Hurricane Fly can storm home at Punchestown
The Punchestown Festival enters its fourth day with one of the highlights of the week, the Grade One Rabobank Champion Hurdle.
Willie Mullins has been in the sort of form where even the stable cat has been the subject of favourable gallops reports and Hurricane Fly has the chance to deliver on the promise that the trainer has always believed is there.
Hurricane Fly won the Champion Novices’ Hurdle at this meeting a year ago and had previously beaten Go Native by 10 lengths in a Grade One race at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting. He was beaten three-and-a-half lengths by Solwhit on his last start, at Punchestown in November, but that seemed very much down to not acting on the heavy ground.
He has been off the track since with an injury problem, and race fitness could be something of an issue, but Hurricane Fly seems to be coming into this race with a stable full of confidence. And, after seven winners in the first three days of this fixture, that is hard to ignore.
Punjabi would be hard to ignore on his best form, but he has seemed some way short of that this season. He was beaten 25 lengths by Binocular in the Champion Hurdle and, although a recent breathing operation may help, Medermit may represent more of a prospect.
The prospects of Solwhit would be undeniable if the rain had come. He beat Punjabi in last year’s renewal and has won five Grade One races in the last year. However, all 11 career wins have come on ground softer than he will run on here and that looks a problem.
The ground should be no real problem for Dunguib, who could be disputing favouritism, but, after his indifferent jumping when finishing third to Menorah in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last month, would it be any surprise to see Hurricane Fly simply blow him away?
The other Grade One race on the card is the Cathal Ryan Memorial Champion Novice Hurdle. The British-trained runners at the Festival have endured mixed fortunes so far this week, but one trainer who has already made the trip worthwhile is Philip Hobbs.
He saddled Planet Of Sound to win the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup on Wednesday can be on the money again with Duke Of Lucca.
His form ties in with that of another of the raiders, the Nick Williams-trained Reve De Sivola, as both have finished runner-up to star novice Peddlers Cross.
Reve De Sivola was one-and-a-half lengths second in the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival - with Some Present back in eighth – and Duke Of Lucca was two lengths second in the John Smith's Mersey Novices' Hurdle at Aintree three weeks later. As both race were run at level weights there is precious little to choose between the two horses according to the form book.
However, the recent success of their respective yards could be the determining factor, because the Williams yard has had only one winner this month while Hobbs has hit a patch of pure purple with a strike-rate of 22% for April.
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