2026 Barberstown Castle Novice Chase Betting Tips
Willie Mullins is typically strong-handed when it comes to the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase. He has the odds-on favourite, with Kopek Des Bordes bidding to return to winning ways after finishing second in the Arkle. The six-year-old won the 2025 Supreme Novices' Hurdle although his chasing career hasn't gone exactly to plan after failing to win at the Festival.
The horse's jumping was far from perfect at Cheltenham and some punters might want to swerve the odds-on quotes considering that Kargese is a perfectly good alternative. The fact that the Mullins-trained horse made all over two miles was impressive, with the good to soft ground likely to be once again available for a horse who could be overpriced.
Kargese was a fourteen-length victory in a Beginners Chase race at Leopardstown, with the 10/11 favourite travelling well over two miles and a furlong on yielding ground. We should also note that there was a strong performance in the Irish Arkle Chase where the runner came agonisingly close to beating odds-on favourite Romeo Coolio.
Irish Panther is trained by Eddie & Patrick Harty, with the nine-year-old starting the season with a bang. There was an October success at Clonmel, with that coming before a more competitive victory at Naas. The two-mile win in a Beginners Chase was an accomplished one and the runner then performed really well in the Racing Post Novice Chase when chasing home Romeo Coolio.
2025 Barberstown Castle Novice Chase Betting Tips
Majborough was regarded as one of the Cheltenham Festival bankers, although the horse was unable to deliver the goods in the Arkle Trophy on Day One of the meeting. Sent off at odds of 1/2, the runner failed to secure a victory and was beaten into third. Perhaps it was just an off day, with the bookies still regarding this horse as the one to beat. There was a smart win at the Dublin Racing Festival.
On that occasion, the horse achieved a nine-length success when toppling Touch Me Not and there was previously a success at Fairyhouse in December. The five-year-old was the winner of the Triumph Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and it could be that the horse delivers the goods for favourite backers.
Only By Night has collected three straight wins this season, with the seven-year-old scoring at Tipperary, Cork and Exeter. The horse then ran a brilliant race as a 25/1 shot to finish second in the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival. Gavin Cromwell saw his charge actually hit the front on the run-in and the bookies certainly respect his chances here.
Impaire Et Passe is the other short-priced runner and the seven-year-old has landed three successes this term. The last success came at Aintree where a victory was landed in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase. That was by just over a length over two miles, four furlongs, with the runner previously ending up third in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival.
2024 Castle Novice Chase Tips
Gaelic Warrior has a fairly unblemished record coming into the Punchestown Festival, with the six-year-old having won the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. This victory was all the more impressive considering that the 2/1 favourite was able to win by eight and a half lengths when beating Found a Fifty.
We can perhaps forgive the horse for unseating his rider at Leopardstown in early February when running against Fact To File in a two-runner Novice Chase, with the horse having previously recorded victories at Limerick and Punchestown. It all amounts to an impressive track record and there’s a reason why the horse is trading at big odds-on.
Il Etait Temps has won three times this season and produced an excellent performance to win at Aintree in the Close Brothers Manifesto Novices' Chase. Sent off at odds of 3/1, the horse was able to prosper over two miles and four furlongs, with the runner claiming a nine-length triumph in the process.
However, he has to find over thirteen lengths on Gaelic Warrior considering that the two squared off at the Cheltenham Festival and second place might be the realistic outcome here. The leading pair in the betting should be well clear of the other two runners in the field, with Hercule Du Seuil likely to finish third.