Punchestown Festival Tips: Tom Collins has a big-priced fancy on Thursday

Gordon Elliott had a miserable Cheltenham by his own high standards, but he kicked off the Punchestown Festival on the right note with four winners on Tuesday.

Although he didn’t maintain his domination on Wednesday’s card, he had a number of horses run well that included handicapper I A Connect, who seemed to have every chance before unseating rider Adrian Heskin at the second-last hurdle.

The Cullentra trainer has a surprisingly limited number of runners (six) on Thursday and will hope that Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle winner Sire De Berlais can overturn last year’s winner Klassical Dream in the featured Champion Stayers’ Hurdle (5.25). But he might have to wait until later in the evening for his best chance of a winner on the card.

Elliott has a couple of serious contenders in the 2m7½f handicap hurdle, with the market settling on Sassy Yet Classy, an eight-year-old mare who hacked up in a 20-runner Pertemps qualifier at this track in November, as the most likely winner. 

Her last three starts haven’t gone as smoothly as her course success in the winter and she barely got into her rhythm before being brought down at the fourth hurdle at the Cheltenham festival 42 days ago, so this could be a salvage mission.

Talented amateur Rob James will take the ride and his valuable 7lb claim might be the difference given Sassy Yet Classy would otherwise compete off almost a stone higher than when last successful. I respect her, but she will have to improve to beat an on-song Festival D’Ex.

This seven-year-old son of Saddler Maker was considered a potential Grade 1 prospect when he bolted up in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper at this meeting in 2019. His closest pursuer that day was Whatsnotoknow, who is now rated 130 over hurdles, so the theory wasn’t too far off.

An easy maiden hurdle victory followed after a summer break, but he was readily put in his place by Monkfish on his third start and, looking at his recent form figures, the wheels seemed to have truly fallen off. Festival D’Ex has been beaten over 20 lengths on four of his six subsequent starts, but that doesn’t tell the full story.

He was given an easy time on his fourth lifetime start after failing to pick up on heavy ground, while you can excuse his next two outings as they came after breaks of 441 and 216 days. Elliott has finally had a clear run with him this year and he’s performed with promise on each of his last three efforts, each time shaping as if he needs a stiffer test of stamina.

This trip is the furthest he’s ever encountered and it could easily be the catalyst for serious improvement, while the return to quicker conditions will allow him to pick up when asked questions in the homestraight.

His mark of 130 remains lenient if he can rediscover his form and I like the booking of Davy Russell, the wily veteran jockey who has a knack of negotiating traffic in big-field handicap hurdles. He’s hard to overlook at a juicy double-figure price.

Recommended bet

Festival D’Ex (6.00 Punchestown) @ 19