Thursday horse racing tips: Best bets at Punchestown from Tom Lunn

talkSPORT have you covered with horse racing free bets and also racing tips for Thursday’s meeting at Punchestown Festival.

Tom Lunn has gone through the racecard, form, going, race replays and much more to help guide your horse racing betting choices with a few tips on the day’s action.

talkSPORT BET Betting Offer – Get up to £35 matched if your first best loses – CLAIM HERE*

Thursday horse racing tips

Punchestown

• 2.30: Leader d’Allier 3/1 (1pt)
• 3.05: Diamond Du Berlais 13/8 (1pt)
• 3.40: Vanillier 10/3 (1pt)
• 6.05: Teahupoo 9/4 (1pt)

Leader d’Allier

Trainer Willie Mullins’s form isn’t quite what we’re used to at the moment but over the last couple of weeks he’s sent some big priced runners out.

He’s also had a few disappointing runners that have seen his strike-rate drop to 14%, which is still impressive with a mammoth 56 runners sent in the last fortnight.

Leader d’Allier is a fairly short price compared to the majority of them and has plenty of ability but just didn’t enjoy his run at Fairyhouse earlier this month and so gets a quick reappearance.

Diamond Du Berlais

Mr Patrick Mullins comes in to ride another Mullins-trained horse in this mares novices hurdle.

I prefer the Zarak mare to the favourite Future Prospect ridden by Paul Townend.

Future Prospect was disappointing in her last two starts, pulling up at Cheltenham before a distant fourth at Fairyhouse 25 days ago.

Whereas this five-year-old finished a promising sixth at Cheltenham and is that little bit fresher, really encouraging on that run too.

Vanillier

You wouldn’t think Vanillier was 11-years-old the way he is running this season.

The Gavin Cromwell-trained horse won here over 3m1f in February before a decent third in the Cheltenham Cross Country in March.

He did unseat his rider in this race last year, but he does come here much fresher having ran in the 2025 Grand National before reappearing within the month.

That’s solid stamina and determination to be able to run again so quickly after that kind of test and this prep to get here seems much better than last year, so looks huge value.

Teahupoo

Teahupoo won this race last year when it was a much deeper contest, this year however, there’s just seven rivals for him to face, the majority of which either haven’t won here before or haven’t won over this distance.

Jimmy Du Seuil is one of those as he’s only been seen over 2m5f at the most and even more notably has only been seen over fences this season.

His last run over hurdles was winning the Coral Cup last year ahead of Impose Toi at 16/1.

He definitely presents a huge chance each-way but there are no stamina concerns for Teahupoo who should be able to dominate if bouncing back from a rare sixth place finish.

talkSPORT BET Boosted Favourites

30 minutes before the start of every UK & IRE race, we are boosting either the favourite or 2nd fav to win!

Get the latest price boosts here

18+. Bet on a Price Boost market for specific horse race & if your selection wins, we’ll pay out at the boosted odds. Max benefit applies. Click for T&Cs. GambleAware.org

Tom Lunn’s Horse Racing Profit & Loss

• March ’26: +11.31pts
• From October ’25: +38.46pts
• From March ’25: +109.76pts
• From Oct ’23: +419.61pts

All odds correct at time of writing

talkSPORT BET Betting Offer – Get up to £35 matched if your first best loses – CLAIM HERE*

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply.

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.

*18+ New Customers. Opt in and bet up to £35 on Horse Racing (odds 2/1+) within 7 days. If your first bet loses get your initial stake back, up to £35 in Free Bets for any sports. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Scroll down for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly