Donn McClean: Punchestown Festival Day 2 Banker, Next Best And Each-Way Bets
Racing TV pundit Donn McClean is at the heart of the action for The Panel on the second day of the Punchestown Festival.
Donn has picked out a banker, a next best and one each-way tip from Wednesday's races in County Kildare.
Check out his selections below, and use recommended betting sites to ensure you get the best odds.
Donn McClean's Punchestown Tips: Day 2 (Wednesday)
Banker: 18:05 Punchestown - Gaelic Warrior
The duel between Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File is one of the most eagerly-anticipated match-ups of the week, if not the season.
These two are old sparring partners, and they served up one of the races of the season when they met in the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown in November, when Gaelic Warrior got home by a neck in an epic.
Since then, Fact To File has won the Irish Gold Cup and Gaelic Warrior has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The score in their private duel is two-two. Something will have to give, and the decider is going to be enthralling.
Tactics will be fascinating, too, between the two Willie Mullins-trained horses.
Fact To File was brilliant in the Irish Gold Cup. Mark Walsh was superb on him, riding him with confidence, and JP McManus’ horse stayed the extended three-mile trip strongly.
But, Gaelic Warrior was at least as good in winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He is now settling better in races than used to be the case, and Paul Townend gave him a brilliant ride at Cheltenham, getting him to settle just behind the pace and make his way from there.
It's not an easy one to call, and, if Inothewayurthinkin could get back to the form that he showed when he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season, he could get in among them.
That said, marginal preference is for Gaelic Warrior in what could be one of the races of the season.
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Next Best: 17:25 Punchestown - Nouvotic
King Alexander is a worthy favourite here, but Nouvotic could get closer to him than the market suggests he will.
Henry de Bromhead’s horse stayed on well to get the better of Release The Beast last time at Wexford, the pair of them clear.
Release The Beast when on to enhance that form at Leopardstown next time.
Nouvotic hasn’t run since then, but he has gone well fresh in the past.
His three wins have all been at Wexford, but he ran well in the Adare Manor Opportunity Series Final at this meeting last year.
A seven-year-old who has raced just four times over fences, he has the potential to go beyond the handicap rating of 130 off which he races today.
Best Each-Way: 14:30 Punchestown - Toll Stone
The best each-way race on the day is the opening contest, the Adare Manor Opportunity Series Final, and Toll Stone could go well in it.
Emmet Mullins’ horse hasn’t run since the Galway Festival in August, but he put up a big performance on his second and final run at that meeting when he finished second in the Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle.
He looked a likely winner when he hit the front on the run-in, and he was only just run down by Come On The Lads close home.
That race has been working out well since, and Toll Stone remains potentially well handicapped on a mark of 119, just 3lb higher than he was then.
He is sure to have Galway on his radar again this year, but he is another horse who has proved before that he can go well fresh.
Toll Stone is available at 12/1 on most betting apps.
