S.P.Read Esq: Punchestown Thursday

Our daily columnist and pundit S.P. Read Esq. looks ahead to the racing this afternoon at PUNCHESTOWN and finds the best opportunities available on Star Spreads, the home of sports spread betting.

I haven’t seen the Coca Cola advert yet so Christmas is NOT yet officially coming….. but, dare I say it, I did let another C word flash through my mind this morning, Cheltenham.

Jumps racing steps up several gears this afternoon when Don Cossack makes his seasonal reappearance at Punchestown and we are not too far away from the first Cheltenham meeting The Showcase Meeting on the 23-24 October when the track will be showcasing parts of their glorious new grandstand which has been completed on budget and ahead of schedule. Take note of that ****** and Sons Limited (very) who I commissioned to carry out some minor bathroom repairs recently.

There are two Grade three chases on today’s Punchestown card and Gordon Elliott/ Gigginstown look to have them both ‘locked’.

3:55 Buck House Novice Chase (Grade 3) (4yo+, 2m 2f, 4 runners)

The Game Changer (trading around evens) is progressing very nicely over fences and comes here bidding for a Grade 3 hat-trick. He has already beaten today’s chief market rival Sizing Platinum fairly and squarely at Roscommon and I can’t see him reversing that form on 2lb better terms. Elliott also runs Miss Dinamic who is back chasing after two runs over hurdles.

4:30 Irish Daily Star Chase (Grade 3) (5yo+, Class 1, 2m 7f, 5 runners)

Don Cossack heads the Elliott/ Gigginstown assault on this race as he attempts to win it for a second successive year. He’s 22lb clear of his nearest rival so the result should be the formality that the pre-race fixed odds of around 2/9 suggest. He went on to stamp himself a top class chaser last season with five wins from six races after this race and met his only defeat when third in the RSA Chase at the Festival. He rounded off the season with a win in the Punchestown Gold Cup and it would be a huge surprise to see his position in the Cheltenham Gold Cup market not consolidated here.

A nice profit with the Star Spreads sell of Wales superiority on Tuesday.

I’m a buyer of distances at 34 on Star Spreads today. It’s a seven race card so am looking for an average of five per race which I think is achievable with a few short priced favourites on the card and the closing bumper could easily produce a wide margin winner.

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RECOMMENDED BETS (scale 1-100 points)

BUY DISTANCES for 15 points at around 34 lengths with STAR SPREADS

• Any spread prices quoted are indicative and as always prices are subject to fluctuation.
• Please note the opinion, views and forecasts above are of the author and not of Star Spreads.