Punchestown Festival Betting Guide 2025

PUNCHESTOWN FESTIVAL BETTING GUIDE 2025

Trends And Analysis For

The Feature Race On Each Day

WrittenByPaulFerguson

Introduction ByPaulFerguson

PUNCHESTOWNFESTIVAL2025

THE Cheltenham Festival has been and gone, the GrandNationalmeetingatAintreehastakenplace, whilsttheNationalHuntseasoninIrelandis,asever,set toculminateoverfivedaysatPunchestown

Thisyear’smeetinggetsunderwayonTuesday29th AprilandconcludesonSaturday3rd May,onthesame daythatthe2000GuineastakesplaceatNewmarket. Thespringtimesignifiesachangingofthecodesbut beforewedustoffourtophatsinanticipationofthe DerbyandRoyalAscot,thereisplentyofhigh-class jumpsactiontoenjoyinCountyKildare.

12Grade1contestsarespreadoverthefive-day fixtureandthosecontestshavebeenwonbysome of the modern greats The meeting isn’t all about top-levelsuccess,however,aswegettoenjoythe traditional fayre served up on the Banks course, numeroushandicapsandawholehostofbumpers inwhichyouwilloftenfindastar(ortwo,orthree) ofthefuture.

In 2023, for example, Ballyburn led home DancingCityandSladeSteelinastellarrenewalofJP&M DoyleFlatRace Twoofthethreewonnovicehurdles atthe2024FestivalandtheycollectedsevenGrade 1sbetweenthemduringthatnovicehurdleseason

Inthefour-year-oldbumperatlastyear’smeeting,SixandhalfbeatColcannonby11lengthsbefore developingintoasmartperformeronthelevel,then switchingtohurdleswhensuccessfulatFairyhouse. Runner-up in the Dawn Run at Cheltenham, she remainsahigh-classprospectwhilsttherunner-up won at Galway in October and returned from a 98-day break to land the Grade 2 at the Dublin RacingFestival

AwayfromtheFestivalbrieflyanditisalsoworth rememberingthatHurricaneFlymadeasuccessful hurdlingdebutatPunchestownbackinMay2008

FaugheenmadehisdebutunderRulesatasimilar timeofyear,somefiveyearslater,beatingJossesHill –himselfaGrade2winningnovicehurdler11months later–by22lengths.Aswellascrowningchampions, Punchestownisalsoabreedinggroundfortop-class NationalHuntperformers

Forthesecondyear,bothmyselfandthewhole teamatWeatherbysaredelightedtobeworkingwith theracecoursetobringyouthisfree-to-readpublication Inasimilarformattoallracescoveredinthe longstandingCheltenham Festival Betting Guide,I takealookatthetrendsforthefeatureraceoneach ofthefivedays,whilstthepublicationalsoincludes entries for the dozen Grade 1s as well as various editorialfeatures

Talking of those features, I must thank both JaneMangan–one-timeGrade1-winningjockey at this meeting – and Donn McClean for their excellentcontribution.

Let’shopethattheseasonendsonahigh,asit certainlystartedthatwaybackinlate-November, whentheJohnDurkanMemorialChaseproduced one of the races of the season with last month’s runawayRyanairChasewinnerFactToFilebeating Spillane’sTower(trained,ofcourse,byJane’sfather, Jimmy) and Galopin des Champs, with Gold Cup winnerInothewayurthinkinbackinseventh Thatrace reallysetthetoneandsomethingsimilartobring downthecurtainonthe2024-2025campaignwould bemostwelcome

Enjoytheaction, Paul.

The Punchestown Festival

ByJaneMangan

THE Punchestown Festival settles the score. Some say, the luck of the draw only draws the unlucky Rightthen-proveit!

Thosewhofelttheymaynothavehadtherubof thegreenatLeopardstown,CheltenhamorAintree have one last roll of the dice before curtain call Punchestownprovesthepoint.

My main abiding memory of Ireland’s premier NationalHuntfestivalremainsridingadoublethere in 2013 – two bumpers, a four-year-old debutant that would go on to win a Grade 1 at the CheltenhamFestivalthefollowingyear;andaGrade1 winnerwhoreachedhispinnacleonthatdayinthe ChampionBumper

WhatItreasuremostismyDadgladlyvolunteering to be my personal chauffeur for the five days Chauffeur,mentorandsoundingboard-especially whensilencewasexactlywhatthedoctorordered.

Of course, it wasn’t a chore for him. It was his perfectexcuse.MotherMarywasnevergoingtoget annoyedatJimmygoingracingeverydaywithout a runner when he had me in the passenger seat. He was living his best life. I was just a valid and convenientexcuse

You see, the Punchestown Festival was generallyoutofreachforayardliketheMangans Once everIremembermyparentssaddlingahorsethat had a genuine chance, that was Conna Castle in the Champion Chase back in 2009 He ran well to apoint,eventuallyfinishingthirdtoMasterMinded. I always remember thinking that the water at the PunchestownFestival wasjust too hot,people like uscouldnevermakeasplash.Thatwas,ofcourse, untillastyear

11 years on from wrestling around in bumpers, I watched through my fingers alongside RTE colleaguesRubyWalsh,LisaO’NeillandHughCahill as Spillane’s Tower repelled all challengers in the Grade1fornovicesoverthreemiles

Favouritismjustified,pressurelifted,myparents had done it Jimmy and Mary had enjoyed the PunchestownFestivalfromthedug-outforoverfifty yearsandheretheywereonthepodiumwithahorse worthyofwhisperinginthesamesentenceas“Gold Cup”…oneofthosedaysyouknowyou’llremember fortherestofyourlife.

The beauty of the Punchestown Festival is that thescepticsgetconclusiveandusuallyirrefutable evidencethatcanusuallybepresentedtotheharshest of critics This year in particular, with so many unusual results at the Cheltenham Festival and a lovelysix-weekgapfromPrestburyParktothefields Kildare,therearemanydebatestobesettled.Asthe seasondrawstoaclose,canwereallyconcludewho isthebestineachdivision?

On the build-up to the spring majors, much is madeaboutoptimumdistancesanddodgingopposition TherearemanyracesatPunchestownover thefive-daycarnivalbuttherearemouthwatering clashesowedtothefactthatintermediateoptions arenotonthemenuforthechampionshipevents

RememberwhenAllahofinallysteppeduptothree milesafterhistwoRyanairChasewinstolowerthe coloursofClandesObeauxandAlBoumPhotointhe 2022GoldCup?OrwhenBanbridgedroppeddown totheminimumtothwartCheltenhamheroCaptain Guinnessonthelinelastseason?

Likeanymajorsportingevent,Punchestownrelies onproperqualitycrosschannelcompetition.Inthe past,PaulNichollshasmadehaywithsuchhorses asMasterMinded,TwistMagic,NeptuneCollonges andClandesObeaux,whileotherUKtrainerstosteal some euros in recent years include Tom George,

JIMMYMANGAN

David Pipe, Anthony Honeyball and the Tizzards. However, it is the evergreen Nicky Henderson who leadsthechargewhenitcomestolayingsiegeon thePunchestownFestival.

Champion Hurdles with Cheltenham victors PunjabiandBuveurd’Air.GetRealandBigMattinthe ChampionChase,eventhemightyAltiorranmidfield intheChampionBumperin2015butitwastheTuesdayin2013thatwillforeverbeetchedintothefabric ofPunchestown’sfolklore

Majestic in physique, freakish in talent, Sprinter Sacreservedasatimelyreminderthatifthehorses arethere,thepeoplewillcome.Hugecrowds,reminiscentofDanoliandDawnRundaysdescendedon theKildaretracktogetaclose-upviewofthehorse theyhadbeenadmiringfromadistanceallseason HedestroyedSizingEuropeatCheltenham Dismissed CueCardintheMellingatAintree Andherehewas inIreland,hisfinalencoreofthatawesomeseason Hewasn’tathisbestonthedaybuthedidwhat onlythegreatscando,hewondespitecircumstance. Nosoonerhadhecrossedthelineandthetsunami descendedfromthegrandstandtogetapitchringside to welcome back the best two-mile chaser many had ever seen. That season was the pinnacleforSprinterSacre.Hisstarnevershonequiteso brightafterthatspellbindingseasonbuthislegacy wasalreadysetinstone.

Overadecadelaterandtherearenewcardsto play–infact,acompletelyfreshdeck Willtherebea “pinchme”momentin2025?Whowillberemembered?

Atthetimeofwriting,itappearsthathorsemaybe ConstitutionHill.Nowaneight-year-old,itseemsthe IrishfansmightgettheirfirstglimpseattheChampion Hurdlermanyconsidered“invincible”untilthisseason. Regardlessofhisrecentmishaps,thisisthetypeof horsewhocanmakeadayattheracesthatbitextra special Thecalibreofhorsethatdrawscameracrews andmediaattentionbeyondthebordersofthesport. WereConstitutionHilltolineupagainstStateMan, GoldenAceetalonFridayMay2nd,thePunchestown team will have secured their ace in the pack. The racingworldwillbewatching Beforethetapeseven goup,theracecourseteamwillhavescoredtheirultimategoalfor2025

12 Grade 1 races spread over five days If you’re working,thePunchestownFestivalwillstretchyour stamina Ifnot,you’reinDisneyland

Remember, the track has to be seen to be truly understoodandappreciated Itisthefurthestthing froma“flatgallopingtrack”–thiscoursedoesn’tsuit everyhorseandittakessomeknowing.LikeRubyand RachaelaroundCheltenham,somejockeysexcelat Punchestownbecausetheyknowitsidiosyncrasies

Undulatingawayfromthegrandstand,aleftleaningcamberdownthebackstraight.Asahurdleror bumperhorse,youneedtotraveltothehomebend tostandanychanceofsuccessanddon’tforgetthat downhillfinish.

Thechasecourseismuchdifferent.It’svastand wide, it feels like you have more time everywhere Noneedtopanichere Thebesthorseusuallywins.

Sothat’sthestagebutwhoarethepotentialmain charactersinthisyear’sshow?

Banbridgeneedstobouncebackbutwherewill helineup?Teahupoostayedinhisstableasthesun driedoutAintree.Weknowhe’sbestservedfreshbut nowhehasquestionstoanswer.Dowereallyknow whothebestAnglo/Irishnovicechasersareyetafter thatArkleandBrownAdvisory?Aintreewasn’texactly decisiveindeterminingthesedivisions Allthatbefore ImentionthemoshpitthatistheChampionHurdle

There are a dozen Grade 1 races up for grabs at the Punchestown Festival and one man will be formidable in each and every one – Willie Mullins Intheopinionofthisauthor,WPMullinsisthebest at his profession since the greatest of them all, Vincent O’Brien. What we saw at Aintree (5 Grade 1 wins), in particular in the Grand National itself wasremarkable.

Crowned“ManagerOfTheYear”atlastyear’sRTE SportsAwardsmarkedsomethingunusualforhorse racing In an Olympic Year, the country acknowledged that the man from Carlow is operating at a level rarely seen in sport and what’s more, he’s gettingbettereveryseason

12 months on from emulating the original Ballydoyle supremo by winning both the UK and Irish trainers’ championships and firmly on his way to retaining both crowns, Willie Mullins is always the mammothfigureatPunchestown.

Ofthe36Grade1racesrunatthePunchestown Festival over the last three seasons, Mullins has plundered 26 and he usually sweeps the places forgoodmeasure.

10PunchestownChampionHurdlessinceDavenportMileniumin2002andsixGoldCupssinceFlorida Pearlthatsameyear 20+yearslaterandhecontinuestopushthestandardhigher Inthiscountry,inhis company-it’sstandupandfightorlaydownand…

So,whowillleadtheClosuttonbrigadethistime around? State Man and his cheekpieces go in search of a third Punchestown Champion Hurdle. IthasbeensuggestedthatFactToFilecoulddrop backindistancetothetwomileChampionChase. YoungsterssuchasKopekdesBordes,Poniros,Lecky Watson, Ballyburn, Majborough, Jasmin des Vaux andSalvatorMundicouldallreappearfortheirfinal starts as novices. Final roll of the dice Why not? ThrowinBambinoFeverinthebumperandcountless others including Coral Cup winner Jimmy du Seuil,whohasbeengivenanentryintheChampion StayersHurdle.WhatwilltheMullinstallylooklikeon Saturdayevening?Itcouldbefrightening.

Much has been made of Dan Skelton’s battle with Mullins in the aftermath of the Aintree Grand National It looked impossible before Liverpool but hereweare,infamiliarterritoryonceagain.Lestwe forgetontheeveofthe2017PunchestownFestival, GordonElliottledMullinsintheIrishChampionship by€521,414butafterthefivedaysconcluded,Mullins hadamassed€937,075inprizemoneytowineasing down by almost €200,000 Just like his jockeys, he knowswheretoleadwhenitmatters.

ThePunchestownFestivalconcludesmorethanjust theNationalHuntseason.Inthemidstofthisfestival, wehavesaidfarewelltoQuevegawhenshefailed tocatchJetsonintheStayersHurdlein2014andto RubywhenhewavedgoodbyeintheGoldCupin2019.

Two of the greatest female riders we have ever seen(NinaCarberryandKatieWalsh)leftthestage in 2018 and another Walsh dropped his mic when Tedshockedusallin2023

Yousee,there’sasenseoffinalitywhenyouwalk outofPunchestownonSaturdayevening.Thefinal actsarewrittenandperformed.Justforamoment, weknowitall Justforoneday,wearewise Andthen, itallbeginsagain

From Cheltenham To Kildare

ByPaulFerguson

15 OF LAST year’s 39 winners had been in action at the Cheltenham Festival – and a further three winnerswereactuallynon-runnersinvariousraces atthesamefixture–soformfromtheMarchshowpiececlearlyhastobetakenveryseriously.Ofthe 15,onlyfour–namelyTeahupoo,StateMan,Ballyburn and Lossiemouth – had been successful in Gloucestershire,sodon’tbeafraidtolookatbeaten horsesfromtheFestival

In chronological order, here are a clutch of horses from Cheltenham who are likely contendersforPunchestown:

Tuesday 11th March

SUPREMENOVICES’HURDLE

WITH Tripoli Flyer a non-runner, 10 ofthe 11 runners in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle were Irish-trained and as expected, they dominated the finish. With the exception of Workahead, who dropped away rather alarmingly, those towards the head of the betting came to the fore A shade keen early on, KopekdesBordeschasedthepacedowntheback straight and jumped up into second at four out TrackingRomeo Coolio,he wasn’tfluent threeout andgavethesecondlastplentyofair,afterwhich he swiftly kicked clear around the home bend A fairly serious error at the final flight didn’t halt

hismomentumandheranoutataking1¾-length winnerfromWilliamMunny,whodidbestofthose who came from off the pace The winner has optionsover2mand2m4fbutwillpresumablyrun in the 2m KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle on day one,whilsttherunner-up’sseasoniscompleteand he will next be seen in a beginners chase in the autumn He drew clear of Romeo Coolio and lost little in defeat, comprehensively reversing earlier season form with Workahead, who clearly didn’t runto form As for thewinner, oncehe learns how tohurdlemorefluentlyhecouldbeseriouslygood anditwillbeashockifhecannotmaintainhis100% recordatthePunchestownFestival

The form of this race has already started to workoutwell,withSalvatorMundi(5th)beatingthe aforementionedRomeoCoolioandKarbau(10th)in theTopNovices'HurdleatAintree.Seventh-placed IrancybeatKarniquet(4th)inaFairyhouseGrade 2,whilstthesoleBritish-trainedrunnerTuttiQuanti (6th)wonasmallraceatFfosLasonthesameday.

ARKLECHALLENGETROPHY

WHILSTWillieMullinsenjoyedsuccessintheopening contest of the week, he was likely left a little frustratedaftertheArkle,inwhichodds-onfavouriteMajboroughfailedtojumpwithanyfluency,yet

was still beaten less than a length into third. Last year’sTriumphHurdlewinnerhadwontheIrishArkle thetimebeforeandhavingbeenreinedbackinto thirdafterthesecondfence,hewasbackinfrontas thefieldheadedouttothebackstraight.Hetooka chanceatthesixth(divedatitalittle)andwasagain alittlelowatthefirstopenditch(8th).Intightatthe secondditch,atthetopofthehill,hewasbetterat thethirdlastbutmadeaseriouserrortwooutand was again flat-footed at the last, yet his class still enabledhimtofinishascloseashedid Hewilllikely bidtogaincompensation–andasecondGrade1of theseason–intheBarberstownCastleNoviceChase

DAVIDNICHOLSONMARES’HURDLE

FOLLOWINGherfallintheIrishChampionHurdleand thefactthatPaulTownendwasexpectedtorideState Man in the Champion Hurdle, it was decided that LossiemouthwouldagainrunintheMares’Hurdle andshedefendedhercrownwiththeminimumof fuss Thegreysatsecondbehindstable-mateJade deGrugyandtherewasneverreallyapointinthe racethattheodds-onfavouritedidn’tlooklikeshe was going to collect the prize. In the slipstream of thelong-timeleaderturningforhome,Lossiemouth washeldtogetherbyTownendandbreezedbywith consummateease.Nimbleoverthefinalflight,she wonwithanyamountinhandandwilllikely(once again) run in the Mares Champion Hurdle on the finaldayofthemeeting Unbeatenintwostartsat Punchestown(bothatthisfixture),shewilltakeplenty ofbeatingifliningupagainstherownsex,ratherthan runningintheChampionHurdlethepreviousday The runner-upkeptonwelltofinishsecondandislikelyto re-oppose,althoughitishardtoseetheformbeing reversedonthissharpertrack.

Lossiemouthhas,ofcourse,sincebeeninaction when winning the Aintree Hurdle. Brighterdaysahead(seenextrace)bypassedtheAintreeHurdle, havingbeeninitiallyentered,andifsheistargetedat themares'onlyeventasopposedtotheChampion Hurdle, she will make life a lot tougher for Lossiemouth,asshebidstowinatallthreespringfestivals

CHAMPIONHURDLE

ADRAMATICrenewalofthefeatureontheopening day,Brighterdaysaheadfailedtoruntoherformfrom earlierintheseason,whilstConstitutionHillcame downatthefourthlast Bothcontributedtolastyear’s winnerStateManbeingleftclearontheruntothe finalflight,onlyforhimtotakeaheavy-lookingfall withtheraceathismercy.Havingtravelledwellin first-timecheekpieces,thechestnutlookedallsetto recordasecondChampionHurdlesuccessanda12th Grade1.Itwasn’ttobe,butprovidedthatallhasgone

toplansinceandthatfallhasn’tleftamark,Iwould expecthimtoreturnhereforafourthFestivalappearance.Hewonthe2m4fnovicehurdlein2022before winningthePunchestownChampionHurdleineach ofthepasttwoyearsandheislikelytomakeabold bidforthehat-trickintherace

ItcouldbethatConstitutionHillstilltravelsacross theIrishSea,despitehavingsincefallen(again)in theaforementionedAintreeHurdle.NickyHenderson wonthePunchestownChampionHurdlewithPunjabi in2008andagainwithBuveurd’Airin2019anditwould beahugeboostforthemeetingifheweretomakehis firstappearanceinIrelandsincehewasbeatenina Point-to-Point And,weshouldn’tforgetthewinnerof theraceGoldenAce,forwhomtrainerJeremyScott hasalsosuggestedthatatriptoIrelandisapossibility.ShewasclearlyafortuitouswinneratCheltenham butsheisahigh-classmarewithplentyofpaceand wouldaddfurtherintriguetowhatcouldbetherace oftheweek

Wednesday 12th March TURNERSNOVICES’HURDLE

THIS year’s Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle (now sponsored by Turners) looked to be a good race onpaperanditdidn’tdisappointwithTheNewLion comingoutontop.DanSkelton’sunbeatensix-yearoldhadtoomuchspeedfortheleadingIrish-trained contendersbutthefrontthreecameoutoftherace withgreatcredit

TheYellowClaywentdownbylessthanalength, whilstFinalDemandwasafurther4¾lengthsback inthird.Theformerappearedtoimproveformeetingbetterground,travellingwellthroughoutunder JackKennedy.Thepairwerewell-positionedfroman earlystageandtookovertwoout Challengedbythe thirdoffthehomebend,hejumpedthefinalflight wellandsawthatrivaloffbutwasunabletorepelthe finishingkickofthewinner The2m4fAlanaHomes ChampionNoviceHurdlewouldlooktobeanobviousoptionforTheYellowClay,whooughttomake upintoafinechasernextterm

Final Demand is alsoa future chaser andmore ofastayingtype,socouldbeonewhogoesupin distancefortheGrade1WarOfAttritionNoviceHurdle, sponsoredthisyearbyChannorRealEstateGroup Perhaps,softergroundwouldhelphimbutuptoa stayingtripforthefirsttimeandhavinghadjustthe threestartsearlierinthecampaign,WillieMullins’son ofWalkInTheParkwouldhavetobeofhugeinterest.

Whilst the fourth home Forty Coats could be consideredforPunchestown,youwouldexpecthim tobeplacedtowinamaidenhurdleelsewhere,as heisanotherwhoisexpectedtoembarkonachasingcareernextterm

BROWNADVISORYNOVICES’CHASE

WHILSTBallyburnfailedtoliveuptoexpectations,Willie MullinswasstillabletocollecttheprizewithLecky Watson,whotookabigstepforwardandsawout the longer trip well A winner at this track earlier in theseason–successfulinaGrade3backinJanuary–hehastwicerunwellatthisFestivalpreviously, noticeablylastyearwhenfifthbehindDancingCity intheGrade1stayingnovicehurdle,andreturningfor theDooleyInsuranceGroupChampionNoviceChase wouldmakesense

ThewinnerwasbehindDancingCity,BetterDays AheadandStellarStoryinthenovicehurdleherelast yearandreversedformwithallthree.DancingCity wastravellingwelluntilmakingafairlyseriouserror threeout BetterDaysAheadwentwiththewinner atthatpointbutwasleftbehindfromtwooutand StellarStorystayedonstronglytograbsecondspot. All three could take on the winner once again but there certainly appeared to be no fluke about the winningperformance,despitehimbeingsentoffas theoutsiderofthefield Theseven-year-oldlooksas thoughhewilldevelopintoamuchbetterchaserthan hewashurdlerandisclearlyonanupwardcurve.

Dancing City has since fallen in the Mildmay Novices' Chase at Aintree, a race in which Stellar Story was declared a non-runner due to the dryingconditions.

QUEENMOTHERCHAMPIONCHASE

BACKatthesceneofhisfinestperformanceover hurdles,MarineNationalewonforjustthesecond timeoverfenceswhenlandingtheQueenMother Champion Chase The drying ground was in his

favourandhewaswell-positionedthroughout.In stark contrast to Jonbon, he was fast and made ground five out, putting himself on the heels of theleadersandtravellingsweetly,hewasalmost upsidesthreeout Goingbestofall,heloomedup ontheinsideofQuilixiosandthepairpulledclear from two out He looked ready to tackle Quilixios as he capsized at the final fence and given howstronglyhefinished,itislikelythathewould haveprevailedinanycase.Givenhisassociation with the late Michael O’Sullivan, it was a hugely emotive success but also one which was thoroughlydeserved Lastseason’struncatednovice campaignmadelifetoughforhimearly-season andBarryConnellhadhimintip-topshapeforthe day which mattered most He could easily now headtoPunchestown–wherehewonabumper and a maiden hurdle – in a bid to complete a Grade1springdouble.Quilixioswasintheprocess ofrunningahugeraceandhad,ofcourse,beaten the winner by 7½ lengths at Naas in November when conceding 4lbs to Marine Nationale. He hasn’tbeenenteredatPunchestown,however.

CHAMPIONBUMPER

HAVINGwoninGrade2companyatLeopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival, BambinoFeverhad been handedthehighestofficialBHARatingaheadofthe WeatherbysChampionBumperandshedulyjustified strongmarketsupporttoprovideWillieMullinswith a14th winintheraceandjockeyJodyTownendwith afirstCheltenhamFestivalsuccess Riddenpatiently andkeptquitewide,thedaughterofJukeboxJury madeeye-catchingheadwaycomingdownthehill

andalwayslookedlikeclaimingtherunner-upwhen circumnavigatingthefieldaroundthehomebend.A strongstayer,sherelishedtheclimbtothelineand shecouldbidtowinasecondGrade1atPunchestown, a track where she made a successful Rules debutonNewYear’sEve.

ThethirdhomeShuttleDiplomacywashavinghis firststartsincefinishingninthinlastyear’sGrade1 atthisFestival Heflashedhomeandwilllikelyreturn foranother crackat the race forThomasCooper Surprisingly,thatpairweretheonlytwoIrish-trained horses among the first six home, in a race which is so often dominated by the Irish Further back, Copacabana(10th)willprobablylearnplentyforthe experience–withthatbeingjusthissecondstart –andwillhaveoptionsatthisfixture,whilstKalypso’chance(11th)travelledwellforalongwayandis betterthanthebareresult

Thursday 14th March

RYANAIRCHASE

FIRSTLY Jungle Boogie and then Il Est Francais ensuredthattheRyanairwasrunatastronggallop anditplayedtothestrengthsofFactToFilewhoran outadominantwinnerunderMarkWalsh.Moving intosecondandinpursuitoftheFrench-raiderat thetopofthehill,thelightly-racedeight-year-old jumped upsides three out and allowed to stride clear from the home bend, the race looked all but over with a sound jump at the second last. Pushed out, he won by an impressive 9 lengths, the son of Poliglote stamping his authority on the race Winneroflastyear’sBrownAdvisory,hehad finishedrunner-upinthe2023ChampionBumper so boasts an impressive Cheltenham Festival

record and he won on his only previous visit to Punchestown,successfulintheJohnDurkanback in November, seeing off Spillane’s Tower, Galopin des Champs and course specialist Fastorslow in the process. Interestingly, he is set to drop to the minimumtriptocontesttheChampionChaseon theopeningdayandhisperformancetheremight well help with the decision process as to how his 2025-2026campaignwilllook

STAYERS’HURDLE

THE Irish were responsible for the first six home in thisyear’sStayers’Hurdle,withtheRobcour-owned pairingofBobOlingerandTeahupooclearofthe remainder. The former hadn’t always convinced over the trip but likely appreciated the decent groundathisfavouritevenue(4-4atCheltenham). Teahupootravelledwellanddidlittlewrong Easier groundwouldsurelyhaveproventobemoresuitableandheislikelytoreturntoPunchestownina bidtoretainhisChampionStayersHurdlecrown.

Friday 15th March TRIUMPHHURDLE

THEREwasahugeshockintheTriumph,ashurdling debutantPonirosscoredat100-1forWillieMullins, whosaddled11–yes,11–ofthe18runners.Settled inthesecondhalfofthefieldbyJonjoO’NeillJnr,he latchedontothemaingroupcomingdownthehill andlookedlikerunningahugeraceindefeatonthe runtothefinalflight–asthebigtwointhebetting lockedhorns–buttheydidn’tgetawayfromhimand theGoldenHorngeldingcontinuedtoclose.Landingrunningatthefinalflight,hecameoverthetop tobeatthemarketprincipalsandislikelytotakehis

chanceintheChampionFourYearHurdleonthefinal dayofthemeeting.

FourthplacedLadyVegaAllenhasrunwellonall threestartsforWillieMullins–reversingearlierform withHelloNeighbour–buttheformerhasn’tbeen enteredatPunchestown,soafourthclashwillhave towait Thissharpertrackandbettergroundmight wellhelpHelloNeighbourreducethegap,oreven reverse form, with the Poniros and he bypassed Aintreetowaitforthis

COUNTYHURDLE

THEfinishtotheCountywasdominatedbyIrishtrainedhorses,withWillieMullins–whowouldgo on to win the first four races on Gold Cup day –saddlingthefirst,thirdandfourth Kargeseranout an impressive winner off a mark of 141, meaning thatsheislikelytostepupinclassagainnowand the Mares Champion Hurdle could be an option (also been entered in the Champion Hurdle), where she would need to settle to enable her to see out the longer trip. Winner of the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at this fixture last year, she couldwellstaythelongerdistanceatthistrack.

ALBERTBARTLETTNOVICES’HURDLE

LAST year’s Champion Bumper winner Jasminde Vauxwasriddenpatientlyonhisfirststartover3m andgivenhisearlier-seasonjumpingfrailties,probably enjoyed the New course, in that there is less emphasis on hurdling in the final seven furlongs of the Albert Bartlett Ridden patiently, he was nursedintotheracebyPaulTownendandhaving beenslowoverthreeout,stillhadjustonehorsein behind He then made eye-catching progress on the run to two out – where he was much better –andthesix-year-oldeasedtothefront.Hegotthe last flight right when it mattered and he had 2½ lengthstospareoverTheBigWesternerattheline. TheWarOfAttritionNoviceHurdlewouldappealas an obvious end-of-season target for the winner, although Punchestown will test his jumping to a greater degree, given the relatively short run-in Withthatinmind,hecouldbeonetobecautious of,atlikelyshortodds Therunner-upwassnatched up at the second last but showed a fine attitude togetbackintocontentionandgiventhatshehas hadjustthethreeruns,HenrydeBromhead’smare couldre-opposeinthePunchestownGrade1.She finished4½lengthsclearoftheremainderandisa finelong-termprospectforfences.Shealsoholds an entry in the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle atFairyhouseoverEaster,butIsuspectthatDawn RunwinnerAirOfEntitlementwillrepresenttheyard inthat2m4fcontest

GOLDCUP

TWO-TIMEwinnerGalopindesChampswasunable to complete a famous hat-trick in the race and neverappearedtotravelwiththesamefluencyas can often be the case, Paul Townend not looking overlyhappythroughout Muchtohiscredit,hestill finishedrunner-upanditremainstobeseenasto whetherhewillbeaskedtoraceagainthisseason Itisalsoworthrememberingthathehastwicebeen beaten in the Punchestown Gold Cup, so is probablyonetotreadcarefullywith,shouldhelineup The race was won by Inothewayurthinkinand the (slightly)under-parperformanceoftherunner-up shouldnotdetractfromhisvictoryandindeed,the trainingperformanceofGavinCromwellwhohas ekedconsiderableimprovementoutofthesevenyear-old,whowaswinningtheKimMuiroffamarkof 145just12monthsearlier Hewasbeaten15½lengths byGalopindesChampsatChristmasandhalved thatdeficitintheIrishGoldCup,beforerelishingthe longertripatCheltenham.

InitiallytakenoutoftheGrandNational,itwasthen announcedthathewouldnotrunagainthisseason andwouldinsteadenjoyalengthysummerbreak.

HUNTERS’CHASE

RUNNER-UPforathirdsuccessiveyearintherace, Emmet Mullins’ ItsOnTheLinestayed on strongly togodownbyjustaneckandsoftergroundwould likelyhavehelped HewontheChampionHunters’ Chasethroughstaminaatlastyear’sPunchestown Festival and it is likely that the eight-year-old will returninanattempttoretainhiscrown.

From Fairyhouse To Punchestown

ByDonnMcClean

EASTERislatethisyear Fairyhouseislate TheIrish GrandNationalmeetingendseightdaysbeforethe PunchestownFestivalstarts,sothelikelihoodofany horsewinningatbothmeetingsmustbeatleasta littlelowerthanitusuallyis

Toputitintocontext,whenSpillane’sTowerwonthe WillowWarmGoldCupatFairyhouselastyear,Jimmy Mangan’shorsehad30daysoffbeforehewentout andwontheGrade1DooleyInsuranceGroupChampionNoviceChaseatPunchestown Thisyear,there arejustninedaysbetweenthetworaces

Thatsaid,it’snotthatyoucan’twinatPunchestown after a short break. Daddy Long Legs won a novices’hurdleatLudlowsixdaysbeforehewonthe ListedKilasheeHotelHandicapHurdleatPunchestownlastyearbyfivelengths.

And there are exceptions though this year. The racingadministrators did sometweaking,asthey usuallydowhenEasterislate(you’dthinkthatEaster wouldlearn),someoftheracesthatareusuallyrun at the Easter meeting at Fairyhouse were moved forward,tothedayafterAintreeGrandNationalday. So horses who ran in any of those races will have had a minimum of a 23-day break if they do go toPunchestown

OneofthoseFairyhouseracesthatwasmoved forward was the Grade 2 two-and-a-half-mile novices’hurdle,thePaddyKehoeSuspendedCeilings NoviceHurdle,andthatracehasbeenarichsource offuturebig-racewinners,producing,asithas,adual CheltenhamGoldCupwinnerinAlBoumPhotoand nowaGrandNationalwinnerinNickRockettinthe last10years Also,OurDuke,thirdinthenovices’hurdle in2016,wentbacktowintheIrishGrandNationalat the same meeting 12 months later, and Duc des Geneivres,fifthintheGrade2novices’hurdleatFairyhousein2018,wenttoCheltenhamandwontheArkle thefollowingyear

The race has been a moderate pointer to Punchestown mind you. Shaneshill, who won the Fairyhouse race in 2015, finished third behind Killultagh Vic in the Grade 1 three-mile novices’ hurdleatPunchestown,theIrishDailyMirrorHurdle as it was then. The 2016 winner of the Fairyhouse race Acapella Bourgeois finished fourth behind

BellshillinthePunchestownrace,whilethesubsequent dual Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo only finishedfifthinahotrenewalofthePunchestown racein2017,withChampagneClassicandPenhill and Monalee finishing in front of him, the same position as the position that 2018 winner PallasatoroccupiedintheGrade1two-and-a-half-mile novices’hurdle,theAlannaHomesNoviceHurdle, at the Punchestown Festival three and a half weekslater.

Ashdale Bob, winner of the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse in 2021, finished second behind Gaillard du Mesnil inthethree-milecontestatPunchestown,whilethe 2022winnerBronnfinishedfourthbehindhisstable companion, the Albert Bartlett Hurdle winner The Nice Guy in the same contest the following year. NickRockettdidn’tgotoPunchestownafterwinning theFairyhouseracein2023,whilelastyear’sFairyhouse winner Captain Cody ran, instead of one of the Grade 1 novice hurdles, in the Conway Piling HandicapHurdleatPunchestown,and,sentoffthe 7/2favourite,finisheddownthefieldbehindMaxxum (MoreaboutMaxxumanon.)

Mr Percy stayed on well to win the Fairyhouse racethisyear Hedidwelltowintooaftermakinga momentum-haltingmistakeatthefinalflight.Itwas probably a career-best performance by Joseph O’Brien’shorse,inhisfirsttimecheekpieces,andit wouldobviouslybesurprisingiftheheadgearwas notretainedwheneverheracesnexttime

TherewasGalwayHurdletalkafterwardsbut,ifhe doesgotoPunchestown,itmaybethatthetwo-anda-half-mile novices’ contest is the race for him Winnerofhismaidenoveramileandsixfurlongson theFlat,heisoutofahalf-sistertoBravoZolo,adual Listedracewinneroveramile,andthisintermediate tripseemstosuithimwelloverhurdles.

The two-mile Grade 2 novices’ hurdle at Fairyhouse,theHardyEustaceNoviceHurdle,sponsored as it has been for the last two years, by Donohue Marquees, and run, like the two-and-a-half-mile contest,onthedayaftertheAintreeGrandNational thisyear,hasfaredalittlebetterintherecentpast asaPunchestownpointer.

Mister Blue Sky, winner of the Fairyhouse race in 2019, finished a remote third behind Klassical Dream in the Grade 1 two-mile Champion Novice HurdleatPunchestown,andFlameBearer,winner of the Fairyhouse race in 2022, finished second behind State Man in the Grade 1 two-and-a-halfmile novices’ hurdle at Punchestown, the Alanna Homes Novice Hurdle. But in 2021, Echoes In Rain followed up her Fairyhouse win by landing the ChampionNoviceHurdleatPunchestown.

IrancywasimpressiveinwinningtheFairyhouse racethisyear Hetravelledwelljustbehindtheearly leaderGaucher,andheshowedafineturnoffoot onthefarsidetohitthefrontontheruntothefinal flight, keeping on well to hold off the effort of his better-fancied stable companion Karniquet, and leadinghomeaWillieMullins-trained1-2-3-4-5.

It was a good bounceback from JP McManus’ horse, after he was well beaten in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham He has plenty of paceand,ifhedoesgotoPunchestown,itwillbe for the two-mile novices’ race, not the two-anda-half-mile race He is a half-brother to Darasso, aJPMcManusstalwart,aGalwayPlaterunner-up, whowontheGrade2Rathbarry&GlenviewStuds Hurdle (more of which later) at the Fairyhouse Eastermeetingin2022asanine-year-old,before goingontofinishthirdbehindHoneysuckleandthe aforementionedEchoesInRaininthePunchestown ChampionHurdle11dayslater.

WinnerofhismaidenhurdleatPunchestownin Novemberonhisonlyruntodateatthetrack,Irancy couldbeaplayeratPunchestownalright,andhe mightbealittleundertheradarinthelikelihoodthat hewillbetakingonsomehigher-profilerivals

TheGrade3mares’bumperatthePunchestown Festivalistheobviousnextstepformareswhorun wellintheListedmares’bumperatFairyhouse,the TotalEnjoymentMares’Bumper,and,lastyear,Familiar Dreams won both races. Winner of the Grade 3ShannonSprayHurdleatLimericklastmonthfor Gordon Elliott, the Postponed mare was seriously progressiveforAnthonyMcCannlastseason.She hadruninsevenbumpersbeforeshegottoFairyhouselastyear,winningherlasttwo,andsheduly wonwellatFairyhouseandfollowedupintheGrade 3raceatPunchestown

Theprofileofthisyear’sFairyhousewinnerSwitch From Diesel is not wholly dissimilar to the profile that Familiar Dreams had going into last year’s race.TheYeatsmarehasbeenevenmoreprolific inbumpers,herbumpercareerstraddling,asithas, lastseasonaswellasthisseason.Secondbehind FleurAuFusilintheGrade2mares’bumperatthe DublinRacingFestivallastyear,shewassecondin

thatraceagainthisyear,behindsubsequentCheltenhamChampionBumperwinnerBambinoFever, beforeshewenttoNaasandwonnicely.

She won nicely at Fairyhouse as well, she travelledintoherracewellforregularriderRayBarron, andsheshowedareallyimpressiveturnoffootto come away from talented mares in CarrigmoornaspruceandFutureProspectandAmenKateand ChurchfieldSunset,whohadallfinishedbehindher tooatLeopardstown

Her trainer Ross O’Sullivan said after the FairyhouseracethatPunchestownwastheplan,before givingherthesummeroffandgoingoverhurdles later this year The Grade 3 mares’ bumper is the obvious race for her at Punchestown, and she would be a big player in that, although she does have the option instead of going for the Grade 1 Champion Bumper again, the race in which she ranatlastyear’sPunchestownFestival

She out-ran odds of 66/1 last year, hitting the front on the home turn before fading to finish seventh behind Redemption Day and The Yellow Clay and William Munny and Romeo Coolio, one length and one place in front of the Cheltenham Champion Bumper winner Jasmin de Vaux. She goes into Punchestown in even better form this year,andshewouldbeaplayerintheChampion Bumpertheretoo,ifconnectionsdecidedtogothat route, for a race which has been won by a mare twiceinthelastsevenyears.

Interestingly, Gypsy Island won the Total Enjoyment Mares’ Bumper at Fairyhouse in 2019, when itwas,asitwasthisyear,runtwoweeksandone daybeforeIrishGrandNationalday,andColreevy finishedthird.AtPunchestownthreeandahalfweeks later,ColreevywontheGrade1ChampionBumper and,justoveranhourlater,GypsyIslandwonthe Grade3mares’bumper,aracethatColreevyhad won12monthsearlier.

The two and a half-mile novices’ handicap hurdle, also run on the day after Aintree Grand National day at Fairyhouse this year, can be a pointertoPunchestown,withtheListedhandicap hurdle run over almost three miles an option, as istheAdareManorOpportunityRiders’Handicap HurdleFinal,forhorseswhoarequalified.Nobody Home, winner of the Fairyhouse race in 2018, ran in the latter that year and, racing off a 7lb higher mark, ran well for a long way before fading to finishfourth.

Crescent Moon was an impressive winner of theFairyhouseracethisyear.Stronginthemarket beforehand, she travelled really well through her race for Keith Donoghue, moved to the front at thesecondlastflightstillonthebridle,andeased

her way to a two-and-a-half-length victory that could have been significantly more, with the first twofinishingwellclearoftheirrivals.

ThehandicapperraisedGavinCromwell’smare byastonetoamarkof120forthatwin,butthatstill maynotbehighenoughforhertogetaruninthe three-mile handicap hurdle atPunchestown Last year,youneededtoberated121togetin

Shedoesn'tneedtogouptothreemilesthough. BySpanishMoonandoutofamarewhowonover two miles and three furlongs over hurdles, she will have myriad options at Punchestown, including the Listed Kilashee Handicap Hurdle over two miles on the Tuesday if she got into it, the 0-120 handicap hurdle on the Thursday, for which she stilljustqualifies,theListedmares’novices’hurdle on the Thursday over two miles, and a winnersof-onecontestontheFriday ThereisalsoaListed two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle on the Saturday, which could be ideal for her if she got intoit Aratingof120sneakedintotheraceatthe bottom of the handicap last year, and, if she did getin,shewouldbeofbiginterestinthat

The quick turnaround this year notwithstanding, the WillowWarm Gold Cup is often a good pointertoPunchestownwith,asmentionedearlier, Spillane’s Tower winning both races last year. In 2018,AlBoumPhotowontheFairyhouserace,the Ryanair Gold Cup as it was then, over two and a half miles, and looked set to follow up in the three-mileChampionNoviceChaseatPunchestown before he ran out at the final fence. As it was, The Storyteller, fifth in the Fairyhouse race, kept on well to win that bizarre renewal of the Punchestownrace

Voix du Reve won the WillowWarm Gold Cup in 2019, and he dropped down in trip at PunchestownfortheGrade1novices’chaseovertwomiles, in which he could finish only fourth behind his better-fanciedstablecompanionChacunPourSoi Janidil fared better on a similar path He sprang a bit of a surprise when he won the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in 2021, and Willie Mullins’ horse also dropped down in trip at Punchestown for the Grade 1 novices’ chase over two miles, in whichheranwelltofinishsecondbehindhisstable companionEnergumene.

But in 2015, Valseur Lido, a remote sixth behind Gilgamboa in the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse,steppeduponthatwhenhesteppedupin trip next time and won the three-mile Champion NoviceChaseatPunchestown.

It’snotjusttheaforementionedTotalEnjoyment Mares’ Bumper from which potential Punchestown bumper horses emerge either Of course,

theChampionBumperatCheltenhamisthemost fertilegroundforPunchestownChampionBumper horses,butitisoftenworthkeepinganeyeonthe bumperthatconcludesproceedingsatFairyhouse onIrishGrandNationaldaytoo.

Blow By Blow won the bumper at Fairyhouse in 2016 and followed up by winning the Champion Bumper at Punchestown, making just about all the running and just getting home by three parts of a length from the David Pipe-trained Moon Racer. And last year, Redemption Day won thebumperatFairyhouseonIrishGrandNational day, and followed up by winning a hot renewal of the Punchestown Champion Bumper exactly one monthlater.

Punchestown contenders come from all over Fairyhouse.UndeSceauxwontheGrade2chase at Fairyhouse in 2018, then went and won the Champion Chase at Punchestown three weeks later,the10-year-oldmakingallandseeingoffhis better-fancied stable companion Douvan In 2017, WhiteArmwonthethree-milehandicapchaseat Fairyhouse on Irish Grand National day, and went mighty close in the three-mile-six-furlong handicap chase at Punchestown, finished second to fellow JP McManus-owned gelding Whatareudoingtome off an 8lb higher mark. And in 2021, Foxy Jacks finished sixth in the same Fairyhouse race, and dropped down in trip at Punchestown, springing a 25/1 shock in the two-and-a-halfmilehandicapchaseontheWednesdayoffa2lb lowermark.

Finally, it might also be worthwhile keeping an eyeonthatGrade2two-and-a-half-milehurdleat Fairyhouse,theRathbarry&GlenviewStudsHurdle, andkeepinganopenmind In2021,StormyIreland wontheFairyhouseracebeforegoingtoPunchestown and winning the Mares Champion Hurdle, while in 2023 Asterion Forlonge stepped forward again after winning the Fairyhouse race when he steppedupintripandranabigraceintheChampionStayersHurdleatPunchestown,goingdownby justahalf-a-lengthtoKlassicalDream.

Then last year, Maxxum was still in front in the Rathbarry & Glenview Studs Hurdle at Fairyhouse, still travelling well, when he came down at the second last flight. Unperturbed, Gordon Elliott’s horse went to Punchestown four weeks laterand,steppedbackupintriptoalmostthree milesandsentoffanunconsidered28/1shot,ran out a game winner of the Listed Conway Piling HandicapHurdle.

Easter may be later than usual this year, but it maybeworththewait

Another Mullins Domination?

By Paul Ferguson

AFTERarecord-equalling10winnersatlastmonth’s CheltenhamFestival–takinghisoveralltallyatthe meetingto113–youcouldbeforgivenforthinking that Willie Mullins walked away from the four-day meetingonanall-timehigh UponreadingPatrick Mullins’columnintheRacing PostonThursday20th Marchsuggestsotherwise,withtheamateurjockey andassistanttrainersuggestingafeelingof‘disappointment’despitethose10victories

TheseriouserrorofMajboroughtwooutalmost certainlycosthimtheArkle,StateMan’sfinalflight fall prevented him from winning back-to-back ChampionHurdlesandpossiblythebiggest‘disappointment’ of all came in the Gold Cup, in which Galopin des Champs was unable to collect the featureforathirdsuccessiveyear.

This all just goes to show – once again – how dominanttheMullinsstableisatpresent.Thetrainer onceagainbossedLeopardstown’sDublinRacing Festivalinearly-February–winningsixoftheeight Grade1sandoneoftheGrade2bumpersforgood measure–andPunchestownhasverymuchbeen Mullins’playgroundovertheyears.

The leading stable in Irish and British National Huntracingtendstogetgoingalittlelaterthanmost whenitcomestothebeginningofeachseasonand thereasonforthatisthatMullinstendstoworkback fromPunchestown,ensuringthatmanyofhisleadinglightsarestillabletocontestracesatthisfixture. Fortrainerswholiketogettheirhorsesoutniceand early,thePunchestownFestivalisperhaps alittle lateinthecalendar,withitdifficulttosustainalevel offormoveralongerperiodoftime.NotMullins.He likestotargetthismeetingandthensome

His 10 winners at last year’s meeting – eight of whichweregainedinGrade1company–wasactuallyhislowestreturnsincehesaddledninein2017. Goingbackto2012(inclusive),Mullinshassaddledno fewerthan156PunchestownFestivalwinnersatthe past12meetings,with88ofthosebeingachieved inGrade1races.Itisaphenomenalreturnandone whichonlyfurtheremphasiseshisdominance.

In terms of most successful years, he enjoyed 18winnersin2018,19winnersin2021and17winners in 2023 and in each of those years he won nine

Grade1s Thatlastfigurewasonlybetteredin2015 when10ofhis16winnersthroughouttheweekcame inGrade1events

The feature race on each of the five days is coveredindetailwithinthepagesthatfollowand Mullins’ record in those races is also highlighted. However, what about the other races/divisions in whichhehasexcelledinrecentyears:

NOVICEHURDLES

THE first Grade 1 of the week is the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle and following the victory of Mystical Power in 2024, Mullins has now won the 2m½f contest eight times in the past 10 renewals FaugheenandDouvanstartedtherunbackin2014 and2015respectively, whilstMullinsalso collected the prize back in 2009 and 2010, with Hurricane Fly and Blackstairmountain. Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winnerKopekdesBordeswilllikelybidtoextendhis unbeatenrecordinthisraceandalsoextendMullins’ incrediblerecent record init Thefive-year-oldwill bedifficulttobeatiftakinguphisengagement

The similarly named Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle –staged over 2m3½f on day four of theFestival–isanothertop-levelcontestinwhich Mullinstendstodowell.Since2002,hehaswon10 ofthepast15renewalsandBallyburnmadeitfourin-a-row when successful in 2024 State Man and ImpaireetPassewonthe2022and2023renewals respectively,whilstotherhigh-profilewinnersofthe raceforthestablewereDavenportMilenium(2002), Mikaeld’Haguenet(2009),Vautour(2014)andNicholsCanyon(2015)

Onthesame(Friday)card,thereisanon-Graded 2m½f novice hurdle, which has gone the way of Mullins seven times in the past 11 renewals Out of luck in each of the past two years – responsible forbeatenfavouritesSaMajesteandAnotherway–Mullinswonthe2022renewalwithElFabiolo,whilst fellowsubsequenttop-classchaserUndeSceaux won this race in 2013 on what was just his second startforthestable.

short-pricedfavourite.WithFairyhousestagingthe 2m4fGrade1HoneysuckleMaresNoviceHurdleless thantwoweeksearlier,Mullinswilllooktoshufflehis packinthisparticulardivision.

NOVICECHASES

TheotherGrade1novicehurdleduringtheweek is the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle – registered as the War Of Attrition Novice Hurdle –over3m,aracewhichwaspreviouslysponsored bytheIrishMirror.DancingCityledhomeaMullins one-two last year – beating High Class Hero by ½-a-length–andindoingso,providedthetrainer with a seventh win in the past nine renewals. His winners during this period include Bellshill, Galopin des Champs and Gaelic Warrior and it could bethatAlbertBartlettwinnerJasmindeVauxbids tofurtherenhancethatimpressiverecentrecord Ondaythree,theListedmaresonlynovicehurdle is a prize which Mullinshas collected four times in thepastninerenewals Whilstthatrecordwouldn’t be as strong as those Graded races already covered, it is still noteworthy and in the case of almostanyothertrainer,wouldbeanoutstanding return Heranfiveintheracelastyear–including thesecondandthefifth(beatenfavouriteSpindleberry)–andalthoughWhiteoutwassuccessfulat 8-1in2015,histhreewinnerssinceallreturnedasa

WHILSThehaswonthe3m1fDooleyInsuranceGroup NoviceChaseonthreeoccasionssince2015,Mullins boasts a much stronger record in the 2m Barberstown Castle Novice Chase, a race which he has won10timesinthepast11renewals Mullinshaswon the race 11 times in total – with Barker his earlier winner(2009)–buthehasreallybegantogovern theGrade1inrecentyearswithhispersonalrollof honourincludingtheaforementionedtrioofUnde Sceaux,DouvanandElFabiolo,aswellasFootpad, ChacunPourSoiandEnergumene,whilstlastyear saw Il Etait Temps complete a Mullins one-two by reversing Arkle form with Gaelic Warrior. It is highly-likelythatMajborough–winneroftheIrishArkle andbeatenfavouriteatCheltenhamlastmonth–willbidtogainsomesortofcompensationhere Althoughitisn’taGradednovicechase,Mullins alsoboastsafinerecordinthevaluablePunchestown Novice Handicap Chase, a Listed event on the penultimate day of the meeting. Prior to last year, Mullins had recorded seven wins in the

previouseightrenewalsandhaswonitwithsome high-class and quite highly-rated novices, with Kemboy,RealSteel,AsterionForlongeandKilcruit all carrying 11-10 or 11-12 and racing from official I.H.R.B Ratings between 147 and 152. Respect a Mullins-trained runner towards the head of the weights,whocouldholdaclassadvantageover theirrivals

NATIONALHUNTFLATRACES

THEREareawholehostofbumpersstagedatthe fixture, although day two is the significant one when it comes to this division, with two Graded contestsbeingstagedontheWednesday Firstly, theGrade1whichisrunfortheConynghamCup has been won eight times in the past 10 renewalsbyMullins RedemptionDaywonattheageof sevenlastyear–successfulunderJodyTownend, whopartneredBambinoFevertosuccessatCheltenhamrecently–whilstFacileVegacompleted the Champion Bumper/Punchestown Grade 1 doublethreeyearsago.Itcouldbethatthemare Bambino Fever bids to follow suit, although it is worthnotingthatitisn’talwaysthesupposed‘first string’ (according to the market) who has come outontopforthestable.

ColreevywontheGrade1in2019,havingwonthe Weatherbys Ireland EBF Mares Bumper 12 months earlier.TheGrade3contest–whichisregisteredas theLissAPaoraighEBFBumper–hasonlybeenin existencesince2016,whenitfirstheldListedstatus Upgradedafterjustonerenewal,AugustaKatewon the inaugural running of the race for Mullins and more recently, Grangee won in 2021 and Junta Marvel – another to be ridden by Jody Townend, incidentally–wassuccessfulin2023 Ifthepattern istocontinue,Mullinswillsaddlethewinneragain thisyearaftermissingoutin2024

Thefollowingday,theJP&MDoyleINHFlatRace concludesthecardandthisisaracewhichMullins haswonfivetimesinthepast11renewals Subsequent BaringBinghamNovices’Hurdlewinners(nowsponsoredbyTurners,ofcourse)YorkhillandBallyburn weresuccessfulin2015and2023respectively,and althoughPortJoulainwasadisappointmentforthe stablelastyear,itisoftenaracewhichMullinslikes totargetwithoneofhisbrighterbumperprospects.

OTHERRACES

MULLINS once again won the two Grade 1s on the final day of the fixture last year and whilst his impressive record in the Champion Four Year Old

HurdleiscoveredlateronintheGuide,healsoboasts afinerecordintheMaresChampionHurdle.Lossiemouthjustifiedcrampedoddswhenleadinghome astableone-two-threeandindoingso,became Mullins’10th winnerintheracesince2010 Since2013, hehaswontheraceninetimesinthepast11renewalsandhiswinnersincludeAnniePower(twice)and Benie des Dieux (twice), whilst he trained Apple’s Jadeuntiltheageoffourandshewassuccessfulfor GordonElliottasafive-year-old Aswithallofthetop mares’onlycontests,Mullins’runner(s)mustbegiven utmostrespectasitisa(nother)divisioninwhichhe excels IfLossiemouthreturnsthisyear,shewillbe veryhardtobeatasshewillbidtobecomethethird dualwinneroftheraceinthespaceof11years.This isaraceinwhichheisoftenwell-represented,with himhavingrun32maresduringthosepast11renewals,with14ofthemrepresentinghisstableinthepast fourrenewalsalone.

