Timeform highlight their best bets at Punchestown on Wednesday in the form of a ratings banker, a big improver and a Flag to note.
The Ratings Banker
Allaho – 17:55 Punchestown
Allaho underlined his status as one of the best horses in training with an emphatic success in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last time, making all to beat stablemate Janidil by 14 lengths. It was a performance every bit as destructive as when winning the same race 12 months earlier, once again producing a relentless display of galloping, and jumping superbly to boot, to run some high-class rivals into the ground.
There is no doubt that Allaho is the horse with the most ability in this year’s Punchestown Gold Cup – he is 7 lb clear of Minella Indo on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings – but the big question today is whether he can repeat his Ryanair form now stepping back up in trip to three miles. It is certainly not a given judged on his five previous attempts at the trip which have yielded just one win, in a Grade Three novice hurdle at Clonmel in February 2019.
That alone isn’t conclusive evidence that Allaho doesn’t stay three miles, though, and it’s worth remembering that he produced a top-class effort in defeat at this trip when third in the RSA Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. He has taken his form up another notch or two in the interim and his connections will be hoping his class can carry him through as he seeks the fourth Grade One success of his career.
The Big Improver
Minella Cocooner – 17:20 Punchestown
After getting off the mark over hurdles at Navan in December, Minella Cocooner then took a big step forward to follow up in the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, benefiting from an aggressive front-running ride to beat Minella Crooner by two and three quarter lengths.
Minella Cocooner was unable to complete the hat-trick when tackling three miles for the first time in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but he still produced a performance full of promise to fill the runner-up spot behind stablemate The Nice Guy. In a race run at a fierce gallop, Minella Cocooner was much more involved at the head of affairs than the winner and it was to his immense credit that he was still beaten only five lengths, sustaining his run extremely well under the circumstances after kicking on at the second last.
There almost certainly isn’t as much between the first two as the bare form would suggest, to the extent that Minella Cocooner appeals as the one to side with here at the prices. It stands to reason that we didn’t see the very best of him in the Albert Bartlett given how things panned out and, still unexposed at three miles, he has the small ‘p’ attached to his Timeform rating to underline that he is open to more improvement.
The Timeform Flag
The Model Kingdom – 19:45 Punchestown
Horse In Focus, Timeform Top Rated
An easy debut winner at Galway in October, The Model Kingdom again looked a very good prospect when making it two from two in bumpers at Navan the following month, taking the step up to listed level in her stride with another striking success.
Settled in mid-division in the early stages, The Model Kingdom made smooth headway to lead entering the final two furlongs and the race was over as a meaningful contest when she quickened clear shortly afterwards. Admittedly, the chasing pack closed in when she idled in the final 100 yards and the official winning margin was just a length and a half, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that she was much the best on the day.
It could well be a similar story in this Grade Three given that The Model Kingdom is top on weight-adjusted ratings with the promise of more to come. Her five-month absence is a slight concern, but the way that Navan race has worked out in the interim certainly gives cause for optimism – the runner-up won next-time-out and the third went on to be beaten a nose in a Grade Two at the Dublin Racing Festival.
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