Gary O'Brien: State Man will take some beating on Friday
The Irish racing broadcaster runs through six races on the fourth day of the 2023 Punchestown Festival.
16:15
LIFE IN THE PARK is of big interest. He won at the meeting last year and caught the eye last time out. I’d like to think he’ll go very well.
Slipofthetongue , who is better than he showed last time, is another to watch.
16:50
IMPERVIOUS is the one to beat in the Mares’ Chase. She’s been superb all season and was very good at Cheltenham last time.
It’ll be a good race, though, and I’ve got to give a good mention to Riviere D’etel , who will come here pretty fresh after falling at Cheltenham. She was going well, too.
17:25
It looks like STATE MAN will take some beating in the next. He’s by far the best horse in the race, so it’s his race to lose.
The race for second is pretty open. I’d say Pied Piper , who was just touched off in the County Hurdle, could be the best of the rest.
18:00
Willie Mullins' domination is likely to continue in the next as IMPAIRE ET PASSE is almost impossible to oppose. He was superb at Cheltenham and should take all of the beating here.
18:35
IT'S ON THE LINE ran really well at Cheltenham and is on my card again here. He made up lots of ground from the back of the last and caught the eye. He fell at Becher's early on at Aintree, so may not have had too much of a race, and I’d say there’s a fair bit more to come from him.
19:10
The next revolves around SA MAJESTE and, while we don’t know much about him, the vibes have been very strong. It’s his last chance to run in Novice company, as he won in France last May. It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on.