MistergifwasnarrowlydeniedintheLouisFitzgerald Hotel Hurdle last year, a conditions race over 2m3½fwhichisrestrictedtohorseswhohavewon nomorethanonceasahurdler Mullinswonthree successive renewals between 2017 and 2019 and

again saddled the winner two years ago, when GrangeclareWestbouncedbacktoform.Thelikes ofKarniquetandKissWillcouldbeconsideredfor thisrace,havingeachonlywononceoverhurdles andhavingcontestedGradednovicehurdlesoflate

Finally,Mullinshaswonthepasttworenewalsof the2m½fListedhandicaphurdleontheopeningday, withBialystokleadinghomeastableone-two-threein 2023andDaddyLongLegsrunningoutacomfortable winnerlastyearTrueSelfandJazzawayweresuccessfulin2018and2021respectively,meaningthatMullins hasnowwonthefourofthepastsixrenewalsand interestingly,threeofthemreturnedatdouble-figure oddsandallfourwereagedeitherfive(3)orsix(1)so respectMullins’youngerrunnersintherace

ItonceagainseemsinevitablethatMullinswillbe crownedtoptraineratthefixtureandattemptingto workouttheamountofwinnersthathewillenjoyisa moreworthwhilepuzzletosolve.Willhetoplastyear’s totalof10?Couldheevenhit20winnersforthevery firsttime?Surelythatisalittletoomuchtoaskbut whatconstitutesa‘successful’weekalsoisn’teasy toevaluategivensuchloftyexpectationshanging overtheirrunners

Other Trainers To Note

By Paul Ferguson

BOTH Gavin Cromwell and Gordon Elliott shared second position in the trainers' title at last year’s Festival,eachsaddlingfivewinners,withthelatter enjoyingadaythreetreble.

Gavin Cromwell has experienced a fantastic season, with the Gold Cup success of Inothewayurthinkintheobviousstandout Notonlydid heenjoytwoCheltenhamFestivalwinnersthisyear –withStumptown,awinneratthismeetinglastyear, defyingtop-weightintheCross-CountryChase–but hewasresponsibleforawholehostofplacedhorses OnlyByNight,RobbiesRock,Sixandahalf,ThecompanysergeantandBridesHillallfinishedsecond,whilst Malina Girl, Vanillier and Midnight It Is all finished third,thelatterintheGrandAnnualinwhichMyMate Mozziefinishedoneplacefurtherbackinfourth.

Hisquintetofwinnersfromlastyearwerespread overfourdaysanditwouldbelittlesurprisetosee himendthecampaignonahighatthisfixture.He hasactuallyendedthemeetingonahighintwoof thepast three years,responsibleforthewinner of the concluding bumper in 2022 with Path d’Oroux andagainlastyearwithWillTheWise.Havingwon

abumperearlierintheweekwithSixandahalf,itis apparentthatCromwelllikestotargetsuchraces atthisfixture.Takenoteofhisrunnersinbumpers

Likewise,GordonElliottalsoenjoyedtwobumper winnersatthemeetingin2024,whilsttheonlyGrade 1whicheithertrainerlandedbetweenthemwasthe Champion Stayers Hurdle, which Elliott won with Teahupoo,whoformedpartofthataforementioned Thursdaytreble.

SermandzarakwasElliott’sfirstwinneroftheweek andthatcameintheGoffsDefenderBumper,arace whichElliotthaswononfiveoccasionsinthepast nine renewals Only three trainers have actually wonthisraceinthepastdecade,withWillieMullins responsibleforthree(couldeasilyhaveaddedthis totheearlierfeature,infairness)andRobertTyner winningback-to-backrenewalsin2016and2017.

Elliott’swinnersoftheraceincludePetitMouchoir andCommanderOfFleet–bothownedbyGigginstownHouseStud–whilsthistwomostrecentwinners carriedthesilksofRobcour.Paycloseattentiontothe trainer’schosenrunner(s)intheopeningbumperof theweekagainthisyear

HenrydeBromhead,JosephO’BrienandMartin Brassiltheothertriotowinmorethanoneraceat lastyear’sFestival,withtheformercompletingaday twodoublecourtesyofGorgeousTomandLetsGo Champ. Rather like Elliott, de Bromhead probably places a little less emphasis on Punchestown in comparisontoWillieMullins,withtheotherpairing seemingly keen to target both Aintree and Fairyhouse,possiblyinordertoavoidclashingwithsome ofMullins’topperformers

ThetwowinnersofJosephO’BrienwereBanbridge in the Champion Chase and Harsh in a handicap hurdle,whilstMartinBrassilwontheGoldCup–for asecondsuccessiveyear–withFastorslowandalso saddledDon’tstopthemusictowinthe2m3fbumper whichtakesplaceondayfourofthemeeting

ThisisanotherbumperwhichCromwellhaswon in recent years, successful with My Mate Mozzie in 2021,whilstbothBrassilandCharlesByrneshavewon thisparticularbumpertwiceapieceduringthepast fiverenewals Brassil’sotherwinnerwasLonghouse Poetin2019,whilstByrneswonback-to-backrenewalsofthecorrespondingracein2022and2023,with GreenGloryandWalkAwayHarry.LonghousePoet actuallybeatMonkfishsixyearsagowhilstrecent CheltenhamFestivalwinnerLeckyWatsonfinished fifth behind Walk Away Harry, so maybe take note ofWillieMullins’beatenhorsesinthisrace,too,asit canthrowupafuturehigh-classstayer.But,forwin purposes,payparticularattentiontoanyrunnerinit fromtheBrassilorByrnesstable.

Brassil–whotrainsjustashortdistancewestof PunchestowninDunmurray–alsointroducedCity Islandinabumperatthisfixturein2018andalthough hefinishedrunner-up(atoddsof33-1),hereturnedto theCountyKildaretracktowinthefollowingmonth andjust10monthslaterbeatChampintheBaring BinghamNovices’HurdleatCheltenham And,Built ByBallymorealsofinishedrunner-upattheFestival onracecoursedebut,beatenbytheaforementioned Pathd’Orouxin2022 AnyBrassil-traineddebutant carryingthesilksofleadingownersSean&Bernadine Mulryandeservescarefulconsideration

BasedasimilardistanceawayinMoone,Jessica Harringtonisanothertrainerwhoserunnerswarrant considerable respect at this meeting Whilst she onlysaddledonewinnerin2024–thatbeingPigeon House–itcameintheSpecialistGroupHandicap Hurdleondaythree,aracewhichshehasnowwon onfouroccasionsinthepast10renewals Allfourof herwinnerswereagedfourorfive,sofocusonany younger horses who she aims at the race, whilst later that same day, Ashdale Bob was another to runwellfortheyardwhenchasinghomeMaxxum inavaluablestayinghandicaphurdle.

WhilsttheHarringtonstableismorefocusedon theFlatthesedaysandlackstheyoungstarsofold, herNationalHuntrunnersshouldstillbegivenutmost respect.OnlyinJanuarydidshesendJetaraoverto DoncastertowinaGrade2andtheseven-year-old hassincerunwithcreditatbothCheltenhamand Aintree,latterlyfinishingthirdintheLiverpoolHurdle.

Looking To Tower Over His Rivals

By PaulFerguson

HAVINGbeendeemed‘surplus to requirements’ at theCheltenhamFestival–withFactToFileswitching totheRyanair(andprovingsuccessful)forownerJP McManus–andthenbeingdeclaredanon-runner atAintreeduetothedryingground,Spillane’sTower has been absent since 26th December, so will be fresher than most as he bids to record a fourth successatPunchestown.

Runner-up in the non-Graded novice hurdle atthe2023Festival,heenjoyedafinefirstseason overfencesandrecordedthreeofhisfournovice chasevictoriesinCountyKildare.Winnerofarated novice chase at the third attempt, he returned to beat Blood Destiny in a Grade 3 and having won theWillowWarmGoldCupatFairyhouseonEaster Sunday, recorded back-to-back Grade 1s when proving too strong for Monty’s Star in last year’s DooleyInsuranceGroupChampionNoviceChase.

Displaying a fine attitude, he rounded off a long first campaign with (arguably) his strongest performance to date and bettered that on reappearance Returningtoactionathisfavouritetrack, the son of Walk In The Park found only the aforementionedFactToFileahalf-lengthtoogoodinthe JohnDurkan,wherehefinished2¼lengthsinfront ofGalopindesChamps,winneroftheSavillsChase andIrishGoldCuponhisnexttwostarts

WithGoldCupwinnerInothewayurthinkinbackin seventh(andevenGrandNational3rd Grangeclare Westouttheback(pulled-up)),thatpieceofform couldhardlyhaveworkedoutanybetter,soitwas alittledisappointingthattheseven-year-oldwas unable to perform to a similar level in the King George at Kempton. Did the travel inconvenience him–onwhatwashisfirststartoutsideofIreland–orwasitthegoodground?Questionswhichremain Peoplecertainlyseemedpreparedtoforgivethe run, as he was popular in the market prior to the BowlatAintree,onlyforalatedecisiontobemade byJimmyMangantopullouthisstablestar Hewill now(hopefully)returntoPunchestown–wherehis course form figures read 21112 – for a crack at the Gold Cup and whilst conditions could be slightly worrying, he handled yielding ground at each of thepasttwoFestivals.

ThedecisionbyMcManus’teamtorunFactToFile intheRyanairandsupplementInothewayurthinkin fortheGoldCupwasfullyvindicated,andonlythe weatherpreventedusfromseeingwhetherornot theywouldhavelandedthehat-trickofcorrect‘big calls’withSpillane’sTowerintheBowl Perhaps,he will now once again enjoy his day in the sun at PunchestownonWednesday30th April,althougha dayintherainmightbemoretohisliking

Mullins’Bumper Contenders

By Paul Ferguson

WILLIE MULLINS recorded a 14th victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper when Bambino FeverwassuccessfulatCheltenhamandthemare could well bid to follow up in the Grade 1 on day two.Morecanbereadofherprospectselsewhere in the Guide, but how about a couple of Mullinstrainedbumperwinnerswhohavehadalower-key seasontodate

KaiserBallwasactuallyhandedanentryatCheltenhambutdespitethetrainersaddlingfiveintotal, it was decided that the Fariyhouse winner would bypasstheFestival ByNomded’La,thefive-yearoldisafull-brothertoJubyBall–unbeatenintwo startsoverhurdlesthisseasonforEvanWilliams–andhecreatedadeepimpressionwhenmakinga winningstartinlate-February.

Ridden patiently by amateur Thomas Costello, hewaskeptwidethroughoutandmaderelentless progressdownthebackstraight.Stilltravellingwell, heeasedtothefront(stillonthebridle)andonlyhad tobenudgedouttowinwithplentyinhand,quickeningupnicelyinsidethefinalfurlong.Hefinishedfullof runningandgiventhattheChampionBumpercame underconsideration,itwouldbesafetoassumethat heisheldinfairlyhigh-regardatClosutton.

However,thedecisiontogivehimalittlemoretime mightprovetobevindicatedandIamparticularly lookingforwardtoseeinghimreturntoactioninthe closingweeksoftheseason Hewilllikelybehanded morethanoneoptionatPunchestownandwherever heturnsup,KaiserBallwarrantsplentyofrespect

A maiden Points winner for Donnchadh Doyle, KsarFatalwasthesubjectofpositivereportsprior tomakingasuccessfulRulesdebutatGowranPark in early-March. Never too far from the pace, he breezedupsidestheleadershalfwayupthehome straightandalthoughtheresponsewasn’timmediateonceaskedtopickupatthefurlongpole,he soonrealisedwhatwasrequiredandwaslengtheningawayattheline.

That bumper was staged over 2m2f and was previouslyaPoint-to-Pointcontestwhenitwaswon bythesubsequentBaringBinghamNovices’Hurdle winners First Lieutenant, Yorkhill and Bob Olinger. ThesonofBuck’sBoumisanotherwhowilllikelybe handedmorethanoneoptionatPunchestownand heisyetanotherbrightprospectfortheall-conqueringstable.Itwouldn’tbeahugeshocktoseeboth playleadingrolesattheFestival

WILLIEMULLINS

Hat-Trick For Ballyburn?

ByPaulFerguson

FOLLOWING wins in the JP & M Doyle Bumper at the2023Festival–wherehebeatSladeSteeland Dancing City, no less – and last year’s Alanna HomesChampionNoviceHurdle,Ballyburncould head to Punchestown in search of a hat-trick of victoriesatthisfixture.

Theseven-year-oldisactually4-4atthetrack, havingwonanearlierbumperatthecourseand he was also successful on chasing debut here in November, and obviously represents the stable ofWillieMullins,whoserecordatthismeetinghas alreadybeenwell-documented Crucially,whenitcomestoBallyburn,heholds an entry in the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup at FairyhouseonSunday20th Aprilandyouwouldthink – given the distance of the race – that the 2m4f contestmightwellbehisprimaryspringtarget The formofhissuccessatLeopardstown’sDublinRacing Festival – in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase – was givenaboostwhenstable-mateImpaireetPasse wontheManifestoatAintree,whilsthisjumpingwill comeunderscrutinywhereverheturnsup,following hisperformanceatCheltenhamlastmonth.

Hehasbeenhandedanentryinthe3mDooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase, which comesupjustninedaysaftertheWillowWarmGold Cup,soitwillbefascinatingtoseewhetherhedoes indeedtakeuphisengagementatFairyhouse.As DonnMcCleanhasalreadytoucheduponinhisexcellentfeature,Spillane’sTowerwasabletocompletethe doublelastseasonbuttherewasamuchgreatergap inthecalendarbetweenracesin2024

Mullins has plenty of options to run in both races and big decisions will need to be made in the coming days Nothing new there for team Mullins,whowillhaveahugepacktoshufflewhen it comes to running plans – especially as some horses will now be considered for a trip to the UK followinghisexploitsatAintreeandhisunexpected title bid – but given his record at this venue and indeed at this fixture, it could just be that Ballyburn returns to County Kildare in an attempt to addyetfurtherstrengthtohisundoubtedlyformidableteam.And,alsoinanattempttorebuildhis reputationsomewhat.

‘Horsesforcourses’isanoften-overusedphrase butgivenhisunblemishedrecordatPunchestown, itseemspertinentinrelationtoBallyburn.

The British Challenge Who might target the fixture in 2025?

ByPaulFerguson

IN THIS very feature last year, I took more of a historicallookbackattherecordofBritishtrainers who have enjoyed success at past Punchestown Festivals. The names of NickyHenderson andPaulNichollsfeaturedprominently,withthe pairhavingenjoyedplentyofjoyatthemeeting, predominantlyinGradedcontests.

The record of both trainers in the Champion ChaseandNichollsintheGoldCupandHendersoninboththeChampionHurdleandChampion FourYearOldHurdlehavebeenhighlightedonthe individualtrendspagesforthosespecificGrade 1 contests. Nicholls was without a runner at the meetingin2024,whilstHenderson’sfourrunners included East India Express and Montecam, who both parted company with Nico de Boinville. Tradecraftfinishedunplacedinabumper,whilst Chantry House fared best of the quartet when finishing fifth behind Maxxum in the staying handicaphurdle.

Henderson boasts a respectable strike-rate at the track, having saddled 25 winners from 174 runners (14%), whilst Nicholls’ nine winners from 27 runners results in an impressive 33% strike-rate. Respect runners from Seven Barrows and/orDitcheat.

Last year there were just two British-trained winners at the meeting, the first of which came in race two on the opening day, with Tune In A Boxsuccessfulfortrainer TomLacey Thehandicap hurdle which the five-year-old won was the seriesfinal–withitnamedthisyearastheAlbert BartlettTripleCrownSeries–withqualifiershaving takenplaceeachsideoftheIrishSea.Laceyalso saddled the third last year (Montregard) so it could be that one or two more British trainers consider having a look at the final, should they have an eligible contender Horses who finished inthefirstfiveofsaidqualifiersareeligible.

Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Casa No Mento was the other British-trained winner, successful in the Listed novice hurdle for mares. She had Arkle runner-up Only By Night back in third and became the trainer’s fifth winner at the course (from28runners).

On the same day (day three), HarryDerham saddled Queensbury Boy to finish runner-up in

the concluding bumper. The young trainer had earlier seen Brentford Hope finish in the same position in a valuable handicap hurdle on day one and sent four horses over in total to run at the fixture. Given that he also ran Givemefive in thejuvenilehurdleatFairyhouselastEaster–and ranhimagainatthesamevenueinNovember–Derhamclearlyisn’taversetoscrutinisingtheIrish programmebook

Not so long back, Derham surpassed the 100-winner mark and he continues to impress in his formative years in the role Nephew of Paul Nicholls, it would not be a surprise to see him with runners at the meeting again this year and hehandedanearly-entrytohisprogressiveand unbeaten hurdler Ascending Lark, in a Listed handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse’s Easter fixture, again revealing his commitment to target keys racesinIreland.

Anthony Honeyball and Harry Fry were a couple who featured last year, with the former having saddled three winners at this meeting previously Heranfourhorsesin2024,havingwon a handicap at each of the previous three Festivals Therefore,expecttheDorset-basedhandler totargetsimilareventsonceagainthisyear Frywaswithoutarunneratlastyear’sFestival buthassaddledsixwinnersfrom27runners(22% strike-rate)atthefixture,thelatestcomingbackin 2021 Arecentsocialmediapostfromthestable’s accountwouldsuggestthatPunchestownisvery muchontheradarofthetraineronceagain,with onehorsehighlightedbeingPoint-to-Pointwinner OnTheBayou,whohasstilltoraceforthestable. Fry won a bumper at this meeting in 2014 with Fletcher’sFlyer,soperhapswewillseethesonof AffiniseamakethetripacrosstheIrishSea.

Rather like Derham, Fry certainly doesn’t look aversetoscouringtheIrishfixturelistandhehas alsoenjoyedFairyhousesuccess,whenBitofapuzzle won the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdlesome10yearsago.

