Horse Racing Tips: Owen’s best bets for Day 1 of the Punchestown Festival

The 2026 Punchestown Festival kicks off on Tuesday with an eight-race card starting at 14:30 and concluding shortly after 18:35.

I've studied the opening day card and settled on three horse racing tips for the action in County Kildare.

15:05 - Sticwiththeprocess @ 8/1

I suspect STICWITHTHEPROCESS has been laid out for the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final - a 2m3½f handicap hurdle worth €58k to the winner at the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday.

Ted Walsh's six-year-old son of Blue Bresil was just denied by an extremely well-handicapped rival in Grann's Boy, who's since gone up 21lbs in the handicap, on his final run of last season at Fairyhouse 12 months ago. On that evidence - the pair were also 21 lengths clear of the rest of the field - the selection's nine-pound rise looks very fair.

He qualified for Tuesday's final back in November and has run twice since, keeping busy and, most importantly, protecting the mark. The last of those appearances, at Fairyhouse exactly 23 days ago, was particularly encouraging. He might just be coming to the boil at the right time.

Mark Walsh maintains the partnership, one of his final times riding as JP McManus' number one, and first-time blinkers are tried. I'm very hopeful of a big run.

16:15 - Sober @ 9/2

Grade 1 action is next on my agenda, in the form of the Champion Novice Hurdle over an extended two miles.

Tactics are key here. If it turns into a sprint for home, Supreme seventh El Cairos will be very hard to beat. Skylight Hustle could make a splash, too.

If there's a bit of pace on, which I'm hopeful about, it suits the likes of Blake and SOBER. Preference is for the latter, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend.

The seven-year-old is a Royal Ascot winner who landed the Moscow Flyer over Tuesday's course and distance on just his second start over timber.

Last time out he was 16th in the Turners at the Cheltenham Festival, but things didn't go to plan for him. Not at all. Put a line through that, I say.

Before Cheltenham, there was a fair bit of hype about the son of Camelot and his work on the gallops, so after a 48-day break with Townend on his back, he ought to make his presence felt in a race that mightn't' take all that much winning.

18:05 - Il Etait Temps @ 7/4

I'm surprised Champion Chase hero IL ETAIT TEMPS has already been displaced by Marine Nationale at the top of the market for Punchestown's edition on Tuesday.

I suppose it's because Barry Connell's nine-year-old is fresh after missing Cheltenham last month - although that wasn't by design - and because he acts particularly well in these conditions.

You wouldn't think it based on the way his trainer speaks about him, but Marine Nationale's strike rate over the bigger obstacles is only 33%, courtesy of three wins from nine starts. I don't think he's the superstar it's often made out he is.

Il Etait Temps might not be in that bracket either, but he's 8-11 (72%) as a chaser and his only defeat in the last seven came in the Clarence House at Ascot in January, when he ran no race and took a bad fall at the last.

He bounced back in superb style to win at Cheltenham by 10 widening lengths, and I'm hopeful he'll be back to do it again at Punchestown 48 days later to complete a Grade 1 double for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend.

I fear stablemate Majborough, who's a supreme talent on his day, but he simply can't be trusted on account of his jumping. It could all fall apart at any moment.

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