Horse Racing Best Bets On Tuesday, April 26
We’ve been firing in winners across the board recently, and we’re hoping for more of the same on Tuesday with our Lucky 15. Our Lucky 15 best bets feature a trio of selections for Punchestown’s opening day of their Festival, plus a confident tip in the feature race at Brighton. Read below to see our Tuesday Lucky 15 selections and our reasons behind each pick.
Grangee (3:40 Punchestown)
Willie Mullins and Paul Townend were leading trainer and jockey at last year’s Punchestown Festival, and they can get off to the perfect start with GRANGEE. He looks a bit of value in the race, dropping back to his optimum trip after failing to see out his race over 2m 4f last time out.
He had predominantly been racing around the two mile mark, so it’s difficult to see why they stepped him up in trip at Leopardstown (not that we’re questioning a Willie Mullins decision!), where he eventually finished sixth, but that was in Grade 1 company and he was doing well before failing to stay on in the final couple of furlongs. Before that, he finished ahead of both Party Central (7th) and Dinoblue (9th) when finishing third in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, and this is certainly his best trip so it’s difficult to see why both rivals are ahead of him in the betting here.
Both Dinoblue and Party Central will no doubt be in the mix again here, but with Paul Townend back on board here, he can again get the better of his two rivals.
Grangee can get us off to a flyer in the opener at Punchestown.
Mystic Wells (3:58 Brighton)
Trainer George Boughey has a superb record when sending horses at Brighton, with 6 winners from 13 runners there (46% strike-rate) and he sends one runner there on Tuesday in the feature race – MYSTIC WELLS.
Her reappearance run at Windsor was hugely encouraging when finishing second and she can go one better in this. She was giving the winner 8lb that day and only finished a length behind her, staying on well in the final stages. Connections tried her in Listed company on her final race of last season and she performed well to finish sixth (the fourth in that race finished second in a Group 3 race earlier this month). If she performs to that level here she should take all the beating in this.
She only faces five rivals here and her biggest threat will come from Richard Hannon’s Thunder Queen, who made a winning reappearance at Windsor earlier in the month. But she has never raced over this distance before, so with Mystic Wells already proven over the trip she can resume her progress and gain a first win of the season.
Gua Du Large (4:50 Punchestown)
Henry De Bromhead has got his yard firing again and GUA DU LARGE can with this at double-figure odds. He may have disappointed in the County Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham but back at a more familiar course he looks far too big a price for this.
Before that Cheltenham run, he won impressively in a Grade A Handicap Hurdle at Fairyhouse, beating Glan by a neck. He was 7lb heavier than Glan that day and still beat him, yet he’s only 3lb heavier for this race. Considering Glan is second favourite for this race (correct at time of writing), the fact that Gua Du Large is now closer in the weights to him but over double the odds makes no sense.
Glan ran him close that day at Fairyhouse and will likely be in the mix again here, and there’s plenty more dangers in the race too. The likes of Ardla, Farout and Eskylane will surely be thereabouts in this, but at a big price a chance is taken on Gua Du Large for team De Bromhead/Blackmore.
Gua Du Large (Far left) can win for the lethal De Bromhead/Blackmore partnership
Lisnagar Fortune (7:45 Punchestown)
The final race on day one of Punchestown Festival can go the same way a lot of the races are likely to go this week – with Willie Mullins landing the spoils. LISNAGAR FORTUNE is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Lisnagar Oscar, and can land the honours on his debut.
Willie Mullins could only finish second in this race last year, but will be hoping to go one better this year with two horses declared – Lisnagar Fortune and Vadsa Queen. The jockey booking of Patrick Mullins is significant in telling which one is their main hope for the race!
Patrick Mullins has been in superb form of late, winning on four of his last nine rides (44% strike-rate) and is one of the top jockeys set to ride here. Likely dangers are Gordon Elliott’s Firm Footings and Pat Fahy’s Sarah’s Soldier, but the Mullins team have been firing in winners all year and can land another with Lisnagar Fortune.