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Grainne Seoige at the festival yesterday. INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Racing

Mark Your Card: your best bets on Day 5 at Punchestown

It’s been a long week at the Kildare course but we have the rescheduled Gold Cup to look forward to today.

Reproduced with permission from WhiteFlagIsRaised.com

TODAY A LONG, hard season for the National Hunt fraternity comes to an end. The funny thing is however, that it starts off again next week, so no rest for the wicked.

Those horses who have been entertaining or infuriating us during the winter months will be roughed off and turned out in a field to enjoy their summer holidays before coming back in, sometime in July, to begin the long preparation for another season. For some it will be the end of the road as their owners give them the luxury of a long and happy retirement.

The Punchestown Gold Cup has been rescheduled for today with eight declared. I have reviewed it earlier in the week and my selection, Rubi Light, stays the same.

Our other feature is the Grade 1AES Champion four-year-old Hurdle for which a classy field of 13 have been declared. A number of trainers are two handed so jockey bookings are significant.

Alan King is one of those two handed with Balder Success and Secret Edge. Balder Success, the mount of stable jockey Robert ‘Choc’ Thornton has only run five times in his life and unusually for this type of race has never run on the flat. He won his first four starts in novice company before falling in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. His previous three runs in England had seen him have comfortable victories so it could be that the faster championship pace caught his jumping out.

His stablemate Secret Edge looks to have a lot to do if he’s to figure in the frame although a strong pace would suit him as he looks to be more of a stayer.

Darroun and Ut De Sivola represent Willie Mullins and with Ruby Walsh on the latter he looks to be the stable selection. The latter was pulled up in the Triumph and before that was well beaten by Hisaabaat at Leopardstown when he was reportedly struck into. He had previously beaten Hisaabaat in a Grade 3 hurdle over today’s course and distance.

If he has returned to his best his current price of 8/1 looks great each way value. Tony Martin also saddles two, Edeymi and Wingtips. The former was a huge disappointment at Fairhouse though Davy Russell sticks with him in preference to the other Gigginstown horse HIs Excellency trained by Giordon Elliot. The other Martin runner Wingtips finished fifth in the triumph and has been lurking around the premises in his three hurdle runs. He looks a bit one-pace but this ground might help.

Market moves should be watched for this one and the booking of Barry Geraghty is significant. However my preference  is for Hisaabaat from the Dermot Weld yard. Runner-up three times to Sportsmaster, Ut De SIvola and Darroun respectively, he then had the blinkers fitted to win the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at Leoparstown before going to Cheltenham without the blinds and finishing runner-up to Countrwide Flame.

With blinkers fitted again today and provided he copes with the ground I think Hisaabaat can win and make him the selection.

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