2023 Punchestown festival tips: Tuesday's best bets from Racing Post experts

Day one of the Punchestown festival is upon us – but who do our experts fancy most?

Nikini

3.40 Punchestown

By Conor Fennelly

There doesn't seem to be much pace on in the Howden Insurance Listed Mares Novice Hurdle and Nikini could take advantage if she adopts the same prominent tactics that saw her finish a valiant second behind Magical Zoe at Down Royal in November.

She was well held in 12th in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham but travelled strongly turning in that day before her run flattened out, which can probably be attributed to a combination of it being her first start in four months and her being a shade keen when held up out the back in the early stages due to the slow fractions being set by the all-the-way winner.

The six-year-old seems to settle better when more positive tactics are employed and given the shape of this race, she could conceivably dominate this contest from the front and deserves to be challenging for favouritism on her best form.

Nikini15:40 Punchestown

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Jky: Mr P W Mullins Tnr: W P Mullins

Diverge

4.15 Punchestown

By Robbie Wilders

Paul Townend will doubtless steer home bundles of winners at this meeting with the immense firepower of the Mullins stable, but I expect he might regret partnering Facile Vega over Diverge in the following KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle.

Only two and three-quarter lengths separated Facile Vega and Diverge in the Supreme, but Diverge was given a little too much to do from off the pace and is expected to be closer to the action in this small-field affair.

That was just Diverge's third run over hurdles and first in a Grade 1 following an easy maiden hurdle success over this course and distance in January. He is clearly on a sharp upward curve, while Facile Vega appears to be operating at the same sort of level.

Diverge16:15 Punchestown

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Jky: Mr P W Mullins Tnr: W P Mullins

Energumene

5.25 Punchestown

By Kevin Morley

Willie Mullins will almost certainly provide the winner and success is most likely to come from last year's scorer Energumene, who has a fair bit in hand on ratings.

Chacun Pour Soi landed the prize a couple of years ago but is clearly not as good now and Gentleman De Mee can grab the forecast spot ahead of Blue Lord.