Punchestown Festival Thursday Tips - Irish NH Tips

The son of Masked Marvel only found one too good at Cheltenham in his attempt to defend his Stayers hurdle crown and had pulled eight lengths clear of the third. This race looks a fair deal weaker than that race at Cheltenham. He's had a good break since then and while he missed Aintree due to unsuitable ground conditions should be ok for him here.

He was an easy winner of this race last year and with only two runs under his belt this season he should be fresh to do himself justice while a few of his rivals have taken in Aintree and other meetings on route to this. I think he will be very hard to beat and could easily go off odds on.

This son of Bucks Boum hails from the all-conquering Willie Mullins stable and this is a race that Mullins often targets with a really smart horse. He was an easy winner of a point-to-point before going on to win a bumper on stable debut for Mullins in even more impressive fashion.

If there is a doubt, then it's probably the ground but I can't see it inconveniencing him that much. He's a Grade 1 horse in the making and will take high rank in the Mullins yard as a hurdler next season. He looks sure to go close.

This son of Walk In The Park was last seen when finishing a very good fourth in the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival when stepping up to two miles and five furlongs for the first time. He steps up even further here and I don't see that causing him any major issues on a speed favouring track like this.

British runners have had plenty luck in the handicaps so far this week, and hopefully their luck will continue here. He's a strong traveller in his races but is more of a horse with a high cruising speed more than a turn of foot and racing prominently around here over this sort of trip could make him a very hard horse to pass. He has definite each way claims and I can't have him out of the frame.