Today’s Horse Racing Tip – 4:55 Punchestown 25 April

Today’s free horse racing tip runs in the Irish Daily Mirror Novices’ Hurdle at 4:55 Punchestown. Eleven entries were declared overnight for the three mile Grade 1 event where the runners are set to jump 14 hurdles.

Willie Mullins had a hat-trick of winners on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival and the Irish Champion trainer is represented by three runners in the Grade 1 novices’ hurdle this afternoon.

Next Generation is a highly promising individual who gets the nomination for today’s racing tip as he steps up to three miles for the first time. The son of Dubai Destination showed his promise when winning a Naas maiden in impressive fashion on his hurdling debut in November. He followed up with a comfortable five length victory in a Grade 2 novices hurdle at Navan and made it a hat-trick of wins when landing a Grade 1 event at Naas in January.

The six-year-old re-appeared at the Cheltenham Festival where he finished third in the Grade 1 Ballymore Hurdle over two mile and five furlongs and his strong rally up the hill gave every indication that today’s trip will be ideal.

Brahma Bull finished 15 lengths behind the selection at Cheltenham and while open to improvement, has a big task to overturn the form on level weights. Next Generation also has the beating of Jetz on their Irish form.

The main danger is likely to come from Colin Tizzard-trained Kilbricken Storm who won the Albert Bartlett by three lengths from OK Corral and had one of today’s rivals, Ballyward, a further three lengths back in fourth. It was a big step up in form by the winner who was hanging on the run in and it’s quite possible the lightly-raced Ballyward could reverse the placings over the extra furlong today.

Gordon Elliott’s Delta Work is proven over the trip and doesn’t have a lot to find on the basis of his win in the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham. The gelding was all out to hold off his more fancied stablemate Glenloe and it remains to be seen how much the race took out of him.

Blow By Blow has three wins from seven runs this season and beat one of today’s rivals, Discorama, in a conditional handicap at Cheltenham. He disappointed in a Grade 2 hurdle at Fairyhouse earlier this month and neither look to be up to the class required to win this race.

The same applies to useful hurdler Lackaleen Leader who has three wins to her credit and ran well to finish eight and a half lengths second to Laurina in a Grade 1 novice race for mares at Fairyhouse 24 days ago.

Making up the field, it’s hard to make a case for The Conditional who trailed a distant fourth of five in a minor race at Clonmel last time and General Consensus who had to be driven out to win a maiden at Warwick last month.

The going at Punchestown is yielding to soft and the weather forecast is for light showers with a fresh westerly breeze.

Next Destination was flying home in the Ballymore and while Cheltenham winners Kilbricken Storm and Delta Work demand respect, the six–year-old can oblige to give Willie Mullins yet another Punchestown Festival winner.