Barry Geraghty: Diverge can serve it up to Facile Vega

The Punchestown Festival is a brilliant week. It’s the biggest Jumps meeting of the year in Ireland and it always delivers top-class racing over the five days and I’m sure this year will be no different.

I was lucky enough to ride 120 winners at Punchestown during my career – the most I rode at any track in Ireland – and I had some great days there, including winning five Punchestown Gold Cups on the likes of Kicking King and Florida Pearl.

William Hill Champion Chase

Moscow Flyer gave me one of my two wins in the William Hill Champion Chase (5.25pm) and while Energumene might not be quite in his class, his performance in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham proved he’s the leading two-miler at the moment.

He’ll likely go off a short price for this year’s renewal at Punchestown as he seeks to win it for a second consecutive year, but he might not be quite as much a certainty as the betting suggests. He was very good at Cheltenham, no doubt, but Blue Lord isn’t a bad horse on his day and if he could return to the form of his win at Christmas, he could certainly give the favourite plenty to think about.

Gentleman De Mee is a good horse in his own right too, so Energumene will need to be on his A-game to win this.

Champion Novice Hurdle

I’d be inclined to take on Facile Vega in the Champion Novice Hurdle (4.15pm) in what looks a race that will be very interesting tactically.

DIVERGE doesn’t have an awful lot to make up from their run in the Supreme and the small field might not suit Facile Vega as he is a horse that needs cover to settle. Willie [Mullins] said that he thought Paul [Townend] went too early at Cheltenham, but the horse was travelling so well and took him into that position by racing enthusiastically, so I don’t think there was much Paul could have done differently.

He got plenty of cover in Cheltenham, but won’t get that here and that might just open the door for something like Diverge, who will want to come from off the pace.

Champion Novice Chase

The Champion Novice Chase (6.35pm) looks a cracker and Journey With Me looks the right favourite given he comes here a fresh horse having not run since before Cheltenham.

It was a good performance in Naas but he’ll need to improve on that to win this and I prefer the chances of SIR GERHARD. I fancied him to go really well in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham, so it was disappointing to see him run as poorly as he did. He was much better in Fairyhouse the last day, though, and if he can reproduce that, I make him the one to beat.

Remainder at Punchestown

The Mares Novice Hurdle (3.40pm) kicks off the card and I’m hoping SHECOULDBEANYTHING can get the meeting off to a flyer for Gordon Elliott. She ran a cracker at Cheltenham at a big price which was a serious upgrade on what she had done previously, and a repeat performance would likely be good enough to win this.

The handicaps are always tricky to solve, but I thought BRAZIL would run well in the Grade B Handicap Hurdle (4.50pm). He won last year’s Boodles and is only five pounds higher here, so is weighted to run a big race. He’s definitely better than what he showed when beaten in a match on heavy ground at Limerick at the end of last year and was the one I’d want to be on.