Horse Racing Tips: Allen can jump his way to victory

Saturday is set to provide an abundance of top-class racing action on both sides of the Irish Sea, with the Punchestown Festival concluding with an eight-race card, while Newmarket hosts the 2000 Guineas on the Flat in Britain.

The going is set to be yielding on both the hurdles and chase courses at Punchestown and the two big races of the day are two Grade 1s; the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle and the Mares’ Champion Hurdle. Cheltenham Festival winners are reappearing in both, so don’t miss out!

We've picked out a trio to follow at Punchestown on Saturday and they include a rare handicap ride for Paul Townend and the horse in question should go under close consideration.

15:45 Punchestown - Argento Boy @ 8/1

This season's form suggests that ARGENTO BOY perhaps isn't the Grade 1 horse that connections thought he might be, but he's still a very useful horse. Fourth in the Irish Grand National last time out, he ran well enough but was still 33 lengths behind the winner.

The return to a shorter trip should suit with that in mind and there could be plenty more to come from him in handicap company. There was plenty to like about his Grade 3 novice success at Naas in January and a mark of 143 looks workable on that evidence.

He won a maiden hurdle here by a wide margin last term and was a cosy winner of a beginners' chase over three miles on New Year’s Eve. Handicaps look like a sensible way to go and there's every chance that the seven-year-old can run a massive race.

16:15 Punchestown - Wodhooh @ 8/11

Pretty much any price is a good one for Gordon Elliott's star mare WODHOOH here. She is a ridiculously consistent performer and her only defeat came at the hands of Lossiemouth in last year's Aintree Hurdle and she lost very little in defeat on that occasion.

The €73,000 first prize would be gratefully received by her trainer, as he bids to fight off Willie Mullins and win the trainers' title. That fight may be in vain, but Wodhooh is unlikely to let him down, as she never has done in her 11-race hurdling career.

This daughter of Le Havre was too good for Jade De Grugy in the Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last time out and it's hard to make a compelling case that the Mullins-trained mare can reverse the form on this occasion.

17:30 Punchestown - Jump Allen @ 2/1

It's not too often that Paul Townend rides in handicaps at the major festivals, but he has made an exception to ride JUMP ALLEN here. Willie Mullins' gelding has a rating of 135 and has only had one run so far this season.

He finished third behind Air Of Entitlement in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham and that was his first start for 321 days. With that in mind, he's entitled to step forward for that run and it has to be said that he was a little unlucky at Cheltenham.

Hampered approaching the final flight, he did well to recover and kept on nicely to finish in the places. Jump Allen won a decent handicap over 2m4f at Sandown last season and there could be more to come from him before the handicapper catches up.

Click the link for the latest Horse Racing Odds