After two brilliant days of racing, Day Three of the Punchestown festival is upon us with some very good races to look forward to, including the Champions Stayers Hurdle. Here are Paul Townend's picks for today.
Day Two of the festival saw a huge upset in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup. Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs was defeated by 20/1 outsider Fastorslow. Fastorslow pushed eventual Grand National winner Corach Rambler to the limit in the Ultima at Cheltenham and beat some brilliant to win a Gold Cup for JJ Slevin and Martin Brasill.
🗣 "It was unreal."
Fastorslow filled second in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Just over a month later, he is a @Ladbrokes @punchestownrace Gold Cup hero!
JJ Slevin reflects on the victory for Martin Brassil's charge pic.twitter.com/Se6sYAwvlA— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 26, 2023
Paul Townend's picks
The Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle is the main event of the day. Paul Townend is going for Klassical Dream (3/1) to win it. However Asterion Forlonge (9/1) and bookies favourite Teahupoo (5/2) have a good chance of winning it too. Townend believes this track is more 'suitable' for Klassical Dream who didn't perform well at Cheltenham:
Klassical Dream is going bidding for three in a row in the race. [He] was disappointing in Cheltenham, had an interrupted preparation for it though. I think the track in Punchestown obviously suits him a lot better it's not as stiff. Asterion Forlonge got back to winning ways on Fairyhouse. He is behaving himself and is going in the right way. Teahupoo wants to dig in the ground so I think it's a winnable race.
El Fabiolo (1/3) is the uncontested favourite for the Two Mile Novice Chase for both the bookmakers and Paul Townend. He ran great races this season winning all three Cheltenham, Leopardstown and Fairyhouse. This is what Townend has to say about this chase:
He [El Fabiolo] was very good at Cheltenham, his jumping is improving. I suppose he's not without his faults but it'll be interesting going back over the Irish fences. The English fences are a bit softer and they [the horses] get away with rubbing one. If they rub one in Ireland they tend to get up again so if he rubs one early he'll be fine. El Fabiolo is the one anyone would want to be on the race.