Whilst the training duo of Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero have yet to have a runner in Ireland, Punchestown has been mentioned as a possibleend-of-seasonobjectivefortheirrecent Cheltenham Festival winner Jagwar The strap-

pingsix-year-oldwastheirsecondFestivalwinner inthespaceofthreeyearsandallfromjustthree runners.2023MartinPipewinnerIrokofinishedfifth inlastyear’sGoldenMillerNovices’Chase,sothe stable is 2-2 in handicaps at the Festival, which is an incredible record, given that they are still a relatively‘smallstable’,incomparisontomanyof theircounterparts

TheBritishhandicapperputJagwarup8lbsfor his victory in the ‘Plate’ and it could be that he is considered for the valuable novice handicap chase on the penultimate day of the Punchestown Festival He would likely be towards the head of the weights in that contest but Kemboy, RealSteel,AsterionForlongeandKilcruithaveall carried a big weight to victory in recent renewals,frommarksrangingfrom147to152.Classoften prevailsinthatparticulareventandhewouldbe afascinatingrunner

Other possible British-trained contenders to note during the week include Constitution Hill –for the aforementioned Nicky Henderson – and Golden Ace, who have both been given an entry inthePunchestownChampionHurdle Thelatter, ofcourse,wonadramaticrenewaloftheChampionHurdleatCheltenham,inwhichConstitution Hill was a faller, as he was more recently in the AintreeHurdle.

Mister Meggit, who ran so well for a long way in the Sefton at Aintree, and El Cairos, who could run in the Grade 1 bumper are among the clutch of British-trained horses to have been handed Grade1entriesatthemeeting CramboandLucky PlaceareengagedintheChampionStayersHurdle, whilstLulambacouldbeanotherbigrunnerforthe Hendersonstable,withtheAintreeabsenteehaving beengivenanentryintheChampionFourYearOld Hurdleonthefifthandfinalday.

LULAMBA

More Festival Joy For Twomey?

ByPaulFerguson

10YEARSonsincehesaddledabumperwinnerat this fixture, trainer Paddy Twomey – who focuses predominantly on the Flat – looks set to return to thePunchestownFestivalwithalivechance,inthe shapeofrecentAintreewinner,SeoLinn

As you will read when you reach the individual racepreviewsforthefivefeatureconteststhroughout the week, winners from Aintree boast a good record at Punchestown and no doubt, several of theGrade1winnerswillbeconsideredforvarious racesatthisfixture.

Seo Linn won the Grade 2 Nickel Coin Mares’ Bumper that concludes the opening day of the GrandNationalmeeting,onwhatwasherfirststartin 138days.Havinglookedasharptypewhenwinning aListedraceatCheltenhambackinNovember,the daughterofOrderOfStGeorgeseemedsuretoenjoy theprevailingconditionsinLiverpool anddespite taking a keen hold under Billy Lee, ran out a relativelyconvincingwinner.

Whilst the Grade 1 bumper will be considered, it seems more likely that she will be aimed at the mares’ only event on the same day (Wednesday 30th April) The race conditions mean that she will beallowedtorunintheGrade3WeatherbysGeneral

StudBookIrishEBFMaresBumperwithoutapenalty – despite having won a Grade 2 – and that ‘loophole’isunlikelytobemissedbytheshrewdCounty Tipperaryoperator

In2015,TwomeysaddledTiming’severythingto winthefour-year-oldbumperatoddsof33-1,under fellow contributor Jane Mangan, who also partnered Policy Breach to finish second in the Goffs LandRoverBumper,beatenbysubsequenttwo-time Grade1-winninghurdlerPetitMouchoir

Justoverayearago,TwomeyandLeeteamed up to win the Group 3 Ballylinch Stud Stakes at LeopardstownwithALilacRollaandtheywenton to land five Listed races between late-May and mid-September. All six were fillies or mares, as is Bubble Gum, who Twomey saddled to Listed NoblesseStakessuccess,justthreedaysafterSeo Linn’svictoryatAintree.

HeexcelswithfilliesandmaresandafterPunchestown,itisexpectedthatSeoLinnwillherselfswitch codesandthefive-year-oldoughttobecapableof achievingarelativelyhighlevel.Itcouldbe,however, thatshesignsofffromtheNationalHuntsphereby recordingafourthbumpersuccessandprovidesher trainerwithasecondPunchestownFestivalvictory

WILLIAMHILL CHAMPIONCHASE

Day1(Tuesday29th April)–2m,Grade1

OVERVIEW

THE second of three Grade 1s on the opening day of the meeting, Cheltenham’s Queen Mother ChampionChaseisoftenthebestguidetowardstherace,withEnergumenecompletingthedouble inboth2022and2023.HistrainerWillieMullinshaswontheraceeighttimesinall,withsixofthose winshavingbeenrecordedsince2015.Aracewhichwasonceahandicap,itbecameaconditions racein1999whenCelibatewassuccessfulforformertrainer,CharlieMann.NickyHendersonsandwichedthat’99renewalwithwinnerseithersideandwonitagainmorerecentlywiththeexceptional SprinterSacrein2013.PaulNichollsgotinontheactaroundthattime,too,whilstMullinshastaken commandofitoflate,winningfivesuccessiverenewalspriortolastyear.

QUEENMOTHERCHAMPIONCHASE

THREE horses – namely Energumene (twice) and Sprinter Sacre – have completed the Queen MotherChampionChase/Punchestown ChampionChasedoublesince2013,withthelattereven having time to win Aintree’s Melling Chase in between. Prior to 2022, Nicky Henderson’s superstar was the last Queen Mother winner to run in thisraceandCaptainGuinnesswasonlyagonisinglydeniedlastyear,beatenaneckbyBanbridge Lastyear’srunner-upwasjusttheseventhChampion Chase winner to attempt the double since 2006andfiveoftheseptethaveprovensuccessful,theotherpairbeingNewmill(2006)andMaster Minded(2009)

Since 2003, 15 of the past 21 winners of this racehadcontestedtheQueenMotherChampion Chase, so as touched upon in the Overview, the featurefromdaytwooftheCheltenhamFestivalis withoutdoubtthemostsignificantpointer,asyou wouldexpectforaGrade1overtheminimumtrip. BothBigZeb(2011)andSizingEurope(aheadofhis firstwinintheracein2012)hadfinishedrunner-up at Cheltenham, as had Fox Norton, who had time towinatAintreeinbetween.

Thisyear'sChampionChasewaswonbyMarine Nationale,withJonbonstayingonforsecondafter makingashudderingerrormid-race,whilstQuilixios wasrunningahugeraceandwasstillupsideswhen fallingatthefinalfence.

EIGHTONTHEBOARDFORMULLINS

ASWITHmanyoftheGrade1satthePunchestown Festival,thisisaraceinwhichtrainerWillieMullins boastsafinerecentrecord Havingfirstwontherace backin2001withMicko’sDream,hestruckforasecond timein2010withGoldenSilverandagainin2015when FelixYongerscored Priortolastyear,Mullinshadwon thefivepreviousrenewalsoftherace,withhislast threewinnersallreturningasshort-pricedfavourites.

Mullinsisoftenmobhandedintherace,sohisstrikeratewouldn’tbequiteasimpressivewhenyoudiga littledeeper.Indeed,hewasresponsibleforlastyear’s beatenfavourite(Dinoblue,finished3rd)andactually saddledfouroftheninerunners.Hewasresponsible forfourofthefiverunnersin2023andduringthepast sixrenewalsalone,hehassaddlednofewerthan20 runnerswhichequatesto50%ofthetotalfields.Since 2001,Mullinshashad41runnersintherace,soonce again,expecthimtobeverywell-represented

PREVIOUSFESTIVALFORM

GIVENthatwehaveseenthreedualwinnersofthis racesince2012,reviewingpreviousrenewalsofthe PunchestownChampionChaseisanobviousstarting point, whilst two of the three had earlier won theBarberstownCastleNoviceChaseatthissame fixture UndeSceauxandEnergumenewerethetwo inquestion,whilstbothGod’sOwnandChacunPour SoihadearlierwonthesameGrade1novicechase.

Lastyear’sBarberstownCastlewaswonbyIlEtait Temps,whohassadlybeenside-linedthroughout thisseason(buthasbeenenteredinboththisrace andtheGoldCup),withthegreybeatingArklewinner GaelicWarriortoprovideWillieMullinswithaninth straightwinintherace

BothUndeSceauxandSizingEuropehadearlier wonthenon-graded2mnovicehurdleatthismeeting,aracewhichElFabioloalsowonintheearlypart of his career before developing into a high-class chaser,sopayhealthyrespecttowinningformfrom thisFestivalingeneral.

WhilsthehadneverrunattheFestivalpreviously (quite surprising) Banbridge had won a maiden hurdleatthetrack–onhisonlyrunatPunchestown –backinMay2021.Also,respectcourseformfrom otherfixtures.

AGE

WHILST age can be a barrier to success in many a championship race at the Cheltenham Festival, ‘older’ horses have proven to be successful in the PunchestownChampionChase,withsixdouble-digit agedwinnerssince2004 MoscowFlyer wonatthe ageof10,asdidbothBigZeb(2011)andSizingEurope (2012) Thelatterthenreturnedtowinattheageof12 in2014andUndeSceauxwasindouble-digitswhen goingback-to-backin2018and2019

Attheotherendofthescale,TwistMagic(2008) andMasterMinded(2009)wereback-to-backPaul Nicholls-trainedwinnersattheageofsix,whilstonly SprinterSacre(2013)andFoxNortonhavestruckfor theseven-year-oldsthiscentury.Priortothose,KlaironDavis(1996)wasthelastseven-year-oldwinner of the race He was another back-to-back winner, incidentally,successfulagainin’97.

Captain Guinness was the oldest horse in last year’sfieldandagednine,onlyjustfailed.Don’tlet ageputyouoffinthisevent,with23ofthepast27 winnersagedeightorolder

OFFICIALRATINGS

AS WELL as being the oldest runner in the field, Captain Guinness was the highest-rated runner amonglastyear’snine-strongfieldwithanofficial I.H.R.B Ratingof164.ThewinnerBanbridgewasrated

KEYTRENDS

WillieMullinshastrained5ofthepast6 winners(8winnersintotal) (Since2006)5ofthe7QMCCwinnersto haverunhavewon 15ofthepast16winnershadalreadywon atGrade1level

23ofthepast27winnerswereaged8+ 17ofthepast23winnersfinished1st (14)or 2nd (3)lasttimeout 15ofthepast21winnersranintheQMCC 14winnersthiscenturyhadwonoverfurther duringthecurrentcampaign 14ofthepast18winnersreturnedat6-1or shorter(8wereoutrightfavourite)

9ofthe20winnersbetween1998and2017 wereBritish-trained RespectcourseformandpreviousFestivalform Respecthorsesrated170+

NickyHenderson-trainedrunnersare3-5 since1998

PaulNicholls-trainedrunnersare2-4since2008 Nodouble-figurepricedwinnersince2010 Only1ofthepast20winnershadfailedto winearlierintheseason

Only2winnersthiscenturywereunbeaten duringthecurrentcampaign

Only2winning7yo’sthiscentury Only2winning6yo’sthiscentury

just3lbsinferiorandpriorto2021,theprevioushalfdozenwinnerswereallratedbetween158and169. Youwouldexpectahorsetorequirearatinginthe 160stobecapableofwinningachampionshipGrade 1contestbutthewinnersbetween2021and2023were allratedinthe170sandwhenonelinesupwithsuch aloftyofficialrating,weshouldsitupandtakenote, astheyareinvariablyastandoutperformerinthe relevantdivision Thatisnodifferentinthetwo-mile chasedivision,whilstSprinterSacrebroughtthehighestratingintotheraceinrecentyears,withhisBHA markstandingatawhopping188followingonfrom hisdevastatingdisplayinAintree’sMellingChaseof 2013.Sucharatingisquiteuncommon,however,so focusonthoseratedmid160sandabove.

GRADE1WINNINGFORM

BANBRIDGE had won a Grade 1 novice chase the previous spring at Aintree and in doing so, became the 15th winner in the past 16 renewals to

havealreadybeensuccessfulatthehighestlevel. FelixYongeristheonlywinnerduringthisperiodto havefailedtowinatGrade1levelpreviously,whilst the last before him was Mansony (2007) some 18 yearsago Certainlyoflate,theclassiertypeshave come to the fore and given that Banbridge had only tasted Grade 1 success in novice company, I wouldpayevengreaterrespecttothosewithsuch winningforminopencompany.Thistrendshould certainlymakeusoverlookanyrunnerwhohasyet totastetop-tiersuccessofanysort.

MARKETFORCES

DESPITE having won the Champion Chase just undersevenweeksearlier,runner-upCaptainGuinnesswassentoffat6-1lastyear(manyclearlynot trustingthatform)withtheMares’Chaserunner-up Dinobluesentoffasclearmarketleader.Thewinner was also a 6-1 shot and 14 of the past 18 winners returnedat6-1orshorter,sothisisn’treallyarace inwhichwetendtosee‘shock’results.Eightofthe 14weresentoffasclearoutrightfavouriteandwe havenotseenadouble-figurepricedwinnersince 2010 (Golden Silver returning at 12-1). Focus on the top two or three in the betting; as per the previouscoupleofsubsections,classusuallyprevails.

DON’TBEPUTOFFBYADEFEAT

THEimperiousSprinterSacreistheonlywinnerinthe past15tohavearrivedatPunchestownhavingbeen unbeatenearlierinthecampaignandbeforehim, MasterMinded(2009)istheonlyothertomatchthis profileduringthiscentury Therefore,certainlydon’t beputoffbyadefeatearlierintheseasonasitis muchmorecommon.EvenEnergumene suffered ClarenceHousedefeat(twice)beforewinninghis twoQueenMothersandtwowinsinthisrace

ARRIVINGINFORM

17 OF THE past 23 winners finished either first or second last time out – with 14 of them successful ontheirlateststart–so,althoughadefeatcanbe forgiven, we should still be leaning towards those who are in form That said, Banbridge was able to defy this trend last year, with him very much compromised by the soft ground at the Cheltenham Festival In general, look for those who are cominghereonthebackofagoodrun

In terms of earlier in the campaign – and this really covers the previous subsection, too – only UndeSceaux(2019)hadfailedtowinatleastonce earlierinthecampaign.Banbridgehadactuallyonly runtwicepriortothisraceandhisbelatedseasonal reappearance (his first run outside of novice company)resultedinaGrade2successatKempton.

FORMOVERFURTHER

THATKemptonsuccesscameover2m4fandobviouslythisseason,Banbridgehasgoneontoprove his stamina over even further. When we come on totheOtherKeyRacessubsection(shortly)youwill notethatAintree’sMellingChasehasbeenusedas astepping-stonetosuccesshere,despitetheclose proximityofthetworacesinthecalendar.Thatis another2m4fcontestandBanbridgebecamethe 14th winner this century to have won over further earlier in the season, so stamina certainly isn’t a negative Whilst recent two-time winner Energumene didn’t fall into this category, he did win his beginners chase over 2m4f before coming back totheminimumtrip Payduerespecttothosewith winningformoveranintermediatetrip

BRITISH-RAIDERSTOBERESPECTED

THEREhasbeennoBritishrepresentationinthepast three renewals and we have only seen three British-trainedrunnerssince2018 However,the‘raiding party’weresuccessfulonnofewerthannineoccasions between 1998 and 2017, during which time only 31 British-trained horses ran in the race, so it wasaneye-catchingstrike-rate.

However,IdofeelthatbyupgradingSandown’s CelebrationChasetheBHAhasofferedBritishtrainers the option to remain on home soil and that is even more significant if it relates to a trainer who isincontentionforthechampionship

NickyHendersonhaswonthisracethreetimes since 1998 and only had five runners during this period, so boasts a magnificent strike-rate, as does PaulNicholls He won back-to-backrenewals – including a first and second in 2008 – from justfourrunnersintotal.Itremainstobeseenasto whether the leading British trainers start to target this race again, but Sandown likely makes more appeal(withlesstravelinvolved).

Neitherofthatpairinghaveanentrythisyearbut AlanKinghasenteredhisveteranEdwardstone,who wouldbethesoleBritish-trainedrunneriftravelling

OTHERIRISHTRAINERSTONOTE ASIDEfromWillieMullins(coveredinanearliersubsection),HenrydeBromheadistheonlyotherIrishtrainer tohavewontheracemorethanoncethiscentury, althoughhistwovictoriesweregainedbythesame horse.Hedoes,however,boastafinerecordinthe QueenMotherChampionChaseandwithtwo-mile chasersingeneral,sohisrunnersarealwayswortha secondlook,forallthathislastwincamebackin2014.

Localtrainer(Naas-based)ArthurMoorewonthe racethreetimesbetween1996and2007,butnolonger hasthehigh-classstringthatwasoncethecase

OTHERKEYRACES

AGAIN, the Queen Mother Champion Chase has been covered already (see opening subsection), whilst elsewhere at the Cheltenham Festival, Un de Sceaux twice ran in the RyanairChasebefore winningthis,asdidBanbridgelastyear Itlookslike thisyear’sRyanairwinnerFactToFilecoulddropin tripandhewouldbeafascinatingrunner

Duringthe2017-2018season,Un de Sceaux had wontheHillyWayChaseonhisreappearanceand fiveofthepastninewinnershadwontheearly-season Grade 2 at Cork Energumene had twice won thatracepriortowinningthisandhelandedathird HillyWaybackinearly-December,araceinwhich Banbridge came down at the final fence when seeminglyholdingeverychance Thatpieceofform couldbequitesignificantonceagain

TheClarenceHouseChasewasalsocontested by the same pairing (Un de Sceaux and Energumene),withEnergumenetwicebeateninitbefore he won the Champion Chase and he again had to settle for second spot in the Ascot Grade 1 this year,comprehensivelyputinhisplacebyJonbon ongoodground.

Anotherracetonotefromearlierinthecampaign is Leopardstown’s Paddy’s Rewards Chase –stagedattheChristmasFestival–withChacunPour Soi the last to complete the double. This season’s racewaswonbySolness,whothenconfirmedthe formoverthethird-placedMarineNationaleinthe

Dublin Chase. Gaelic Warrior also hit the frame in bothraces.

