Punchestown Day One Tips 2026: Today's Best Bets For Festival Opener

A meeting like no other is almost upon us, with the marathon five day Punchestown Festival kicking off today. It can pay to tread lightly with so many race across all sorts of conditions at this meeting which caps off the Irish National Hunt season, and with that in mind Billy Grimshaw has just two selections to hopefully kick off in the best possible fashion...

15:40 Punchestown - Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle

This looks a competitive renewal of what is a Listed handicap hurdle, but Willie Mullins holds a typically strong hand. Paul Townend has ditched Karbau - his choice which surprised many in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in his only handicap ride of the week and who disappointed both that day and at Fairyhouse since - in favour of Murcia, who also did not win at Cheltenham or Fairyhouse but certainly ran with more credit. Many may be surprised he has not simply gone for the Fairyhouse winner KALIX DELABARRIERE, however Sean Cleary-Farrell gave that horse a beauty to win at Fairyhouse and the seven pound claimer deserves to keep the partnership in tact.

I think the winner is being underestimated a touch in the market here, which perhaps is not surprising given how poorly he had been running prior to his resurrection last time out and how friendless he was in the market just before the off. With cheekpieces retained, this is clearly a horse with plenty of ability and if they've found the key to him he can go in again here. It was noteworthy that Mullins in the aftermath of his Fairyhouse win said this was a horse who 'worked like Arkle' as a bumper horse, which is not something you hear everyday. No trainer on planet earth is better at fine tuning these tricky customers and I fancy he will still have bundles in hand of the handicapper here.

Speaking of horses with lofty reputations, Davy Crockett was thought to be a star by many in the know at Closutton but has never hit the heights, most recently being stuffed behind my selection in the Fairyhouse race. I could not back him to reverse 28 lengths at shorter odds than the winner that day, but I wouldn't be surprised to see plenty of improvement here now he has a tongue tie fitted. It looks a race to play small stakes forecasts and tricasts on the Mullins crew to me and I will be doing just that, but my main dart will be KALIX DELABARRIERE

16:15 Punchestown - Champion Novice Hurdle

I hope that in the race after this one Kitzbuhel bolts in after the dashing grey saved my Cheltenham last month, but he is very short for a horse who has had a long season and was battling for every inch at Cheltenham. We have seen the best horse in the race - which I am sure he is - lose at Punchestown plenty of times in the past so at 5/4 he was a swerve. Eyes back on the prize though and this Champion Novice Hurdle and I am starting by getting against the Gordon Elliott favourite at the top of the market, El Cairos.

Undoubtedly a talent, unfortunately he is just not a horse I can see myself ever trusting when he is offered up at odds as skinny as these. If he runs to his absolute best he'll probably win this as he has more speed than the rest, but although he had excuses at Cheltenham and the yard form told a story again by the end of the week, it was hard to be enthused by his finishing effort in the Supreme. Skylight Hustle is trained by the same yard and is second favourite and the addition of a hood certainly makes this Cheltenham faller more interesting to me. I think this is a fair weapon of a horse but we won't see him at his best over two miles, so a staying on third or fourth is about what I'd expect.

Sober for Willie Mullins is the archetypal win or bust type of horse and given he has been on the go a long while, I'm in no rush to back him to land a Punchestown Grade 1 this season, while Free Spirit and Too Bossy For Us look to be slightly below the requisite ability level to win this sort of race, barring a boilover.

Apparently Punchestown have been generous with the hosepipe prior to the action on Tuesday and if the ground is yielding or softer I am inclined to side with all-the-way winner KOKTAIL BRUT to repeat the feat here from his impressive win at Fairyhouse last time. That Grade 2 always looked at his mercy and in the end a nine and a half length winning margin reads very well indeed. I am nearly certain Gordon will tell Danny Gilligan on this lad to make it a real searching gallop so either he can nick it or the stable first string El Cairos has a strong pace to aim at. At the prices, there is only one option in that eventuality. Joseph O'Brien's La Labo probably rates the chief threat and has had his form franked multiple times since taking a break following his Naas Grade 3 win, but I'll stick with Koktail Brut to hopefully lead them all a merry dance.