Donn McClean: Punchestown Festival Day 3 Banker, Next Best And Each-Way Bets
Racing TV pundit Donn McClean is at the heart of the action for The Panel on the third day of the Punchestown Festival where he had a great day on Wednesday.
His banker Banker Gaelic Warrior won at 5/6 (Bet365 was offering 6/4 as a superboost), Nouvotic was first past the post at 7/1 and each-way selection Toll Stone finished 3rd at 16/1.
Donn has three more selections from County Kildare on Thursday: a banker, a next best and one each-way tip.
Check out his selections below, and use recommended betting sites to ensure you get the best odds.
Donn McClean's Punchestown Tips: Day 3 (Thursday)
- 17:25 Punchestown - Kopek Des Bordes (Banker) - 4/11 With Betfred
- 16:15 Punchestown - Karl Des Tourelles (Next Best) - 15/2 With William Hill
- 16:50 Punchestown - Petit Tonnere (Best Each-Way) - 12/1 With Bet365
Odds correct at time of publication at 10:00, April 30.
Banker: 17:25 Punchestown - Kopek Des Bordes
It’s a pity that Kargese was not declared for this race, as it would have been fascinating to see the rematch between her and Kopek Des Bordes from Cheltenham.
In her absence, Kopek Des Bordes is the most likely winner by a long way.
Winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last season, Willie Mullins’ horse looked very good on his chasing bow at Navan in November.
A setback ruled him out for the belly of the season after that.
It wasn’t ideal that he went to Cheltenham on the back of just one run over fences, so he did remarkably well for one so inexperienced to get as close as he got to the hugely talented Kargese.
And he may have beaten his stable companion had he not made a mistake at the final fence.
Irish Panther is a worthy adversary and Jacob’s Ladder’s chance has probably been underrated slightly by the market.
In the back of your mind is the fact that Kopek Des Bordes was beaten at odds-in in the Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown last year.
That said, he is the most likely winner of this race by a fair way.
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Next Best: 16:15 Punchestown - Karl Des Tourelles
Karl Des Tourelles ran a big race in this race last year to finish fourth behind Jeriko Du Reponet.
He is off the same handicap rating today of 137, and is probably a better horse this year than he was 12 months ago.
He was the only five-year-old in the race last year, and, one year older and one year stronger, there is every chance that he can do even better today.
As well as that, he ran a big race last time in the Martin Pipe Hurdle at Cheltenham.
He was squeezed out of it along the inside at the top of the hill, but did well to recover his equilibrium and stay on like he did to finish sixth, beaten fewer than five lengths.
That was his first run over hurdles since this day last year, so there is every chance that he will improve on that.
He goes well on the ground, we know that he goes well at the track, and Brian Hayes has formed a good alliance with him. He could go well in a hugely competitive race.
Best Each-Way: 16:50 Punchestown - Petit Tonnerre
Continuing with the theme of last year’s runners, Petit Tonnerre is worth an each-way bet in the two-mile handicap chase.
The O’Neills’ horse was good in winning this race last year off a mark of 127, and he is back down to a mark of 128 now, just 1lb higher than he was then.
This season started off fairly inauspiciously, but his run in the Red Rum Chase at Aintree last time was much more encouraging.
He was back in the field early on in a race in which the prominent racers dominated, as is often the case in that race.
He should do better now back at Punchestown, in a race that has surely been on his radar for a while.
Richie McLernon rode him to victory in this race last year, and he won on him on the only other occasion on which he rode him in a race.
He hasn’t ridden him since last year's victory, but he obviously gets on well with him, and he is riding really well these days, so the fact that he is back on board is another positive.
Petit Tonnerre can be backed at 12/1 on a couple of betting apps.