And, three of the past 11 winners had won the MellingChaseatAintreeontheirmostrecentstart, thelastbeingFox Norton Therewasjustan18-day gapbetweenraceswhenallthreeweresuccessful, whilstthegapstandsat25daysthisyear,withAintree aweekclosertoCheltenhamthanithasbeeninthe pasttwoyears

ROLLOFHONOUR

LEADINGTEN-YEARGUIDES

LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWNGOLDCUP

Day2(Wednesday30th April)–3m,Grade1

OVERVIEW

AGAIN,therearethreeGrade1racesondaytwo,withtheGoldCupbeingtheonlysteeplechaseoutof thetrio.Firstruninitscurrentformatin1999,thefirsttworenewalswentthewayofImperialCalland CommancheCourt,whowereriddenbyRubyWalsh.Walshbowedoutasoneoftheall-timegreats ofthesportwhenpartneringKemboytosuccessin2019,whilstWillieMullins(trainerofKemboy)has wontheracefivetimessince2013andsixtimesinall.Hehas,however,seenhisfourCheltenhamGold Cupwinners(AlBoumPhototwiceandGalopindesChampstwice)beateninthisracesince2019. ThiswasanotherGrade1whichformerUKChampionTrainerPaulNichollswouldregularlytarget, successfulonthreeoccasionsbetween2007and2021andallfromjustninerunners.Second-season chasersandmorerecently,French-bredhorsesboastagoodrecordhere.

CHELTENHAMFESTIVALFORM

NO FEWER than 17 of the past 20 winners of the Punchestown Gold Cup had been in action at the CheltenhamFestival Lastyear’swinnerFastorslow –whobecamejustthesecondtwo-timewinnerof therace(NeptuneCollongesbeingtheother)–had unseatedJJSlevinintheGoldCuponhismostrecent start,somethingwhichKemboyhaddone(toDanny Mullins)priortohissuccess,althoughhehadtime torunatAintreeinbetween SizingJohn istheonly horse to complete the Cheltenham/Punchestown GoldCupdoubleduringthepast17renewals,with thepastfourtoattemptit–AlBoumPhotoandGalopindesChampstwiceapiece–allbeatensince2019

Earlierthiscentury,KickingKing(2005)andWarOf Attrition(2006)completedthedouble,butwehave alsoseenthelikesofDenman,KautoStarandCue Card beaten in the race on the back of running a bigraceintheGoldCup.RatherlikewiththeBowlat Aintree,atoughraceintheCheltenhamshowpiece eventcanleaveamarkonahorsefortheremainder ofthatseason.FloridaPearlwasbeateninthe1999 renewal–onthebackoffinishingthirdintheGoldCup –beforewinningin2002,havingbeentailed-offat

CheltenhambeforewinningatAintree WhilstrespectingtheGoldCupform(obviously,goeswithoutsaying), treadcarefullywiththosewhohadahardrace

Thisyear'sGoldCupwaswonbyInothewayurthinkin whowas6lengthstoogoodfortwo-timewinnerGalopindesChamps,havingonlybeensupplementedfor theracetheweekbefore

Morerecently,theRyanairChasehasstartedto haveanimpactonthePunchestownGoldCup,with fourofthepast14winnershavingcontestedit Don CossackhittheframeondaythreeatCheltenham beforewinningthisrace10yearsago,whilstAllaho completedthedoublein2022

Thisyear’sRyanairwaswoninimpressivefashion byFactToFilebuthehasn’tbeengivenanentryand ifrunningatthemeeting,willinsteaddropto2mto contesttheChampionChase

AINTREEFORM

RATHERsurprisingly,giventheproximityofthefixtures inthecalendar(althoughthereisalmostfourweeks betweenthemeetingsthisyear)formatAintreeis apositivehere,too,withfourofthepast10winners havingwoninLiverpoolenroutetoCountyKildare.

Therefore,don’tbequicktooverlookformfromthe GrandNationalmeeting,thinkingthatPunchestown maycometoosoon.

BothBostonBobandDonCossackwontheMelling Chaseover2m4f,whilstKemboyandClandesObeaux hadwontheBowlChaseoverthissortoftrip,before followingupjust27and20dayslater,respectively Asyoucansee,thelatterwassuccessfulwhenthere waslessthanthreeweeksbetweentheendofAintree andthebeginningofPunchestown–aswasthecase whenDonCossackwon(justa19-dayturnaround)–soagain,don’tpresumethathorsesfromtheseraces willfindPunchestowncomingtoosoonforthem

This year's Bowl was won by a resurgent Gaelic Warrior,whoreturnedtoformunderPatrickMullins, whowouldgoontoenjoythehighlightofhiscareer just49hourslater,whilsttheMellingChasewentthe wayofJonbonforasecondsuccessiveyear

MULLINS’SIXOFTHEBEST

AS TOUCHED upon in the Overview, trainer Willie Mullinshasrecordedsixwinsintheraceintotal,with thefirstofthosebeingFloridaPearlbackin2002 He thenhadtowait11yearsbeforecapturingtheprize again–successfulin2013withSirdesChamps–but hewonitagainthefollowingyearwithBoston Bob andmorerecently,hasbeenresponsibleforthreeof thepastsixwinners.

Asalreadytouchedupon,ithasn’tbeenagreat race for Mullins’ Cheltenham Gold Cup winners –with all four beaten in this race – and he is often well-representedinit,asheisinmostoftheGrade 1s throughout the week 2023 was unusual in that heonlyranGalopindesChamps,althoughheran three last year and in the past six renewals alone, hehashadnofewerthan20runners Intotal,since 1999,Mullinshashad45runnersintherace,with28 comingduringthepast10renewals

Despite often being mobhanded in the race, themarkethasalwaysbeencorrectintermsofhis winners,withallsixbeingtheshortest-pricedrunner fromhisstable.ThiswaseventhecasewhenKemboy beatGoldCupwinnerAlBoumPhoto,withtheformer going off as the 13-8 market leader Perhaps, the crowd sensed the Walsh fairy-tale ending which wasabouttounfold FiveofMullins’sixwinnerswere sentoffasfavouriteandBellshill returnedat4-1so payparticularattentiontohis‘firststring’shouldhe runmorethanone.

OTHERTRAINERSTONOTE SUCCESSFULinboth2007and2008withsubsequent Grand National winner Neptune Collonges, Paul NichollswonathirdPunchestownGoldCupin2021 withClandesObeaux Withoutarunnerlastyear,he

KEYTRENDS

4ofthepast10winnershadwonatAintree WillieMullinshastrained5ofthepast11 winners(6winnersintotal)

18ofthepast20winnerswereaged7-9 17ofthepast20winnershadrunatthe CheltenhamFestival

14ofthepast22winnershadwonat Punchestownpreviously 13ofthepast19winnersweresecondseasonchasers

12ofthepast22favouritesweresuccessful 11winnersthiscenturywonlasttimeout 11ofthepast12winnershadalreadywonat leastonceinGrade1company

9ofthepast11winnersreturnedat4-1or shorter

7ofthepast13winnersranduringApril

All6ofWillieMullins’winnerswerethe shortestpriceofhisrunners

Thepast5winnerswereFrench-bred PaulNicholls-trainedrunnersare3-9since 2007

HenrydeBromhead-trainedrunnersare 0-7since2017

Only1ofthepast20winnerswasaged10 (0winnersovertheageof10)

Only1ofthepast25winnerswasaged6 Only2ofthepast13winnershadrunmore than4timesthatseason

Only4ofthepast24winnersthiscentury failedtorecordatop-4finishlasttimeout

saddledaplacedhorseinboth2022and2023having hadnorunnerintheracesince2013 Nicholls’overall recordintheracestandsataveryrespectablethree winnersfromninerunnerssince2007

MartinBrassilhas won the past two renewals –albeitwiththesamehorse,Fastorslow–andunfortunatelyforhim,hisstable-starhasbeenside-lined throughinjuryforthemajorityoftheseason,followinghisfourthplacingintheJohnDurkaninNovember

JourneyWithMecouldfinishonlyseventhlastyear, takingthedisappointingrecordintheraceofHenry deBromheadto0-7since2017.Despitehisimpressive recordintheCheltenhamGoldCup,deBromhead hasyettofindthekeytounlockthispuzzleandrecent disappointmentsintheracefortheCountyWaterfordtrainerincludeMonaleeandMinellaIndo.Both ofthosecarriedthesilksofBarryMaloney,whocould berepresentedbyMonty’sStarthisyear

SECOND-SEASONCHASERS

WHENsuccessfulin2023,Fastorslowbecamethefirst second-seasonchasertowintheracesinceKemboy in2017.However,suchhorseshavebeenresponsible for13ofthepast19winners,solookingtowardslast season’sleadingnovicesiscertainlyanapproach toconsider

The aforementioned Monty’s Star finished runner-upatbothCheltenhamandhereatPunchestown,beatenbyFactToFileintheBroadway(Brown Advisory)Novices’ChaseattheCheltenhamFestival,thenbySpillane’sToweratthisvenue.Threeof thepast10winnersofthisracehadrunintheBroadway–nowsponsoredbyBrownAdvisory–some13 monthsearlier,whilstthesametriohadalsorunin theLadbrokesNoviceChase–formerlytheDrPJ Moriarty–attheDublinRacingFestival Again,that racewaswonin2024byFactToFile.

BothSirdesChamps(2013)andBellshillhadwon theFaugheenNoviceChaseatLimerickthepreviousseason,withthatFestiveGrade1goingtheway ofGaelicWarriorlastterm

AGE

RATHER in-keeping with the previous subsection, focusingontheunexposedandimproving‘younger’ chasersseemstobethewaytogohere,withjustone 10-year-oldwinnerinthepast20renewals.Onlyone ofthe25winnersoftheracewasagedjustsix,sowe shouldverymuchbefocusingourattentiononhorses agedbetweensevenandnine,withthatagebracket responsiblefornofewerthan18ofthepast20winners.

FRENCH-BREDSUCCESS

THEpastfivewinnersoftheracewereFrench-bred,as wasSirdesChamps(2013)beforethose.Kemboyled homeaFrench-bredone-two,beatingstable-mate andtwo-timeCheltenhamGoldCupwinnerAlBoum Photoandithastobesaidthatrecenteditionsofthis racehavebeenlitteredwithFrench-bredrepresentation,whichiskindofindicativeofNationalHuntracing thesedays Thereisanever-growinginfluenceinbig races,althoughonlythreeoflastyear’snine-strong field were French-bred and they again included thefirstandsecondhome Youoftenfindthatsuch horses have a lovely blend of speed and stamina andarecapableofstretchingoutthatstaminaover longertripsastheymature.

TheWillieMullins-trainedpairingofGalopindes ChampsandIlEtaitTempsaretheonlypairofFrenchbredhorsesenteredinthisyear’sGoldCup.

MARKETFORCES

BETWEEN2002and2022,12ofthe20winnersweresent offasoutrightfavourite.Wedidsee‘biggerpriced’ winnersbetween2010and2012butsincethen,only

twoofthepast11winnersreturnedatoddsgreater than4-1,sothisracedoestendtogothewayofthose towardstheheadofthebetting.Fastorslowwasan unconsidered20-1shottwoyearsago,butreturned asthe7-2second-favouritelastyearandthatismuch morein-keepingwithwhatwetendtoseehere

COURSEFORM

NO FEWER than 14 of the past 22 winners had won at Punchestown previously, with Fastorslow developing (after his first success) into somewhat of a course-specialist Respectnotjustformatthisfixture previously–Kemboy wasa previouswinner atthe Festival,havingwonthenovicehandicapchasethe previousyear–butatthetrackingeneral

One race which has become a good guide to the Punchestown Gold Cup in recent years is the John Durkan Memorial Chase from early in the season Nowstagedashadeearlierthanwaspreviouslythecase–inordertoallowhorsesthechance ofrunninginthatandagainatChristmas(excellent ideafromHRI,Imustadd)–thepastthreewinnershad contestedthatraceover2m3½f,ashadDonCossack backinthe2014-2015season Threeofthefourwonthe JohnDurkan,aracewhichwaswonthisseasonbyFact ToFile,whofendedoffSpillane’sTower(Grade1winner atlastyear’sFestival)andGalopindesChamps.

OTHERKEYRACES

THREEofthepasteightwinnershadcontestedthe IrishGoldCupat Leopardstown in February, with Carlingford Lough andSizing John successful Last season,Fastorslowfinishedrunner-uptoGalopindes Champsbeforereversingformathisfavouritetrack (hereatPunchestown,ifyoudidn’tpickuponthat) whilstGalopindesChampswontheraceforathird successiveyearin2025.

And,theHorse&JockeyHotelChasefromThurles hasalsobeenwonbythreeofthepastninewinnersof thePunchestownGoldCup.Theraceformerlyknown astheKinlochBraewaswonthisyearbyarejuvenatedAppreciateIt,whocouldfinishonlyfifthinthis contestlastyear

CURRENTFORM

LOOKINGatahorseinformseemsimportanthere, with only four of the 24 winners this century failing torecordatop-fourfinishontheirmostrecentstart. GiventhatsomanyrecentwinnershailedfromGrade 1contestsateither/bothCheltenhamorAintree,that isastrongstatisticand11ofthosewinnershadwon ontheirmostrecentouting.

In terms of number of runs during a current campaign,onlytwoofthepastdozenwinnershad runmorethanfourtimesearlierintheseason,with threeorfourbeingtheaverage.Giventhatweare

nowintolate-April(andearly-Mayfordays3-5ofthe fixture)thatwouldseemmorethanreasonable.

Sevenofthepast13winnershadrunduringthe monthofApril.Astoucheduponinanearliersubsection,formfromAintreeisapositiveandfiveofthe seven had been in action at the Grand National meeting Theotherpairing–Bellshill (5th intheIrish National) and China Rock (had run earlier in the week in the Champion Chase before winning the 2012renewal(thePunchestownGoldCuptookplace laterintheweekbackthen))–hadbeenindomesticactiononlydays/weeksbeforelandingthisprize.

GRADE1WINNINGFORM

AS WITH most Grade 1s, winning form at the top levelishugelysignificant.Thepast11winnershad won at least once in Grade 1 company – with Bellshill successful over hurdles and the other 10 having recorded Grade 1 chase wins – and the last horse to win the Punchestown Gold Cup withoutaGrade1ontheirCVwastheaforementionedChinaRock Bewaryofthosewhohaveyet toscoreatthetoplevelandofthisyear's11entries, no fewer than five of them have yet to record a Grade1success.

ROLLOFHONOUR

LEADINGTEN-YEARGUIDES

*BrownAdvisoryNovices’Chase2(DonCossackfell,Bellshill3

) *LadbrokesNoviceChase2(DonCossack2nd ,Bellshill2nd) IrishGoldCup3(CarlingfordLough1st ,SizingJohn1st ,Fastorslow5th) BowlChase2(Kemboy1st ,ClandesObeaux1st)

GAELICWARRIOR

Day3(Thursday1st May)–2m7½f,Grade1

LADBROKESCHAMPION STAYERSHURDLE(Tipperkevin)

OVERVIEW

LASTyear’swinnerTeahupoobecamethefirstStayers’HurdlewinnerfromCheltenhamtowinthis racethiscenturyandjustthesecondtocompletethedoubleoverall,theotherbeingAnzum(1999). AswehaveseenintheStayers’atCheltenham,horseswithGrade1hurdlesformovershorterhave afinerecordhereandwehaveseenfourmultiple winnersoftherace,Derrymoyle (1995,1996& 1998),Quevega (2010-2013),Unowhatimeanharry (2017&2019)andKlassical Dream (2021-2023). WillieMullins–traineroftheQuevegaandKlassicalDream–haswontherace10timesinall,with nineofthosewinscominginthepast15renewals.TheraceisregisteredastheTipperkevinHurdle.

STAYERS’HURDLE

AS PER the Overview, last year’s winner Teahupoo becamejustthesecondhorsetocompletetheStayers’Hurdle(Cheltenham) / Punchestown double whenjustifyingfavouritismforGordonElliott,Robcour andJackKennedy Anzum(1999)wastheonlyhorse todoitpriortolastyearandbeforeTeahupoo,the recordofStayers’Hurdlewinnersinthisrace–during thecurrentcentury–stoodat0-6.Thosebeatenin theracewereBacchanal(4th in2000),Iris’sGift(2nd in 2004),NicholsCanyon(2nd in2017),Penhill(2nd in2018), FlooringPorter(P.U.in2021)andSireduBerlais(3rd in 2023),whichgoestoshowhowdifficultitistoachieve

TheCheltenhamcontestremainsakeypointer towardssuccesshere,however,withUnowhatimeanharryfinishingthirdandeighthintheStayers’prior to histwowinsinthe race, whilstKlassical Dream finishedunplacedintheracepriortohissecondand thirdwinsinthiscontest Therefore,don’tbeafraidto lookatthebeatenhorsesfromCheltenham.

This year’s Stayers’ Hurdle was fought out by the Robcour-owned pairing of Bob Olinger and Teahupoo, with the evergreen 10-year-old quickening away from last year’s winner in the closing stages.Fortuitousononeoccasion(whenGalopin desChampsfell),thewinnerisnow3-3attheFesti-

val and unbeaten in four starts at Cheltenham A Grade3novicechasewinneratPunchestown,hehas onlyrunonceatthisFestivalwhenpulled-upin2022

ANOTHERMULTIPLEWINNER?

ITISlikelythatTeahupoowillreturninanattemptto retainhiscrown,havinghadjustthetworunsearlier inthecampaign So,canhebecomethefifthdual (ormore)winneroftherace?Hedidn’tdoawhole pilewrongintheStayers’Hurdletobefairandtravelledwellforalongway,perhapsthedryingground contributingtohisdefeat Hedrew8lengthsclearof stable-mateTheWallparkbackinthirdandprovided thatconditionsaredeemedsuitable,GordonElliott’s eight-year-oldislikelytobeamajorplayeronceagain

OTHERFESTIVALFORM

BETWEEN2006and2018,threewinnersofthisrace hadcontestedtheChampionHurdleattheCheltenhamFestival.Ofthose,bothAsianMaze(2006)and JezkiwontheAintreeHurdleinbetweenCheltenham andPunchestown,whilsttheother,Faugheenwasa formerChampionHurdlewinnerwhohadfinished sixthatCheltenhambeforetryingthislongertripas a10-year-old.Strongformovershorterdistancescan oftenbesignificantinGrade1satthisdistance–with

suchrunnersoftenholdingaclassedgeoverthe out-and-outstayers–andmoreofthisisdetailedin theupcomingOtherKeyRacessubsection.

