GAVIN CROMWELL BLOG: Champion Hurdle Winning Trainer and BETDAQ Brand Ambassador Gavin Cromwell is back with a special blog looking ahead to an extremely busy few days for his yard at the Punchestown Festival this week.
We’re all looking forward to Punchestown and it promises to be a great few days to round off the season. 12 Grade Ones just show how high in quality the racing is, so to be part of it is a real thrill.
Hopefully all of my horses can run well and if we could get a winner or two on the board it would be a very fitting end to what has been a great season over the Jumps. Espoir D’Allen’s win in the Champion Hurdle was obviously the highlight, but by and large all of the horses have run well which bodes well as things really hot up on the Flat.
TUESDAY
We run two in the closing bumper (7.15pm) on day one of the Festival.
Alfa Mix is a nice horse who makes his first start for the yard. We’re pitching him in at the deep end here, but even though he fell in his point-to-point, he showed plenty of ability.
It’s not going to be an easy task first time out under rules, so we’re just hoping he runs a nice race which he can build on in the future.
Surfing Tenor is the other one of ours in the race. He ran well at Ballinrobe on his debut where he was just a little keen, but we’re hoping he’ll shape a bit better for that here and he’s another we’d like to think will run well.
WEDNESDAY
In the handicap hurdle (3.40pm), Mac N Cheese has his first start over hurdles for the yard. He ran over fences the last day at Fairyhouse where he had a tendency to jump out to his left. We think we’ve sorted that out though now, so he should put up a better performance this time around.
It’s a very competitive handicap, but he’s fit and well and will hopefully run a nice race here.
She’s not a guaranteed to get in, but if she did Lady Ischia could go well at a price in the same race. A mark of 109 looks pretty fair based on her bumper form from last year and we’ve been encouraged with the way she has run this season, particularly in her last two starts.
She was a good third at Fairyhouse last time in a similarly competitive handicap where she was giving the first and second plenty of weight. That was a fair performance so if she were to get in here, she’d definitely have an each-way squeak. We’re hopeful she can turn out to be a fair bit better than her current mark.
Our last runner on Wednesday is Jeremys Flame in the bumper (7.45pm). The form of her last bumper at Leopardstown, where she finished third, has worked out very well with the winner finishing third in a Grade Two at Aintree, while the fourth won by 23 lengths last week.
This has been the plan for a little while, so we’re hopeful she’s improved again and will run well here.
THURSDAY
Ejayteekay has run plenty this season, but has been really consistent, particularly this year where she has yet to finish out of the first three. She takes her chance in the ultra-competitive JLT Handicap Hurdle over two miles (3.40pm).
She’s creeping up the handicap a bit and is now off a mark of 120, but we think a fast-run two miles at Punchestown will suit her and she’s another we think should go well.
Even though she’s off a career-high mark, she’s an improving mare and with any luck there is a bit more improvement to come which is always encouraging, especially in a race as competitive as this.
Spades Are Trumps has a couple of options at this stage on Thursday (6.05pm) or Saturday (5.35pm), but whichever race he ends up in, he should go well.
He’s in great form at home and was just touched off the last day at Fairyhouse. We’re expecting him to come on for that, particularly given he’s off the same mark here.
We’d like to think he’d have a very good chance wherever he ends up and he’d probably be our best chance of a winner throughout the week.
OTHER RACES
With the likes of Min, Klassical Dream, Kemboy and Al Boum Photo set to line up, it’s highly likely that Willie Mullins will have a very good few days. He really targets this meeting and always brings a powerful team of horses with him.
There’s no big tussle for the trainers’ title this year, so I don’t think Gordon [Elliott] will have as much firepower as he usually does.
Min was very impressive at Aintree and probably put in a career best so you’d imagine he’d follow up in the Champion Chase, while Klassical Dream was very good in the Supreme at Cheltenham and should prove hard to beat in the Champion Novice Hurdle.
