Ruby Walsh: Best bets may be short and sweet on Ladies' Day
Trainer Henry de Bromhead celebrates winning The Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle (Grade 1) with Bob Olinger. Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Day three of the Punchestown festival was always going to find it hard to live up to what day two delivered, but as the day rolled on, the storylines started to develop.
Darragh O'Keeffe looked to have the impossible task of catching Jack Kennedy in the jockeys' championship. Still, when he booted Adrienne home in the second, he started to find momentum, and Busselton quickly gave him a double in the La Touche Cup.
The gap was now four, and when he rolled off the home turn on Bob Olinger with Teahupoo in his sights, he could see the drive that momentum was giving.
Bob Olinger, for one last time, answered every question Darragh asked him, and they nailed Teahupoo at the last before holding off Jimmy De Seuil. Brian Acheson and Henry de Bromhead swiftly pulled the plug on his career and retired him on a high note, but Bob Olinger strode out of the parade ring, oblivious to that fact, yet still looking like a horse who knew he had done well. And he has been doing so for many years.
Ladies Day sees the action start a little later in Punchestown, with the first due to go to post at 3.40pm, but today will be the day the roads, car parks, and traffic plans are pushed to the limit, as the crowd will soar north of 40,000.
Nobody in the locality around me has seemed to want a ticket for any other day but today, and I have a feeling that a prompt disappearing act after the Boodles Champion Hurdle might be the agenda for many of the regular racegoers.
Not every division in sport can be as deep or as strong as the others, and while the two-mile division over hurdles trumps the staying group, it still lags behind the chasers right now and with no standout short-distance novice hurdler on the scene in Ireland this season, what you see today could mirror what will happen next winter too.
When State Man suffered a season-ending injury last November, Lossiemouth became his heir, and she has had a brilliant season. She went down to Brighterdaysahead at the Dublin Racing Festival but, outside of that, she has had a brilliant season.
Willie Mullins fitted her with cheekpieces last time in Cheltenham, and they seemed to work a treat as she left her rivals for dead off the home turn, having travelled with ease through the race.
She does have some new opposition today in the front-running County Hurdle winner Wilful and one of last season's better novices, William Munny.
Wilful has been well-placed through the season to land two big pots and just went under at Windsor in the middle. However, he won those races off ratings lower than Lossiemouth has ever possessed, and he still arrives here needing to find 10lbs on handicap ratings to get to her level before you add in her mares’ allowance.
He may well earn himself a good chunk of prize money, but it is hard to see him winning, and the same applies to William Munny, albeit for different reasons. He did look progressive and talented last season, but unfortunately for him, he has held up on a few occasions this winter with small niggles and is only making his first racecourse appearance as the season draws to a close.
Whatever way you look at it, he is taking on battle-hardened and fit horses who may be on the go a while, but like Il Etait Temps, have been doing so at short distances, which are less likely to affect their performance now.
Therefore, it is impossible to look past Lossiemouth and the value may be in backing her ante-post for next March because I can’t see a youngster on the horizon to topple her.
Short-priced winning favourites could be the otder of the day.
Hearts And Spades will hope to be the first one for Ian McCarthy in the first race of the day. Arguably, the lowest standard of race run here owing to its strict ownership conditions, but it is nonetheless a local favourite, and this lad looks a grade or three above the opposition for Ian McCarthy.
The same applies to Dinoblue in the mares’ chase at 4.50. Outside of throwing away the Fortria on her seasonal debut, she has been brilliant all year and stamped her authority on this division in March when he sauntered home in the Mrs Paddy Power.
She has won 11 of her 20 chase starts and, since April of 2023, she has only been beaten once by a mare, Limerick Lace, with her other defeats coming at the hands of Solness, Banbridge, Energumene and Found A Fifty. She is dominant against her own sex and should dominate these today.
Willie Mullins has been shy of top-notch novice hurdles this season, with King Rasco Grey and He’s On Fire towering above their stablemates, although I would not wave the white flag on Mighty Park yet.
With only one of those three turning up at this meeting, Willie will rely on King Rasko Grey in the Alana Homes Champion Novice Hurdle to bag him the final Grade One on offer for novice hurdlers at 6pm. He, too, will be pretty short odds, and one at a price that could get into the places is You Proof, who, like King Rasko Grey, made a winning debut over hurdles at Limerick's Christmas meeting. He met with a hold-up in the spring, though, and should have improved plenty for his The 7.10pm is a very tricky-looking handicap hurdle and might be best avoided, but Cityofblindinlites should be worth waiting for in the last.
His bumper form from Christmas looks red hot, having chased home The Mourne Rambler in a strong renewal of the St Stephen's Day closer at Leopardstown.
Earlier in the day, I will be siding with Panda Boy in the Champion Hunter Chase to put his best foot forward on an easier track than the new course at Cheltenham and while those at the top of weights traditionally have the best chance in the Quinnbet Novice Handicap Chase at 5.25pm where Willie Mullins has eight of the 22 runners, it is one of his down the weights I like most.
Paul has sided with Funiculi Funicula, who qualified for this by winning at Cork, and he has obvious claims. Still, Yoradreamer with Anna McGuinness claiming 7lbs gets my vote. His Gowran Park second to King Alexander looks strong form, and his Wexford trashing of Waittillitellyou should have prepared him perfectly for this contest.
