Punchestown Festival: The big races previewed

Sprinter Sacre is the star attraction at Punchestown this week

Ahead of the Punchestown Festival, our Irish team look through the biggest races at the meeting.

After what was a record-breaking Cheltenham Festival for Irish-trained horses at the 'away fixture' last month, it's home advantage for the Irish as the Punchestown Festival ensures their jumps season ends on its traditional high. A total of 12 Grade 1 prizes will be up for grabs over the five days, the new addition to those being the Mares Hurdle on the Saturday.

For all the meeting contains five days of continually fine racing, the highlight of the whole affair could well be on Tuesday: at 17:30 Sprinter Sacre, Timeform's highest-rated chaser since the days of Arkle, will appear in the Champion Chase. The race is marked as a highlight simply because of Sprinter Sacre's presence (it will be his first run in Ireland), as it's fairly unlikely that he will further inflate his monster figure of 192p. Only four rivals have been tasked with taking him on, and of them only Sizing Europe, smashed into second by Sprinter Sacre in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham, could lay claim to being of genuine championship standard. It's very difficult to see Sprinter Sacre losing his unbeaten record over fences on Tuesday but, then again, it feels like quite some time since his races have been betting heats rather than simply the must-watch spectacles they are now.

Earlier on the Tuesday card, there is a fascinating rematch between Champagne Fever and Jezki in the Champion Novice Hurdle over two miles. The pair finished first and third respectively in the Supreme at Cheltenham, with Jezki rather the forgotten horse in the race after Champagne Fever repelled strong favourite My Tent Or Yours up the hill. The feeling is that a test of speed would have given Jezki a real chance of reversing the form, but the current going of soft, heavy in places will probably play to the strengths of Champagne Fever. The pair won't quite have it all their own way, but the fact is that Neptune runner-up Rule The World (who drops back to two miles for the first time since his hurdling debut) and County Winner Ted Veale will have to step up significantly to challenge if Jezki and Champagne Fever arrive in good heart.

The most open Grade 1 contest on Tuesday looks to be the Growise Champion Novice Chase over three miles and a furlong. Perhaps surprisingly, Willie Mullins and Graham Wylie have opted to run  both National Hunt Challenge Cup winner Back In Focus and Boston Bob, the latter a late faller in the RSA Chase. They are challenged by Tofino Bay, who arguably should have beaten Back In Focus at Cheltenham; Dedigout, who arguably should have beaten Realt Mor in the Powers Gold Cup last time, and RSA runner-up Lyreen Legend. Timeform rated Boston Bob as a narrow winner of the RSA Chase, though that still leaves him with a little to find with both Back In Focus and Tofino Bay.

Wednesday sees the Gold Cup horses do battle for the Punchestown version. Although Cheltenham victor Bobs Worth won't be there, second (Sir des Champs) third (Long Run) and sixth (Captain Chris) might be, while Aintree Bowl winner First Lieutenant is also entered. Although the group's relative merit is probably established, Captain Chris is the one that could over-perform, his manner of jumping and his form (narrow second in the King George) both point to him faring better on a right-handed track. 

The Irish Daily Mirror Novices' Hurdle, also on the Wednesday, could be there for the taking for Willie Mullins. He trains leading contenders Pont Alexandre, Ballycasey and Inish Island, each of which comes here with very different agendas. Pont Alexandre is on something of a recovery mission after losing his unbeaten record at Cheltenham, whereas Inish Island is attempting to consolidate his position as a Grade 1 contender following a third-placed finish in the Albert Bartlett and Ballycasey is having his first try outside of everyday novices. That fact shouldn't discredit Ballycasey, though, as the impression he's left so far has been overwhelmingly positive. 

Duel of the week comes on Thursday, with the World Series Hurdle pitting super mare Quevega against three-mile hurdling's prince regent, Solwhit. With Quevega's 7 lb mares' allowance, she is narrowly ahead on weight-adjusted Timeform ratings, though perhaps more pertinent is that on her typically-belated reappearance at the Cheltenham Festival she didn't have to come near her best to land a fifth successive David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle. Solwhit, on the other hand, has been back at his very best when landing the World Hurdle and Liverpool Hurdle on his last two starts. Both will be given stalking rides, so it could be fascinating to watch what may develop into a high-stakes game of 'chicken'. That said, it's not inconceivable that the likes of Thousand Stars, Reve de Sivola or even Zaidpour can make their mark against a pair that, although high-class, are no Big Buck's.

The Ryanair Novice Chase over two miles could see rivalries from both the Arkle at Cheltenham and the Maghull at Aintree being renewed. Arkle runner-up Baily Green is narrowly top of Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings ahead of Maghull runner-up Overturn, and their renewal of rivalries could be a fascinating one. They're far from the only contenders, however, with Grand Annual winner Alderwood (third in the Maghull), Jewson winner Benefficient and even Arkle disappointment Avrika Ligeonniere having the ability to make their presence felt.

After Quevega on Thursday, it's the turn of another Mullins stalwart in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle on Friday, when Hurricane Fly will also be bidding to win the same race for the fourth year in a row. He is on an unbeaten run that stretches back to last year's race, while his recent Champion Hurdle win, though not as visually impressive as he can be, showed that Hurricane Fly is still every bit as good as he's ever been. Cheltenham runner-up Rock On Ruby could be in opposition again, though there seems nothing else among the 10 left in the race at the five-day stage that could seriously threaten an on-song Hurricane Fly.

If the present is easy enough for Hurricane Fly, the future could be much more difficult. Chief among the pretenders to his throne in 2014 looks set to be Our Conor, who is due to run in the Grade 1 four-year-old hurdle on Saturday. He achieved a figure of 165p for his Triumph Hurdle win, that being the biggest figure Timeform have ever bestowed on a juvenile, and if he's in similar heart Saturday's race should be little more than heightening the lofty ambitions connections will have for Our Conor, who has changed hands for a reported seven-figure sum since Cheltenham. Willie Mullins trains eight of the 10 currently entered up against Our Conor, but even the highest-rated of them will have to pull out two stones'-worth of improvement to challenge Our Conor should he arrive in the same form.