Horse Racing Tips: Jeriko Du Reponet to fire at Punchestown

Day Three of the Punchestown festival takes place in Ireland today along with five Flat meetings taking place across the United Kingdom.  

Redcar kicks off the afternoon, before they go at Yarmouth, Punchestown and Southwell. The evening action takes place at Chelmsford and Ayr. Among our Thursday fancies is one for trainer Clive Cox who will be looking to land her first big race after showing a huge amount of potential as a juvenile.  

15:50 Yarmouth - Spy Kingdom @ 1/1

Sky Kingdom made a very promising start to his career two weeks ago in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket, a race which has been contested by some smart types in recent years, most notably Passenger who went on to win the 2024 Huxley Stakes at Chester. 

Sky Kingdom showed no signs of greenness as he broke from the stalls well and led for the majority of the early stages of the race. He went through the gears well towards the business end of the race and was only just beaten by one rallying up the near side rail. The pair pulled clear of the rest of the field and there were signs that there should be more to come. 

His experience from a fortnight ago stands him in good stead against these rivals and he has every chance of going one better today. 

16:15 Punchestown - Jeriko Du Reponet @ 15/2

Jeriko Du Reponet looked to be failing to live up to his early promise after starting his career under rules with a trio of wins. 

After such a start Jeriko Du Reponet headed into the 2024 Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham with a sense of anticipation surrounding him. But things seemed to go wrong, as he was unable to keep up with the pace heading for home and was pulled up before the last. There were some excuses but he seemingly was not the two-miler many had hoped he would be. 

Things seemed to go from bad to worse as he was pulled up again on his reappearance this season when tried in a chase at Sandown where he looked very much out of his depth over the larger obstacles. A poor return to hurdling followed at Newbury in November and he was put away for the Christmas period.  

His return to the track at Exeter brought about a change in fortunes. The step up to 2m7f seemed to suit him much more, his jumping was by no means perfect but it was a credible attempt over the longer distance and most notably he proved that he had the required stamina.  

He then showed remarkable improvement when last seen in the Pertemps Network Final at Cheltenham where he put in what could be considered a personal best and was just narrowly denied the win while looking to be giving it everything he had.

He still has a lot to prove but he looks to be on a decent mark for this and his experience over his previous two runs should stand him in good stead here.

19:15 Chelmsford - Hold A Dream @ 14/1

Hold A Dream showed steady progression in her three runs as a juvenile and goes into this race with every chance. 

She made her debut at Sandown in August and showed plenty of promise finishing just behind a more experienced rival. She stepped up to six furlongs for her next outing at Newbury and saw the trip out well, only just denied the win in the final strides. It was a solid effort and something to build on. 

She landed her first win when last seen at Yarmouth in September, confirming the promise she had shown by using her pace to make all on her way to a juvenile course record.  

This will be her first run on the all-weather but she is well drawn and if she can get out in front early she should go well.

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