power Chase, Kinturk Kalanisi was prominent throughout and hopefully they’ll adopt the same tactics here. If so, I believe he has an excellent chance of being involved at the finish. Given that they are applying first time cheekpieces, which I’ll come onto in the next section, you would assume a prominent ride is forthcoming. As you’ll be seeing from reading this article, Kinturk Kalanisi is certainly ticking a lot of boxes for today’s race.
First time cheekpieces are applied to help Kinturk Kalanisi focus
As touched upon in the previous section, Thomas Gibney (trainer) has decided to apply first time cheekpieces to Kinturk Kalanisi. Given that he can throw in the odd clumsy jumping error, these should help to keep his mind on the task at hand. Likewise, they should help him travel strongly through the race, which is key around Punchestown. Hopefully he is there battling out the finish tomorrow and if so, the cheekpieces may see him power to the line and ultimately could be the difference between winning and losing.
As well as the physical benefits from the application of the first time headgear, it’s also a real sign of intent from Thomas Gibney. Considering that there is €75,000 up for grabs with nearly €45,000 going to the winner, you would think that all 23 horses will be trying. However, I can tell you that they won’t be. Some of these here will be social runners, so that their owners can have a day out at the Festival. Some of them will be having a run in the hope of lowering their handicap mark for next season and I’m sure there will be non-triers for other reasons too. The fact that the first time cheekpieces go on shows that Kinturk Kalanisi is here to win, as if he wasn’t, why would you bother adding the headgear now.
It is also worth noting that whilst some of these horses have had very long and hard seasons, this will only be the fourth start of the season for Kinturk Kalanisi and hopefully that will see him fresher than some of his rivals. Especially as he only came back onto the track in December of this season. For comparison purposes, the favourite here - Uhavemeinstitches is having his seventh start of the season and he’s been on the track since October. Therefore, you could not blame him if he said enough was enough today and did not run to his best.
Can Kinturk Kalanisi break his maiden tag over fences?
Given the ability level that he’s shown and that he has been in the first three on four occasions, it’s surprising that Kinturk Kalanisi remains a maiden over fences after eight starts. However, I do genuinely believe he can put that right today by getting his head in front.
There are certainly plenty of positives for him today. He has run some huge races in defeat both last season and this season. I personally believe he’ll relish this better ground than the ground he’s faced on the last two starts. I think this trip of circa 3m also looks to be his optimum distance and he should really enjoy Punchestown once again as well. His prominent tactics should suit this track and the cheekpieces should only enhance his chances. With this being just his fourth start of the campaign, you would hope he could be fresher than a few of his rivals here too. Another positive that I haven’t covered yet is his racing weight here. He is set to shoulder just 10st 11lb but with James Smith booked to ride, his claim of 5lb brings that weight down to just 10st 6lb. That is a lovely racing weight and could make the difference at the finish.
The negatives are fairly obvious, his last two runs have been well elbow par. Finishing seventeenth and seventh, beaten 93 and 37 lengths is obviously very poor and that is reflected in the RPRs of just 55 and 104. If he runs anywhere near those levels, he has no chance here. Therefore, we are relying on him bouncing back to his best today. Likewise, his record of 0/8 over fences and just 1/14 overall in his career to date, suggests that he could just be a bit of a bridesmaid horse but I’m hoping he can prove that to be wrong today.
All elements considered, I think a price of 16/1 underestimates his chance in this race. I do wonder if that is partly due to his trainer, jockey and owner being lesser known. For example, if he was trained by Willie Mullins, ridden by Paul Townend and owned by someone like Ricci, Donnelly or JP McManus, would he be 16/1? I think not! At a price of 16/1 and with six places on offer, he looks a fantastic each way bet to me and therefore whilst there are a couple of concerns, I’m playing a strong 1pt Each Way bet here!
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