Puntal back in the groove

Puntal returned to winning form in the Peter Bromley Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham today as Brother Joe’s bid for an eighth victory of the season came to a crashing end.

Fast-ground specialist Brother Joe beat Puntal by 30 lengths in a match at Chepstow last weekend, but he never looked likely to repeat the trick.

The pair soon pulled well clear of their two rivals and traded the lead, but when Tony McCoy sent Puntal on coming down the hill, the writing was on the wall for his big rival.

Brother Joe fell at the second-last when looking beaten, and Puntal (3-1) galloped on strongly to beat Tikram, who stayed on nicely without ever threatening, by nine lengths.

Winning trainer Martin Pipe said: “A week in racing is a long time.

“I really wasn’t sure about running him today. He ran so badly last week that I really thought ‘AP’ should have pulled him up, but he was a different horse today.

“If he hadn’t raced at Chepstow I think he would have been odds-on, so 3-1 was good value.”