Punchestown Tips Today: R2C's Best Bets for Saturday

The fifth and final day of the 2026 Punchestown Festival is here and it’s been a whirlwind of a week. It’s been a difficult few days on the tipping front, with numerous shock results and the bookmakers have certainly come out on top.

We’ve got one more chance to take them on and I’ve landed on three selections on what should be a scintillating Saturday of jumps racing. Without further ado, here are my best bets at Punchestown on Day 5 of this year’s Festival.

15:05 Punchestown

SHANBALLY KID (0.5pts E/W, 11/1)

I’m not exactly sure what happened to SHANBALLY KID in the Irish Grand National but he was up with the pace and travelling well before stopping quickly after the fifth last fence. He must be A1 as he’s declared to line up on Saturday and I’d give him a massive chance if he brings his best form to the table.

And by best form, I mean if he can replicate his run in this race 12 months ago. He ran off a mark of 123 and was put up 14lbs after bolting up by 15 lengths in last year’s race but he is now back down to a mark of 130 and the return to nicer ground could make the world of difference as he looks to go back-to-back.

Willie Mullins and Danny Mullins have teamed up to win two of the last three renewals of this race and I wonder if this has been the grand plan all year long. His form figures of 0P4P wouldn’t exactly fill you with confidence but I’m hoping that Canny Danny can get his mount settled and if he gets into a rhythm, the repeat bid could be on.

Paul Townend has chosen to ride Uncle Pat and he ticks plenty of boxes but I just think that Shanbally Kid is better than his mark and proper spring ground should bring out the best in him. He’s available at a lovely each way price and fingers crossed he should be bang there on Saturday afternoon.

16:55 Punchestown

MATIN MIDI ET SOIR (0.5pts E/W, 15/2)

A hugely exciting prospect, fans of French racing have been waiting to see MATIN MIDI ET SOIR on Irish soil since he was purchased by Robcour in September. Now trained by Henry de Bromhead, the selection claimed a facile success in the Grade 3 Prix Robert Lejeune at Auteuil before he was snapped up to come over to Ireland.

There are plenty of winners on his page, and jockey Darragh O’Keeffe believes that he is a very talented animal – with recent quotes suggesting that his work at home had been of a high standard. Fingers crossed he can bring that to the track and hopefully he could be in the shake-up at the business stage of the race.

It’s a big ask to throw him straight into a Grade 1 but that might be a tip in itself and he’s probably the most fascinating runner of the entire week. It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on then connections will have to determine whether to stay over hurdles and potentially go down the Champion Hurdle route or embark on a novice chase career.

I know Triumph Hurdle winner Apolon De Charnie is highly thought of and he is the right favourite going off his Cheltenham performance but I’m willing to take a chance on the newcomer. Maestro Conti and Selma De Vary fell short against Mange Tout at Aintree and I just think it’s worth taking the Triumph runners on again here.

17:30 Punchestown

JUMP ALLEN (2pts WIN, 2/1)

JUMP ALLEN was a massive eyecatcher in the Martin Pipe and redemption could be on the cards, especially with Paul Townend opting to ride. He has some strong form in the book, finishing behind the likes of Will The Wise, Quebecois and Lovely Hurling and he could still have a fair bit in hand off an Irish mark of 135.

He encountered significant traffic problems at Cheltenham but did all his best work late in the day and was never closer to the winner than at the finish line. When you consider that very few horses came from off the pace to win that week, you simply have to mark the run up and I’m hoping he can prevail before going over fences in the autumn.

There are a few similarly unexposed types in contention and JP McManus looks to be well represented with five in the race. Fierce Handay’s success at Fairyhouse received a timely boost on Thursday after Blue Mosque prevailed in a Listed handicap hurdle while Kopeck De Mee and Kel Histoire have both had quiet enough campaigns.

It’s a competitive enough race but Jump Allen sticks out like a sore thumb on all known form and I simply cannot desert him. With a bit of luck, he is likely to be finishing better than most and he should enjoy Punchestown’s uphill finish. The case is pretty obvious in principle, hopefully it’ll be straightforward in practice.