TUESDAY PUNCHESTOWN IRISH NH TIPS

This former Enda Bolger inmate has gone from strength to strength in the point-to-point sphere since joining Sam Curling winning four and finishing runner up on three more occasions in eight runs.

He's a real natural over the banks and in a real specialist discipline his experience over the course coupled with the relationship the jockey has built with the horse they should be a formidable force to be reckoned with. I think he has a cracking chance and should take some serious beating.

This horse began the season with a tall reputation winning a maiden hurdle at Thurles with consummate ease which led Paul Townend to make him his choice for a Grade 1 at Leopardstown over Christmas, but he never handled the bottomless ground that day and with no improvement in ground conditions since his season was scuppered.

That said he had what was no more than a piece of work last week at Ludlow helping to get Willie Mullins a first British Trainers Championship back on a decent surface. A mark of 135 looks well within his compass and if we don't get too much rain before this race goes to post I think he should be very hard to beat.

This horse is a very interesting runner in a race where his trainer has history with this race training horses with a similar profile returning from a couple of hurdles runs to win or run very well here. It's an angle he's used to success quite a bit in the past gaining valuable experience having quiet runs in maiden hurdles using the large fields and hurdles to help teaching them to settle and teaching them to cope with a huge field where space is at a premium which is normally the case in this race.

He's a son of Masked Marvel who is a sire I love and all that coupled together makes him a horse I must have something on at a big price. The booking of Derek O'Connor just sweetens the deal. Don't be surprised if there is a swell of support for this one on the day.