Punchestown's novice hurdles taught us very little - and the bloated programme is to blame

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Tuesday's Grade 1 Champion Novice Chase over three miles at Punchestown was a thrilling race, with Feronily rewarding some bold and eccentric campaigning by Emmet Mullins.

Beforehand, this was an intriguing puzzle to solve. Sir Gerhard, Appreciate It and James Du Berlais were backing up quickly after the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse, with the latter two exploring three miles over fences for the first time, while Journey With Me and Classic Getaway were also stepping into the relative unknown with regards to trip.

A lively betting race with some fascinating questions set to be conclusively answered. To what did we owe such a pleasure, one that seemed increasingly rare in a week when there was a proliferation of odds-on favourites confirming previous form? We owe it to the fact there is no Grade 1 novice chase over the intermediate distance at Punchestown.

All six of those who lined up had won over shorter trips and the field would have been split in half between the two if there had been a 2m4f option, with horses defecting to the supposed easier assignment.

Instead, the fact that trainers have to make a simple decision regarding their novice chasers at Punchestown – two miles or three – dictates that we tend to get some riveting clashes and enthralling betting in one or both of the races.

The three-mile race has featured just two odds-on favourites in the last ten runnings, with one of them being Monkfish in 2021 in what was arguably the most engrossing novice chase all season as he came up against Envoi Allen and Colreevy.

Willie Mullins: divided and conqueredCredit: Alan Crowhurst

If only it were that way with the novice hurdles. Willie Mullins divided and conquered, with Facile Vega over two miles and Impaire Et Passe over two and a half doing what was expected and landing odds of 4-6 and 1-3 with the minimum of fuss.

Gaelic Warrior was the only Mullins star whose participation had a slight element of intrigue as he was tackling three miles for the first time. He found it no problem, winning at 4-5.

In the last ten runnings of the two-mile race, there have been eight odds-on favourites, with the other two going off 11-10 and 5-4. For the intermediate race, five of the last ten favourites started odds-on, with only one favourite going off bigger than 13-8.

Would Impaire Et Passe have taken on Facile Vega over two miles? We don't know because the question wasn't asked. Reducing options funnels the best horses into one race and excites punters and spectators alike as it forces questions to be answered, rather than answers to be confirmed.

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