Presuming the track passes a 7 a.m. inspection, Punchestown will wind up its festival with a scheduled marathon card adapted to facilitate the running of the Heineken Gold Cup. Unless there is an overnight deluge of Tuesday proportions, racing should go ahead but whether that will be with the chase races was the source of speculation yesterday evening.
If they can run them, the principal difficulty facing the horses in the £60,000 feature is obvious. On heavy rain-soaked ground, the difficulty of the task facing these novices over the three mile and one furlong trip is enormous. In these circumstances, it's toughness rather than talent that counts for most, stamina rather than speed.
Boss Doyle looked worth opposing before Tuesday's deluge despite the weight range being in his favour. Now, Mouse Morris' top class novice will be made to feel every ounce of his 12st topweight.
That value could have been Eton Gale, but with all this rain, the premium will be very much on lasting home, and Noel Meade's horse failed to last out in the Irish National, admittedly over half a mile further, but on considerably better ground.
Now the concentration must be on finding one that stays all day and won't be bothered by galloping on ground that may end up sticky, with yesterday's sunshine following Tuesday's deluge. Miss Orchestra looks that one.
In contrast to Eton Gale, Miss Orchestra stayed the Irish National but just couldn't quicken when the pace was upped four from home. Previously she showed what she could do when easily beating Kamikaze in the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter.
That was over a full mile and three furlongs further than today, but in gluepot conditions it will feel much more. Miss Orchestra should be staying on when most have cried enough, and with that the primary consideration, she is selected.
The same goes for the £50,000 IAWS Champion Juvenile Hurdle, but another factor here may be the wear and tear of a season. The likes of Darapour, Nomadic and the David Nicholson-trained raider Zafarabad have all had other primary aims this season, but Michael Grassick has aimed Executive Decision at this, and this tough and fresh gelding is napped to prove the long-term planning right.
Executive Decision actually beat Darapour on his hurdling debut on heavy ground at Leopardstown over Christmas and followed that up with a comfortable Navan success. He was also a flat winner in soft conditions and looks capable of proving himself better than the bare formbook evidence might suggest.
The third Grade One contest is the Ballymore Stayers' Hurdle, won so well last year by Paddy's Return. Ferdy Murphy's horse progressed from that this season and started a warm favourite for the Stayers' at Cheltenham only to run a disappointing fifth. Paddy's Return reportedly came back with a bad cut, however, and is worth another chance.
The Tripleprint Novice Chase is hardly the strongest Grade One ever run, but on the principle that it's easier to give weight away in the heavy than distance, Mulkev Prince is preferred.
