ROCCO TAKES ON STAR FIELD
THE Cheltenham Gold Cup will be the long-term target for a number of contenders in the Irish Daily Star Chase at Punchestown this afternoon.
With nine Grade One victories between the seven runners, it is Gold Cup runner-up Minella Rocco who tops the bill in this Grade Three event in his first run since finishing two and threequarter lengths behind Sizing John in the Gold Cup in March.
The seven-year-old will be ridden by Barry Geraghty for ® trainer Jonjo O’Neill, with owner JP McManus also represented by 2016 Punchestown Gold Cup winner Carlingford Lough.
“I’m looking forward to it, for sure,” Geraghty said. “I schooled him at Jonjo’s last week and he felt good.”
Gigginstown House Stud has three runners with last year’s Lexus Chase winner Outlander lining up alongside top novice Road To Respect and the Henry de Bromhead-trained Sub Lieutenant.
Road To Respect won the Plate Chase at the Festival before beating Yorkhill by a neck in the Ryanair Gold Cup Novice Chase at Fairyhouse.
Gordon Elliott saddles exciting novice chaser Death Duty in the Grade Three Buck House Novice Chase against four rivals.
The Grade One-winning hurdler made a successful start over fences at Tipperary earlier this month and faces highly-rated Woodland Opera, who won at the Punchestown Festival last year.
Elliott said: “I was happy with what he did at Tipperary.
“He was travelling well going to the last and made a bit of a mistake but would have been an impressive winner only for that.”