Three Horses To Track After Punchestown The Punchestown Festival has come and gone and so, finally, the National Hunt roadshow in Britain and Ireland goes into some kind of hibernation for the summer months. There will still be jumps action, but the meat of the season won't begin again until the autumn. We're taking a look back at some Punchestown Festival eyecatchers that ran over hurdles and might be worth sticking in the trackers for when we see them next. Log-in to your Irish Racing account to add horses to your tracker Rocheval (Lucinda Russell) British-trained runners in the handicaps appeared to fare much better than expected at Punchestown, with the likes of Harry Derham, Jonjo O'Neill, Nicky Henderson and David Pipe all getting in the winners' enclosure at the meeting. That may prompt further raids from UK raids on some major Irish prizes, with big money to be won in handicaps over both hurdles and fences throughout the season. Rocheval was one to note in the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final Handicap Hurdle on day one for Scottish handler Lucinda Russell. The five-year-old stayed on from the rear to finish sixth, beaten just over four lengths, in the 25-runner contest won by Buy Some Time. Rocheval was having only his sixth hurdles start, his second in a handicap, and was competing from a mark of 118. Russell should be able to find some races for him and there's mileage in him from his current perch. I Love My Baie (Stuart Crawford) Larne-based handler Stuart Crawford is a shrewd operator, and his contender, I Love My Baie, ran a big race in the Conway Piling Handicap Hurdle over just shy of three miles. It was a contest where Nicky Henderson had the one-two with Jeriko Du Reponet and Doddiethegreat coming home ahead of the James Owen-trained raider One Big Bang as the raiders dominated, that trio ensuring it is very solid form. I Love My Baie was back in seventh, out of 23, in the double green silks of owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. He's a three-time winner from just 10 starts over hurdles but this was only his second run of the season. He was a hurdles winner at Perth in July 2023 and ran well last June at Roscommon. He's not yet exposed over staying trips and could be one that keeps going in the coming months, with his rating of 130 likely to ease slightly. Janes Harbour (Joseph O'Brien) Camelot filly Janes Harbour runs in the JP McManus silks for trainer Joseph O'Brien and should be paying her way over timber before too long. She was fourth in the Specialist Group Handicap Hurdle over an extended two miles behind Putapoundinthejar from the Tony Martin team on Thursday and looked one to note for next time. Claiming rider Aidan Kelly was on board and had the filly towards the rear of the 22-runner field for much of the contest. Indeed, they were much closer to last than first, jumping two out and still sitting in 10th, jumping the final flight before staying on encouragingly to finish fourth at the line, never nearer. She was second on handicap debut at Fairyhouse in February, clear of the remainder behind Philip Rothwell's Maxios Prime, and had taken a silver medal in a Limerick maiden since behind an impressive newcomer to hurdles. She handles any ground and could be set for a summer campaign, with a handicap rating of 109 seemingly looking very fair. If you already have a William Hill account, check out more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses
