Jane Mangan’s William Hill Blog: Punchestown is the World Of Dreams

The first day of the Punchestown Festival is hugely important, given that it’s the William Hill Champion Chase Day, which has been won by some of the greats; Sprinter Sacre, Moscow Flyer, and Sizing Europe to name a few.

It’s a race with a fabulous heritage but, this year, I don’t believe there is a standout class act and, for that reason, with El Fabiolo and Jonbon having contested the Celebration Chase at Sandown, this is an open Grade One.

I like Gentleman De Mee (5.25pm). He’s a horse who excels in the spring and was second to Captain Guinness in the Champion Chase this year, but I think he’d be better on better ground. When you combine that with the fact that he is proven at this time of year, having won at Aintree, I think Paul Townend on Gentleman De Mee could be very dangerous to the favourite. I’m expecting this to be his best performance of the season.

Eight horses have been declared for the Champion Novice Chase (6.00pm) over 3m1f and it’s a fascinating race. Monty’s Star, the horse who ran so well behind Fact To File at Cheltenham, is favourite, but I’m taking him on with our own Spillane’s Tower. He’s done nothing but improve all season and, while there’s a question mark as to whether he really will stay, his style of running suggests that further will bring out better. He won a sedately-run 2m4f WillowWarm at Fairyhouse and he got outpaced by Blood Destiny over two miles, so we are hoping he will stay the 3m1f trip, but you don’t know until you try. He’s a high class horse and I think he should be hard to beat.

Then we’ve the Champion Novice Hurdle (3.40pm) over two miles. This, for me, is the opportunity for Slade Steel to crown himself King of the two-mile novice hurdlers this season. That’s what Punchestown can be; it can be for settling scores, or it can be a coronation. For Slade Steel, this could be his coronation at this distance. Mystical Power has gone to Aintree and had a hard race, Tullyhill disappointed me extremely in the Supreme, Firefox has been to Cheltenham and Aintree, whereas I think Slade Steel has been very precisely campaigned all year. I think he can confirm the form of his win over Mystical Power at Punchestown in a strongly-run two miles and the fact that he didn’t go to Aintree only enhances those credentials for me.

The Full Circle Series (3.05pm) is a handicap final, so there’s been a series of qualifiers for this race. There’s a huge field of 25 runners and it makes a very difficult puzzle, so I’m going to go with an each-way shout here, and that’s with the Anthony Honeyball-trained World Of Dreams. For the last three years, Honeyball has saddled winners at the Punchestown Festival and he’s going for the fourth year in a row, so I think this may have always been the plan. World Of Dreams has high class bumper form; he won at Hereford before coming up short in a Grade Two at Aintree, and he then won his maiden hurdle very well at Fontwell, and he’s been consistent to a point since. He came up short to the reopposing In d’Or last time and has been dropped three pounds for that, so he’s six pounds better off than this rival now. I think he has a nice weight of 10st 10lbs and I think the 2m4f trip will be optimal for him. Now an eight-year-old, he may be inexperienced, but I think this may have been the plan for him all along.

The 4.15pm is another 25-runner field, so a lot of luck is required and I’m going to go for another each-way shout; Nusret for Joseph O’Brien and JJ Slevin. This horse has been crying out for better ground all year, but at no stage has he got it. I think he’s well handicapped because he’s run well in conditions that wouldn’t be to his liking so, now back on a better ground, he can really make his presence felt with a mark of 139.