Back to Cheltenham and Carlys Quest (2005), Refinement(2007)andJetson(2014)hadallcontested thePertempsFinalHandicapHurdleattheCheltenhamFestival Again,allthreeranatAintree(moreof thatshortly,too)priortowinningthisrace

And,ofcourse,themightyQuevega (2010-2013) hadwontheMares’Hurdleoneachoccasionprior toherfoursuccessivewinsinthisGrade1contest We didn’tseeherveryoften,buthercampaignswere gearedaroundthosetwospecificraces.

AINTREEFORM

ASPERthepreviousracescoveredandasalready toucheduponinpassing,formfromAintreeisalso significantwithseveralrecentwinnershavingrun at the Grand National meeting, often 3-4 weeks earlier.Thegapbetweenthefixtureisslightlylonger thisyearthaninrecentyears–duetowhereEaster falls in the calendar – so again, pay close attentiontoanyhorsesheadingtoCountyKildarehaving performedwellinLiverpool.

Rhinestone Cowboy (2004) – on the back of a thirdplacingintheCoralCup(underabigweight), incidentally–hadwontheGrade1AintreeHurdle over 2m4f on his most recent start, something whichAsian Maze (2006)andJezki alsoachieved. Thisyear'sracewaswonbyLossiemouth.

Carlys Quest (2005) and Blazing Bailey (2008) weresuccessfulintheGrade1LiverpoolHurdleon their most recent start and Unowhatimeanharry finished down the field in the same race prior to his second win in this contest With Teahupoo a non-runner due to the ground, the same owners' Hiddenvalley Lake was able to reverse last year's resultwithOllyMurphy'sStrongLeader.

And,acoupleoffairlyrecentwinners–namely Refinement (2007)andJetson (2014)–hadhitthe frameinthevaluablehandicaphurdlewhichtakes place on Grand National day. In all, nine of the 16 winnersbetween2004and2019hadrunatAintree

OTHERKEYRACES

ASALREADYtouchedupon,formovershorterdistances oftenhastoberespectedinthestayinghurdledivision andindeed,KlassicalDreamisjustanotherexample ofahorsesteppingupintriphavingshownhimself tobeahigh-classperformerover2m.Likewise,last year’swinnerTeahupooalsohadsoundforminthe book over trips ranging from 2m-2m4f and such horses–withthatabilitytobecompetitiveinclassier racesovershorter–oftenholdaclass-edgeonthe genuinethree-milers.

KEYTRENDS

WillieMullinshastrained9ofthepast15 winners(10winnersintotal)

17ofthepast22winnershadalreadywon atleastonceatGrade1level

13ofthepast14Irish-trainedwinnershad wonatPunchestownpreviously 12ofthepast20winnersreturnedatodds of100-30orshorter

11ofthepast15winnershadwonjustonce earlierintheseason

10ofthepast13winnerswereaged between7-9

9ofWillieMullins’10winnerswere‘first string’accordingtothemarket

9ofthepast19winnershadrunatAintree RespectGrade1formovershorter RespectGrade1novicehurdleformfrom thismeeting

Stayers’Hurdlewinnersare1-7thiscentury Priortolastyear,Anzum(1999)wasthe onlyhorsetocompletetheCheltenham/ Punchestowndouble

Only15yohaseverwontherace

Only2ofthepast10winnerswonlasttimeout Only2double-digitagedwinnersinthe past18renewals

Only3ofthepast19winnershadwonmore thanonceearlierintheseason

Only3ofthepast16winnersreturnedat oddsgreaterthan11-2

Both Jezki and Faugheen were former ChampionHurdlewinnerswhosteppedupintriplaterin their careers but both had actually contested the MorgianaHurdle, the DecemberFestivalHurdle (runthisyearastheNevilleHotelsHurdle)andthe IrishChampionHurdleearlierthatseason.Thefirst two-namedraceswerewonthisseasonbyBrighterdaysahead – who put in a stunning display at Leopardstown over Christmas – whilst State Man wonathirdIrishChampionHurdle(beateninthetwo earlierraces,incidentally)althoughitwasn’tmuchof acontestoncestable-mateLossiemouthdeparted downthebackstraight.

LossiemouthhadearlierbeatenTeahupoointhe Hatton’sGraceHurdleonreappearanceandthe pasttwowinnersofthisracehadbeguntheseason inthe2m4fGrade1fromFairyhouse.

Over a staying trip, Gowran Park’s Galmoy Hurdlehas thrown up a couple of recent winners of the Champion Stayers Hurdle and it was won

thisyearbythefive-year-oldRocky’sDiamondfor trainer Declan Queally. He beat Thedevilscoachman in the Grade 2 and the runner-up has since droppedintriptowinatLeopardstown.

AGE

TODATE,Paddy’sReturn(1997)isthesolefive-yearoldwinneroftheraceandthatissomethingwhich theaforementionedRocky’sDiamondwillneedto overcome, should he be considered for this race

Six horses have proven successful at the (still) tenderage–forastayeratleast–ofsix,withtwo ofthoseendingupasmultiplewinnersoftherace, Derrymoyle(1995,1996&1996)andQuevega(20102013). One Track Mind is the only winner for that agegroupinthepast13renewals,however,during which time 10 of those most recent winners were agedbetweensevenandnine

Attheotherendofthescale,wehaveonlyever seen four double-digit aged winners of this race –mostrecentlyFaugheen(aged10)andUnowhatimeanharry(aged11whensuccessfulforasecond timein2019)–sofocusingonthoseslightlyyounger seems to be the way to go Seven to nine would appeartobetheprimeagerange.

MARKETFORCES

KLASSICAL DREAM wassentoffjoint-favouritewhen winninghisthirdChampionStayersandwasoutright favouritewhensuccessfulin2022,whilstTeahupoo became the shortest-priced winner of the race since Quevega won her second in 2011, last year’s winnerreturningatashadeofodds-on.Since2004 when Rhinestone Cowboy beat stable-mate and Stayers’HurdlewinnerIris’sGift,nofewerthan12of thosepast20winnersreturnedatoddsof100-30or shorter Threemorewerepricedbetween4-1and11-2, sothisisanotherGrade1atthefixtureinwhichwe tendnottoseemany‘shock’ results,withjustthree winnersreturningatoddsgreaterthan11-2inthepast 16renewals

CURRENTFORM

BETWEEN2004and2015,nineofthe12winnershad wonontheirmostrecentstart,althoughTeahupoo becamethefirstlast-time-outwinnerinsevenrenewalswhenjustifyingfavouritismlastyear Manyofthose recentwinnershadbeenbeatenintheStayers’Hurdle ontheirmostrecent(orpenultimate,insomecases) start,sodon’tbetooputoffbyarecentreversal.It certainlydoesn’tseemtobetoodetrimental.

Priortolastyear,onlytwoofthepast19winners hadwonmorethanonceearlierintheseasonbut Teahupoo–byvirtueofhiswinsintheHatton’sGrace andtheStayers’Hurdle–addedhisnametothetally

When there isn’t an outstanding performer in the division,weoftenseehorsesbeatingoneanother intheGradedstayinghurdleswhichagainemphasisesthefactthatadefeatearlierinthecampaign isn’ttheendoftheworld.

GRADE1FORM

WINNINGformatGrade1levelisonceagainahuge positive,with17ofthepast22winnershavingalready recordedatop-levelsuccess.Thisincludesthepast sevenwinners–somaybeitisbecomingofeven greatsignificance–whereasatonestage,notso longback,horsesgraduatingfromhandicapscould makeamarkhere Jetson(2014)andOneTrackMind – successful a couple of years later for UK trainer WarrenGreatrex–aretheonlywinnersduringthe past 13 to have won this race having not already havingsecuredatleastoneGrade1previously

COURSEFORM

ONEthingthatTeahupoohadn’tprovenpriortolast yearwashisabilitytohandlethetrack.Theprevious fivewinnersoftheracehadallwonatPunchestown priortothisraceandgoingbackevenfurther,since 2006 no fewer than 14 of the past 18 winners had alreadyrecordedacoursevictoryhereatPunchestown.And,TeahupoobecamethefirstIrish-trained winneroftheracein14whohadn’talreadywonat thisvenue.

Plenty of recent winners had run at this fixture asnovicehurdlers,withJezki, Faugheen andKlassical Dream allhavingwontheGrade1Champion NoviceHurdle–over2m–intheearlypartoftheir respectivecareers.

The2m4fcontestofthesamenamewaswonby Asian Maze (2006)whilstFiveforthree (2009)actuallyraninbothraces(placedinboth)ontheback ofhavingwontheBaringBinghamatCheltenham.

MULLINSWITH10ONTHEBOARD

THEsix-year-oldHolyOrders(2003)providedtrainer WillieMullinswithhisfirstwininthisracesome22 yearsago,beforeFiveforthree(2009)handedhimthe firstoffivesuccessiveChampionStayersHurdletitles, withQuevega successfulinthenextfourrenewals TheevergreenFaugheenwonattheageof10in2018, beforethetrebleofKlassicalDreamhandedMullins withhiseighth,ninthand10th victoriesintherace

Since 2009, Mullins has had no fewer than 48 runnersintherace(averageof3.2)withtheseven horses representing his stable in 2018 being the highest.Interestingly,nineofhis10winnerswerethe shortest-pricedrunnerfromhisstable,sotheapparent‘first string’ (accordingtothebetting,atleast) oftenappearstocomeoutontop.

OTHERTRAINERSTONOTE

BRITISH-BASEDtrainers JonjoO’Neill(nowworksin partnershipwithsonAJO’Neill)andHarryFryhave bothwontheracetwice,althoughtheformerwas last successful back in 2007 and the latter won it twicewiththesamehorse.

JessicaHarringtonwonback-to-backrenewals in2014and2015andherrunnersatthisfixtureare alwaysworthyofasecondlook.GordonElliottwon theraceforthefirsttimein2024,havingseenSiredu Berlaishittheframethepreviousyear,afterhehad finishedfourthin2022.

BOBOLINGER(RIGHT)BEATSTEAHUPOOINTHESTAYERS’HURDLE

ROLLOFHONOUR

LEADINGTEN-YEARGUIDES

Stayers’Hurdle5(Unowhatimeanharry3rd &8th ,KlassicalDream5th &9th ,Teahupoo1st) ChampionHurdle2(Jezki4th ,Faugheen6th) MorgianaHurdle2(Jezki2nd ,Faugheen1st) DecemberFestivalHurdle2(Jezki2nd ,FaugheenP.U.)

IrishChampionHurdle2(Jezki3rd ,Faugheen2nd)

*ChampionStayersHurdle2(KlassicalDream1st &1st) Hatton’sGraceHurdle2(KlassicalDream2nd ,Teahupoo1st)

*denotespreviousseason

Day4(Friday2nd May)–2m,Grade1

BOODLES CHAMPIONHURDLE

OVERVIEW

INCONTRASTtothePunchestownGoldCupandtheChampionStayersHurdle,horseswhohavewon theequivalentraceattheCheltenhamFestivalboastafinerecordinthePunchestownChampion Hurdle,withStateMantheseventhsuccessiveChampionHurdlewinnertohavecontestedthisrace tohavewon.ThefeatureraceontheopeningdayoftheCheltenhamFestivalistheobviousstarting pointwhenassessingthisrace,whichhasbeenwonninetimesbyWillieMullinssince2010,when HurricaneFlyrecordedthefirstoffoursuccessivevictoriesintherace.Introducedinitscurrentformat in1999,thatfirstrenewalwaswonbyIstabraq,whilstthelikesofMoscowFlyer,HardyEustace,Brave Inca,Faugheen,HoneysuckleandStateManfeatureamonganillustriousrollofhonour.

CHAMPIONHURDLE

GIVENthatnofewerthan11ofthepast13winnershad contestedtherace,theChampionHurdleatCheltenhamistheobviousstartingpointwhenassessing thecorrespondingraceatthePunchestownFestival.And,astoucheduponintheOverview,thepast sevenChampionHurdlewinnerstohavetravelled toPunchestownhavebeensuccessfulintheirbid tocompletethedouble State Man wasthelatest todosolastyear,asdidIstabraq (1999)andHardy Eustace(2004) OnlytwoChampionHurdlewinners–namelyBraveIncain2006andPunjabiin2009(each intheyearaftertheyhadwonthisrace)–havebeen beateninthisracethiscentury.Priortolastyear,the brilliantmareHoneysucklewasthelasttocomplete thedouble,doingsoinboth2021and2022.

BraveInca(2005)andPunjabi(2008)hadfinished third in the Champion Hurdle prior to winning at Punchestown,ashadHurricaneFly (2012)aheadof histhirdwinintherace,whilstMacsJoy(2006)and StateMan–aheadofhisfirstwinintherace,twoyears ago–hadfinishedsecond,sopayutmostrespectto thosewhoranwellintheChampionHurdle.

The2025ChampionHurdlewasanastonishingrace towatch.2023winnerConstitutionHillcamedownfour

out,havingbeensentoffasthe1-2favourite,whilstthe currenttitleholderStateMantookaheavyfallatthe finalflightwiththeraceseeminglyathismercy.Jeremy Scott’stalentedmareGoldenAcetookadvantageto scoreby9lengthsfromBurdettRoad Immediately aftertherace,NickyHendersonstatedthatConstitutionHillwouldbeaimedatthisrace,buthehassince runintheAintreeHurdle,whereheonceagainhitthe deck Thisraceremainsapossibilityforhim,however.

CANSTATEMANCOMPLETETHEHAT-TRICK?

THIS race would certainly seem to be the logical target for State Man (provided that all has been well post-Cheltenham), given that he has won it for the past two years and boasts Punchestown formfiguresof11112withhissoledefeatatthetrack comingintheMorgianaHurdlelastNovember.He becamejustthethirdmultiple-winneroftherace whensuccessfullastyearandifliningup,willbid to become just the second horse to win the race morethantwice,theotherbeingthebrilliantHurricane Fly (2010-2013). He clearly would have won theChampionHurdlehadhestoodupatthelast and perhaps more importantly, he moved well throughtheraceinfirst-timecheek-pieces.

10ONTHEBOARDFORMULLINS

SUCCESSFUL in 2002 with the novice Davenport Milenium–whohadwonaGrade1novicehurdleat thefixturejusttwodaysearlier–WillieMullinshas nowwonthisraceon10occasions,withtheother ninevictoriescomingsince2010,meaningthatthe trainer has now won nine of the past 14 renewals Hurricane Fly won the race four times for Mullins, whilst fellow stable-star Faugheen was successfulsome10yearsagoandastoucheduponinthe previoussubsection,itcouldbethatStateManbids tocompleteahat-trickintheraceandtheeightyear-oldislikelytobethestablenumberone

Numerically, Mullins is once again often very well-represented Since 2010, he has saddled no fewer than 35 runners in the race (average of 2.5), which is actually 39% of field sizes during this period. Interestingly, seven of Mullins’ past eight winnersweresentoffatodds-on.

MARKETFORCES

SINCEtheracewasformedin1999,onlytwoofthe 25winnersreturnedatoddsgreaterthan7-1,those beingSilentOscar(2007)andWicklowBrave Therefore,thisisn’taraceinwhichyoucanexpecttosee a‘shock’result,withthepastfourwinnersalljustifying odds-on favouritism. Istabraq did the same in the very first running of the race, but he was theonlysuccessfuloutrightfavouriteinthefirst12 renewals(Solwhitwasjoint-favouritein2009).Since 2011,however,10ofthepast13winnersweresentoff atodds-on,sothemarketisoftencorrect.

OFFICIALRATINGS

GIVENthatclassoftenrisestothetopinthePunchestownChampionHurdle,itisn’tsurprisingthat11of thepast13winnerswereratedatleast164,withfour ofthemratedinthelow170s Nineofthoserecent winnerswerecleartop-rated,withState Man 11lbs clearofrunner-upIrishPointinasmallfieldlastyear

GRADE1FORM

ONLYtwoofthe25winnershadfailedtowinaGrade 1earlierintheircareers,thosebeingtheaforementioned pairing of Silent Oscar (2007) and Wicklow Brave,whoarethetwohorsestohavewonthisrace atrelativelylongodds.

COURSEFORM

ASALREADYtouchedupon,StateManissomewhat ofacoursespecialistandhisPunchestownrecord stood at 3-3 ahead of last year’s race and those threewinsincludedtwovictoriesatthisfixture.He hadwonthe2m4fChampionNoviceHurdlein2022 andthe2mversionoftheChampionNoviceHurdle

KEYTRENDS

Thepast7ChampionHurdlewinnersto haverunhavewon

WillieMullinshaswon9ofthepast14 renewals(10winnersintotal)

Maresare3-7since2016

19ofthepast25winnershadwonat Punchestownpreviously 11ofthepast13winnerswererated164+(9of themwerecleartop-rated)

11ofthepast13winnersranintheChampion Hurdle(9recordedatop-3finish)

11ofthepast15winnersfinished1st or2nd lasttimeout(8won)

10ofthepast13winnersjustifiedodds-on favouritism

9ofthepast13winnershadrunintheIrish ChampionHurdle(8hadwon)

6ofthe25winnershadrunintheAintreeHurdle 2ofthepast9winnerswereownedby SusannahRicci

RespectGrade1formfromthismeeting Nowinnerovertheageof9(andonly19yowinner)

Only1ofthepast16winnersfailedtorecord atop-3finishlasttimeout

Only2ofthe25winnersreturnedatodds greaterthan7-1

Only2ofthe25winnershadyettowinat Grade1level

Only2ofthe25winnershadfailedtorun3 timesearlierintheseason

hadbeenwonbybothJezkiandFaugheenpriorto theirrespectivewinsinthisrace

19 of the 25 winners of this race had already recordedacoursewinhereatPunchestown,soit reallyisasignificantstatistic Itisworthnotingthat 2001wasirrelevant,too,withpartofthefixture–this raceincluded–takingplaceatLeopardstown

Grimes(2000),Quazar(2003)andPunjabi(2008) hadallwontheChampionFourYearOldHurdleat thisfixture,withthelastnamedpairingsuccessfulin thatracejust12monthsearlier.Althoughithasn’thad animpactmorerecently,Lossiemouthwontherace twoyearsagoanditagainwentthewayofaWillie Mullins-trainedfillyin2024,whenKargesestruck.

