Punchestown Festival day two

We preview the best of Wednesday in Ireland

Day one at the Punchestown Festival saw us get off to a flyer, tipping the winner of the first race in Enniskillen. That’s the way you want to get the ball rolling for the week ahead. Looking forward to day two and we aim to send a few more your way.

Wednesday’s card gets started at 3.40pm with a competitive handicap hurdle. We give our best selection in that race, and each of the other six on the card, at the bottom of this page. Click now to place your Punchestown bets and accumulators, or read on as we set-out our NAP and next best of the day.

Al to give us a big boum

The 4.55pm novice handicap goes as the first grade one contest of the day, and of the eight-runner field expected to battle it out over three miles, we’re hot on the chances of Al Boum Photo. Willie Mullins goes in with a strong hand here, but the promising four-year-old gelding looks born for this type of race.

In his previous two career starts, both around here, he placed third on debut in December before returning in the new year to win a novice hurdle over 2m 4f earlier this month. Going off at double-figure odds, he landed a stunning win for those who kept faith, beating Stand Up And Fight by a convincing margin.

Chancing a step up in calibre here, plenty can be taken from that winning effort to suggest he will take it in his stride and I fancy him to go and cause an upset again. Al Boum Photo trades at 15/2 just now, and that’s worth an interest.