Punchestown Festival Tips Today: R2C's Best Bets for Thursday

The third day of the 2026 Punchestown Festival looks just as competitive as the opening two days and punters will be hoping for better luck on Thursday after a rough start to the week.

I fired a blank on Tuesday but hopefully the tide will turn over the next few days. It looks like a quality card for Day 3, with several big names on show – none more so than the Robcour pair of Teahupoo and Bob Olinger in the Champion Stayers Hurdle.

Here, I go through my best bets at Punchestown on Thursday and hopefully we can land a winner or two. I always say this meeting is a marathon and not a sprint, so let’s hope that the staying division brings plenty of luck for punters on Day 3.

Tip 1 – MCLAUREY - 1pt WIN

Best odds of 7/1 at Paddy Power while publishing.

The Plate Handicap Chase form looks strong with Will The Wise and Madara finishing first and third in the Topham Handicap Chase at Aintree so I’m going to give the Emmet Mullins-trained MCLAUREY a go in this race. It looks competitive but he ticks plenty of boxes and could be very well treated off a mark of 130.

Going back to the Plate form, Zurich also came within a neck of winning the lucrative Silver Trophy Handicap Chase at Haydock – and he was less than a length in front of my selection at Cheltenham. Zurich is up to a mark of 135 in Ireland, Will The Wise is rated 148 and Madara has a BHA mark of 152.

Mullins suggested that the quicker ground might be a concern at Cheltenham but I don’t think that was the issue. He had to go wide around the turn for home and encountered brief interference, though not enough to drastically impact his finishing position. With a clear run though, who knows – he was certainly travelling nicely to that point.

Punchestown have chucked plenty of water down and that will help his chances, though he clearly doesn’t need a bog to be seen to best effect. His form ties in with the likes of Sky Lord, who is another that I’d consider in this race at a nice each way price – but I’m hoping McLaurey can give JP McManus another winner for the week.

Tip 2 – TEAHUPOO - 2pts WIN

Best odds of 2/1 at bet365 while publishing.

Robcour have a strong hand in the race but TEAHUPOO is the one I want to be with and I’m hoping he can record an eighth Grade 1 success on Thursday evening. The first of two Gordon Elliott selections in this column, the Cullentra House handler tasted Grade 1 success on Tuesday and hopefully Teahupoo can get the job done.

The main danger to the selection may well be fellow Robcour inmate Bob Olinger, now is in the twilight years of his career but still showing plenty of spark and enthusiasm for the

game. Henry de Bromhead’s runner was third at Cheltenham in March and he himself is a four-time Grade 1 winner. A very likeable type, he’d be a popular winner alright.

Honesty Policy will have Harry Cobden in the saddle after Mark Walsh opted to ride the Willie Mullins-trained Kawaboomga and he’s yet to go beyond 2m4. He is probably the most intriguing runner in the race, along with Jimmy Du Seuil who will hopefully be much more at home over hurdles. Teahupoo sets the standard for me, though.

Klassical Dream recorded three consecutive victories in this race from 2021 to 2023 and Teahupoo can match that feat. He isn’t as ground dependent as some would have you believe and he’s arguably the most underrated horse in training, so it would be great to see him prevail – especially after finishing a slightly disappointing sixth at Cheltenham.

Tip 3 – SOUL ASYLUM - 1pt WIN

Best odds available of 11/2 at Unibet while publishing.

Punchestown is Willie Mullins’ playground but I’m siding with Gordon Elliott’s runner in the finale on Thursday, with whispers out of Cullentra House suggesting that SOUL ASYLUM could be very smart indeed. He’s a big baby so has been given an easy enough campaign but he looks a lovely type for the future.

I know Harry Swan is sweet on his chances and Elliott’s main bumper horses ran decent races on Tuesday, with Huntin Boots fifth in the Goffs Defender Bumper and Hartford a neck away from finishing third in the Willie Coonan Memorial INH Flat Race. I’d be pretty hopeful that Soul Asylum may be the best of the bunch this week.

A £280,000 purchase at the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale, this son of Walk In The Park is a half-brother to a bumper winner while the form of his point-to-point looks to be working out well. Red Acres Max, now with Jamie Snowden, has won a bumper and was also second to £400,000 purchase Minella Premier on rules debut.

He could be one of Elliott’s leading novice hurdlers next season and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t turn out to be a Graded horse. There are some nice types in the field but Soul Asylum arrives here fresh and he ticks plenty of boxes for a race like this, providing he handles the quicker ground.