Punchestown begins

The jumps season goes out with a bang this week as the big Irish festival, Punchestown, runs from Tuesday to Saturday. If you've never been over for it, it is definitely worth a visit, but unless you want to be stuck in traffic for five hours per day, book your accommodation early!

Today's action is a late starter at 15:40, and has three big Grade 1 races on the card - the Champion Novice Hurdle, Champion Chase and Champion Novice Chase. Like Aintree and Cheltenham, don't try to peak too early - it's a long festival.

For those who like laying the field on Betfair, it has been known to work well at Punchestown, but it depends how low you go with that lay price. There's usually at least one 1.01 that gets rolled for the week.

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