The 2019 Punchestown Festival: Five key horses for the first day

Tom Thurgood pinpoints a handful of horses to keep a close eye on at Punchestown on Tuesday - watch all the action live on Racing TV.

The next five days provide one more hurrah for National Hunt lovers with a glut of top-class action from the Punchestown Festival.

With a host of Grade One and Cheltenham Festival winners set to line up on Tuesday, here are fivefirst-day names to note:

Time of race: 4.20. Odds: 8-11.

The first winner of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, the impression made by Klassical Dream still looms large despite brilliant stories and numerous top-class performances during the 27 subsequent races at Prestbury Park.

While a short price here, we could still learn more about him and potential Champion Hurdle aspirations next season because this is not a penalty kick.

Champagne Platinum showed a potent turn of foot at Newbury and Newcastle this season and must rate an exciting prospect, while Felix Desjy and Quick Grabim arrive here after Grade One victories.

Although the Supreme form has not worked out brilliantly, the way Klassical Dream triumphed at Cheltenham suggested he could be a top-notcher and, if he puts this field away with ease, excitement and anticipation around this five-year-old is entitled to go up a gear.

Time of race: 6.05. Odds: --

The Goffs Land Rover Bumper was won by subsequent Grade One winner Commander Of Fleet last year, yet despite the hugely impressive success the pre-race narrative was spun by one horse.

Design Matters, 100-1 in the morning, was sent off at 12-1. He finished fourth (and not beaten far without the winner) for trainer Robert Tyner.

It’s fair to say Tyner likes this race and he landed the prize in 2016 and 2017, most recently with the smart Vision Des Flos.

Bookmakers are unlikely to be caught napping with his representatives this time, and of his two contenders Fiston De Becon looks likeliest on jockey bookings with top amateur Derek O’Connor booked. The jockey was aboard Vision Des Flos for his win.

Time of race: 6.40. Odds: 9-4.

The most impressive winner of this year’s Cheltenham Festival? A Plus Tard trotted up by a remarkable 16 lengths in the Close Brothers, one of the most compressed and competitive handicaps of the week.

He looked a future Grade One performer there and he now tests his top-level credentials in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase.

Delta Work is likely to prove a good measuring stick after a fine season, with three victories including two at the top level before Cheltenham.

He was hacking turning into the straight despite jumping errors and pulled clear with Topofthegame and Santini in the RSA, form which could prove prevalent in the top staying chases next season.

On official ratings, A Plus Tard has 1lb in hand and gets 5lb from Delta Work.

This is a strong race, though, with several other interesting contenders and a good winning effort at Punchestown will surely mark out a chaser likely to make a bold bid in the step-up to open Grade One company next term.

Time of race: 4.55. Odds: 15-2.

The Joseph O’Brien juvenile brigade has been one of the features of this jumps season and Konitho looked likely to take high rank after a lovely debut for the stable at Naas in January.

The grey disappointed next time and missed Cheltenham and Aintree, but it’s interesting to note he was strongly fancied in the market to get the better of stablemate Band Of Outlaws, the subsequent Boodles winner at Cheltenham.

Konitho has a mark of 132 on handicap debut and that potentially looks lenient on the impression of his debut.

Joseph O’Brien said post-race the slow pace compromised the four-year-old’s chances and this big-field handicap should prove a more suitable test despite a comparative lack of experience.

Time of race: 5.30. Odds: 25-1.

Min will surely take all the beating after one of this season’s standout performances in the JLT Chase at Aintree, yet the eye is drawn to the mercurial Hell’s Kitchen for a few reasons.

While posting his best piece of form last month in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, his two big handicap wins were at right-handed tracks and Mark Walsh rides the eight-year-old for the first time. Walsh managed to settle the exuberant Champ in a sparkling success at Aintree and if he has a similar effect on Harry Fry’s charge the two might just go well for a long way in a race which has plenty of forecast pace despite only six runners.

Fry has an excellent record at the Punchestown Festival and targets the meeting. Hell’s Kitchen had options in handicaps later in the week, but the small field has presumably swayed the trainer with big prize money on offer.

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