Ed Quigley has a long-term look with his Antepost Armchair column to begin the week, while Fridays are all about the biggest weekend action, covered in Ed’s Weekend Watch column.
Throughout the year, make sure you check out Ed Quigley’s thoughts on Freebets!
Ed Quigley Antepost Armchair - Tuesday, April 23
Ed is back, casting his expert eye towards the Punchestown Festival that gets underway next week.
Punchestown Gold Cup - Shishkin (Each-Way)
Obviously, there is plenty of intrigue regarding this weekend’s action, with Willie Mullins throwing everything from his yard beside the kitchen sink to try to clinch the UK Trainers’ Championship.
Naturally, quite a few of the markets look confused, with a slight uncertainty about who the Closutton maestro will give the green light to.
Instead, the Punchestown Festival, which would usually be a meeting with all the talk for ‘team Mullins’ can get disrupted by Nicky Henderson sending one of his flag bearers to the Emerald Isle for a successful swoop.
SHISHKIN is set to line up in the Punchestown Gold Cup, and I think he looks to have major claims. Initially, there was a feeling of disappointment after he could only finish fourth in the Bowl at Aintree, but Nico De Boinville said he was ‘just a bit rusty’ after a troubled preparation and setback which caused him to miss the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
I expect him to be a lot straighter for this outing and comes in here a relatively fresh horse compared to others, and don’t forget that Glopin Des Champs, for all that he is the best horse in the line-up, was beaten in this race 12 months ago.
This should be exciting, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Seven Barrows charge could cause a minor upset in a race with a history of producing shocks.
I think the combination is a big each-way price, as I am not 100% sure that the horses ahead of him in the market will line up, and even if they do, can they bring their A-game to the table?
Ed’s Antepost Selections:
Shishkin @ 10/1 (Each-Way) - Punchestown Gold Cup (Tipped 23/04/24)
Firefox @ 14/1 - Arkle Challenge Trophy, Cheltenham Festival (Tipped 14/03/24)
Monty’s Star @ 20/1, Cheltenham Gold Cup Cheltenham Festival (Tipped 14/03/24)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
About Ed Quigley
Ed Quigley grew up just outside Cheltenham & spent over a decade with the Racing Post, where he was best known for his Longshot Column, RPTV and as a weekly columnist in the Racing & Football Outlook.
Now a Freelance Broadcaster and Journalist, he is a regular on Sky Sports Racing and Ladbrokes TV, amongst other things.
He will contribute his insight to Freebets.com and, of course, will be the go-to guy for all things Cheltenham Festival-related!
We have an Antepost Armchair article from Ed every Tuesday looking at the bigger picture and long-term plans for many horses. He also brings us his Weekend Watch on Friday, looking at the feast of action taking place over the weekend.
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