In each of the past two seasons, State Man had won the Morgiana Hurdle at this venue, a racewhichHurricane Fly (2013)andMoscow Flyer (2001) also won. State Man was beaten in the raceatthestartofthisseason,chasinghomethe mareBrighterdaysahead

AINTREEHURDLE

AGAIN, as with earlier races covered, Aintree form shouldn’tbeoverlookedwithsixofthe25winners havingcontestedthe2m4fAintreeHurdleontheir mostrecentstart,withIstabraq (1999)andSolwhit (2009)completingthedouble.Morerecently,both SupasundaeandBuveurd’Airweresuccessfulinthis raceonthebackofhavingfinishedsecondatAintree andthereisonceagainafour-weekgapbetween fixtures, with the Punchestown Champion Hurdle takingplace29daysaftertheAintreeHurdle.

WithConstitutionHillcomingdowntwoout,this year'scontestwasfoughtoutbetweenCheltenham Festivalwinners,LossiemouthandWodhooh

OTHERKEYRACES

GOINGbackto2011,whenHurricaneFlywonthesecond ofhisfourPunchestownChampionHurdles,nofewer thannineofthepast13winnershadcontestedthe IrishChampionHurdle,witheightofthosesuccessful ThepastfourwinnersofthisracehadallwontheLeopardstownGrade1ontheirpenultimatestartandthe 2025renewalagainwentthewayofStateMan,who haswonthecontestforthepastthreeyears

Duringthesametimeperiod,fivewinnershadrun intheHatton’sGraceHurdleover2m4fatFairyhouse early in the season, whilst the same number had contested the DecemberFestivalHurdle(run this yearastheNevilleHotelsHurdle)atLeopardstown’s Christmasmeeting.StateManwonthatraceineach ofthepasttwoseasonsbutdisappointedinitbehind Brighterdaysaheadthisseason,whilstLossiemouth hadtoomuchspeedforTeahupooinaslowly-run renewaloftheHatton’sGrace.

OverinEngland,FaugheenhadwontheChristmas HurdleatKempton,whilstBuveurd’Airhadfinished runner-upinthemid-seasonGrade1.Thisseason’s contestwaswonbyConstitutionHill,whofendedoff theaforementionedMares’HurdlewinnerLossiemouth onhiscomeback,followingayearoff.

AGE

THEyearscertainlydocatchupwithhorsesinthisdivisionandtherehasneverbeenadouble-digitaged winnerofthisrace Infact,whenwinninghisfourth PunchestownChampionHurdle,HurricaneFlyisthe one and only nine-year-old winner of the race, so focusonthoseagedeightandyounger Eightofthe pastninewinnerswereagedseven(4)oreight(4)so thatseemstobetheidealagebracketatpresent.

CURRENTFORM

GIVEN that only one of the past 16 winners failed tofinishinthefirstthreeontheirmostrecentstart, arrivinginformisclearlyimportant Nineofthepast11

winnersarrivedatPunchestownonthebackofhaving wonorfinishedrunner-uplasttime,withWicklowBrave – well-beaten in the Champion Hurdle – the only outlier.Priortohim,SilentOscar(2006)wasthelast winnertofinishoutsideofthefrontthree.

Justonehorsehaswonthisraceonthebackof afall–thatbeingBraveInca(2005)whohadfallen intheAintreeHurdlefollowinghisChampionHurdle third–andthisissomethingwhichbothState Man andConstitutionHillwillneedovercome,shouldthey taketheirchance.

MARES

THERE haven’t been any mares in the field in the past two renewals, but three have won since 2016 andallfromjustsevenrunners.VroumVroumMag wonforownerSusannahRicciin2016,onthebackof havingwontheMares’Hurdle,aracewhichthesame connectionswon(again)thisyearwithLossiemouth. Morerecently,Honeysuckle wonboththe2021and 2022renewals,leadinghomeamares’one-twothree yearsago AswithallGrade1races,top-classmares havetobegivenutmostrespectwheninreceiptof thesex-allowance.

OWNERSTONOTE

DURINGthepastninerenewals,wehaveseenthree ownerswintheracetwice,althoughbothKenneth AlexanderandMrsJDonnellyhaverecordedtheir two wins with the same horse. SusannahRicciis theoneownertohavewontheracewithtwodifferent horses – Faugheen and Vroum Vroum Mag –whilstshehasalsoseenSharjahandVaubanfinish runner-upinrecentyears.ItcouldbethatLossiemouth represents her this year, although she will onceagainhavetheoptionofrunningintheMares ChampionHurdlethefollowingday Thehigh-class greywonthatcontestlastyearanditisprobablythe morelikelytarget

OTHERTRAINERSTONOTE

ASIDEfromWillieMullins(coveredinanearliersubsection),JessicaHarringtonhasenjoyedmostsuccess in this race, winning it on four occasions between 2001and2018 MoscowFlyerwasthefirstofthosefour winnersandtheMoone-basedtrainerhasonlyhad ahandfulofrunnersduringthisperiod.Harringtonis, however,morefocusedontheFlatthesedays

NickyHendersonistheonlyothertrainertohave wontheracemorethanonce,withdifferenthorses, withPunjabi(2008)andBuveurd’Airsomesixyears ago. Henderson’s latest runner in the race was the third-placedEpatantein2021anditwouldbefantasticforthemeetingasawholeifhedoesindeedsend ConstitutionHillacrosstheIrishSea.

ROLLOFHONOUR

LEADINGTEN-YEARGUIDES

BALLYMORECHAMPION FOURYEAROLDHURDLE

Day5(Saturday3rd May)–2m,Grade1

OVERVIEW

FIRSTrunin1980,theChampionFourYearOldHurdleisoneoftwoGrade1sonthefinaldayofthe fixture–theotherbeingtheMaresChampionHurdle–andWillieMullinshaswonnineofthepast11 renewals,includingthepastthree Theall-conqueringtrainerhaswontherace11timesinall,whilst NickyHendersonhaswontheracefourtimessince1999.Fourfillieshavebeensuccessfulduringthe pastninerenewals,whilstFrench-bredjuvenilesandFrench-importshavebeendominantinrecent years.Asyouwouldexpect,theTriumphHurdletendstobethekeyformguidetowardsthiscontest.

TRIUMPHHURDLE

SINCE2007,onlytwoofthe17winnershadfailedto contesttheTriumphHurdleonthefinaldayofthe CheltenhamFestival ThetwoexceptionswereFusil Raffles (missed Cheltenham through injury) and Jeff Kidder (wonthe'Fred Winter' beforewinninga Grade2atFairyhouse)sotheTriumphisclearlythe keyformguide Inrecentyears,bothVauban and Lossiemouth completedthedouble,althoughthe last Triumph winner to follow-up at Punchestown priortothosewasKatarino(1999)beforetheturnof thecentury.FourTriumphwinnerswerebeateninthe racebetween2003and2021–withbothSpectroscopeandMadeInJapanfinishingsecond–whilst Barizan (2010), Grandouet (2011), Hisabaat (2012), Apple’s Jade, Bapaume and Kargese all finished eithersecondorthirdintheTriumph

Ofthose15recentwinnerstohavecontestedthe Triumph,13recordedatop-fivefinish.Abbysialwas afaller,sowereallyoughttobefocusingonthose whoranwellatCheltenham.

Thisyear’sTriumphHurdlesawahugeshockas hurdlingdebutantPoniroswonatoddsof100-1for WillieMullinsandJonjoO’NeillJnr.ThesonofGolden Horn finished strongly to beat market principals LulambaandEastIndiaDock,withLadyVegaAllen backinfourth

DOMINANTMULLINS

HAVING won the race with Holy Orders (2001) and Quatre Heures (2006) shortly after the turn of the century, trainer Willie Mullins had to wait until 2013beforerecordinghisthirdwinintherace,but sincethen,hehasdominatedtheGrade1contest HisthreemostrecentvictorieswithVauban,Lossiemouth and Kargese have taken his tally in the race to 11 wins in total and he has now collected the prize nine times in the past 11 renewals He saddlednofewerthansixrunnerslastyear–and thatcouldwellbesimilarin2025,giventhenumber ofrunnerswhichhehadintheTriumph–andsince 2013,Mullinshashad34runnersinall Liketheother Grade1satthisfixture,heclearlylikestotargetthe raceinlargenumbers

Interestingly,allnineofMullins’recentwinnershad contestedtheTriumphHurdleandallnineofthem wereFrench-bredhorseswhohadallruninFrance beforemovingtoClosutton.

THEFRENCHCONNECTION

GIVENthefinalparagraphoftheprevioussubsection, it goes without saying that French-bred horses and those who began their careers in France boast a strong record in this race Regular readers of the Cheltenham Festival Betting

Guide will knowthatsuchhorses have alsobeen dominant in the Triumph Hurdle of late and also, in general, in many of the top juvenile contests throughout the season. Nicky Henderson’s two mostrecentwinners–Grandouet (2011)andFusil Raffles –werealsobothFrench-bredhorseswho had run in France, so that is now 11 of the past 13 totickbothboxes.

Such horses are often more precocious and thosewhohadbeenintraininginFrancelikelyhold an advantage in that they will have been jumpingfromamuchearlierstageintheirdevelopment. WehavealsoseenmoreNationalHuntbredhorses arriving from France to dominate juvenile hurdles in recent years and all appear to be significant contributingfactorstothissuccessrate

EXPERIENCEISAPOSITIVE

LAST year’s winner Kargese very much had the rightprofile(French-import)andshealsoboasted considerable experience With three runs under herbelt(inFrance)beforejoiningMullins,shehad run a further four times – all in Graded company –forhernewconnections,soarrivedatPunchestown on the back of having had seven starts in totalasahurdler.

Thepast18winnershadrunatleastthreetimes overhurdlespreviously,with14ofthemhavinghada minimumoffourruns.Nineofthemhadrunbetween fiveandninetimesoverhurdlessoclearlyhaving builtupconsiderableexperienceisnobadthingby thetimethisracecomesaround

FILLIESONFORM

THE past two winners were fillies, as were Petite Parisienne and Apple’s Jade (all four trained by WillieMullins,incidentally)sowehavenowhadfour winningfilliesduringthepastninerenewalsandall from just 16 runners That is a tremendous strikerateandonceagainemphasiseshowsignificant thesex-allowancecanbeatthetop-level,whenit comestoahigh-classfilly/mare.

MullinshasalsosaddledatrioofFrench-bred filliestowintheAnniversaryHurdle,mostrecently Zentain2023andMurciaearlierthismonth And, indeed Kargese finished second in that race beforewinningthisGrade1in2024.Interestingly, Mullinsranfourfilliesinthisyear'sTriumphHurdle (had11runnersin all).

MARKETFORCES

TRIUMPHwinnerKatarinojustifiedfavouritismin1999, whilstQuazar(2002)wastheonlysuccessfulfavourite duringthefirstsevenrenewalsofthecurrentcentury. However,since2007,14ofthepast17winnersreturned

KEYTRENDS

WillieMullinshastrained9ofthepast11 winners(11winnersintotal)

NickyHenderson-trainedrunnersare4-9 since1999

15ofthepast17winnershadruninthe TriumphHurdle

Filliesare4-16duringthepast9years

Thepast18winnersraninaGradedrace lasttimeout(15raninaGrade1)

15ofthepast18winnershadrun4timesor moreoverhurdles

14ofthepast18winnershadalreadywona Gradedhurdlerace

14ofthepast17winnersreturnedat4-1orshorter 11ofthepast13winnerswereFrench-bred 11ofthepast13winnershadruninFrance (8overhurdles)

7ofthepast9favouriteshavewon 7ofthepast12winnershadfinished1st or2nd intheSpringJuvenileHurdle

5ofthepast8winnersranintheO’DriscollsIrish WhiskeyJuvenileHurdleatChristmas(3won) 4ofthepast5winnerswonlasttimeout

SusannahRicci-ownedrunnersare4-4 since2017

RespectrunnersrepresentingMunir&Souede TriumphHurdlewinnersareonly2-6this century(althoughtheycamein2022&2023)

Only2ofthepast19winnersreturnedat oddsgreaterthan15-2

Only3ofthepast17winnersfailedtorecord atop-4finishlasttimeout

at4-1orshorter,withnineofthosejustifyingfavouritism The past three favourites have won, whilst a furtherfivefavouritesweresuccessfulbetween2013 and2019,sodespiteone‘shock’ result–whenJeff Kidder scoredat22-1(wonthe'Fred Winter'at80-1 tworunsprevious)–thetop-endofthemarkethas dominatedtheraceinrecentyears.Saldier(successfulat10-1)istheonlyotherwinnertoreturnatodds greaterthan15-2inthepast19renewals

CURRENTFORM

SINCE 2007, all bar three of the 17 winners had recorded a top-four finish on their most recent start, with 10 of those having either won (5) or finished runner-up (5) last time out. Therefore, a positiverecentrunseemstobealmostessential, especiallywhenyouconsideroneofthethreewas a last-time-out faller and another was brought

down. Therefore, during this period, only Jumbo Rio (9th in the Triumph Hurdle in 2009) failed to record a top-four finish of those who completed thecourse.

Goingbackto1999whenKatarinocompletedthe Triumph/ChampionFourYearOlddouble,nofewer than 10 last-time-out winners have won this race andtheyincludethefourwinnerspriortoKargese last year And, with her seconds at both CheltenhamandAintree,itwasn’tasifshewasarrivingat Punchestown‘outofform’sotospeak

OTHERKEYRACES

READERSoftheCheltenhamFestivalGuidewillalso knowthattheSpringJuvenileHurdlehasbeenthe most significant pointer towards Triumph Hurdle success in recent years – whilst being an importantGrade1initsownright,Imustadd–andfiveof thepastninewinnersofthisracealsocontestedthe Leopardstownrace Allfivefinishedinthefirsttwo, includingKargese lastyearwhowonattheDublin Racing Festival (beating Triumph winner Majborough,incidentally)andthisyear’sracewenttheway ofHelloNeighbour,whoscoredforGavinCromwell, beatingGalileoDameandLadyVegaAllen.Lookingbackalittlefurther,sevenofthepast12winners of this race finished either first or second in the SpringJuvenile.

Hello Neighbour had earlier won (on hurdles debut) the O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, again beatingLadyVegaAllenbyashort-head.TheGrade 2–formerlyknownasthe‘KnightFrank’andmore recently the Mercedes-BenzSouthDublinJuvenileHurdle– is another key form guide here, with five of the past eight winners having contested it Again,Kargesehadfinishedsecondbeforewinning theSpringlastyear

The early-season Grade 3 at Fairyhouse – the BarOneRacingJuvenileHurdle–waswonbyLossiemouthacoupleofseasonsagoandBapaumealso contestedthesameraceforthesameconnections

This season's race was won by Naturally Nimble, whowentontofinishfourthintheGrade2contest overChristmas

Both Petite Parisienne and Vauban won the same maiden hurdle at Punchestown on New Year’sEve.Thisseason’srenewaloftheCelebrate The New Year With Tote 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle went the way of the filly Sainte Lucie (another for theMullins/Ricciaxis)whothenfloppedwhensent offfavouritetowintheSpringJuvenile.

Much closer to the Punchestown Festival, two recent winners had contested the Grade 2 O’DriscollsIrishWhiskyJuvenileHurdle(not to

be confused with the Leopardstown race now of the same name) at Fairyhouse’s Easter Festival. Bottler’secret won last year’srace before finishing runner-uptoKargese here,sotheresultshouldbe noted,althoughgiventheproximitybetweenEaster andthestartofthePunchestownFestival,itremains tobeseenastowhetheritwillhaveanimpactthis year Thatsaid,therewasjust11daysbetweenraces whenSaldierwonthiscontestjustsevenyearsago. WhenJeff Kidder wontheGrade2,heloweredthe coloursofsubsequenthigh-classstayer,Teahupoo Between2002and2016,sixofthe15winnershad run in the Anniversary4-Y-OJuvenileHurdleat Aintree,withApple’s Jade completingthedouble. Althoughithadthenbecomelesssignificant,KargesechasedhomeSirGinointheGrade1attheGrand National fixture, so again, take note of this year’s result Inwhatwasabelow-parrenewal,Murciawas successfulforWillieMullinsandPaulTownend

APRILRUN

THIS seems to be an important trend with all Gradedracescovered,arecentruncertainlyisn’t a negative and is in fact, often a positive By the timewereachthespring,along,hardseasoncan oftencatchupwithahorse,butitdoesn’tnecessarily appear to be a negative for the Champion FourYearOldHurdle.Aswellasthehorsestouched upon in the final two paragraphs of the previous subsection,Sporazene(2003)wonajuvenilehurdle at Ayr’s Scottish Grand National fixture and Petite Parisiennefinishedrunner-upintheGrade1HoneysuckleMaresNoviceHurdleattheFairyhouseEaster fixture, so 11 of the past 22 winners were in action duringthemonthofApril.Again,don’tassumethat this race will come too soon for those who have beeninrecentaction

GRADEDRACEFORM

FORMinGradedcompanyisjustaboutessential. Thepast18winnersarrivedatPunchestownonthe backofhavingcontestedaGradedrace,with2005 winnerUnitedthelasthorsetowinthisraceonthe backofa‘quieter’ preparation Between2001and 2005,threeofthefivewinnershadwoneitheran ordinarynoviceoramaidenontheirpreviousstart, butmorerecentlyithasbeendominatedbyhorses who arrived here on the back of a positive run in strongcompany.15ofthe18hadruninaGrade1last timeout,whilst14ofthe18hadalreadyrecordeda wininGradedcompany.Respectstrongform.

OTHERCONNECTIONSTONOTE

ASIDE from Willie Mullins (covered in an earlier subsection), NickyHendersonis the only trainer

to have won the race more than once since 2005. Katarino (1999) provided Henderson with a first win in the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle, followed by subsequent Champion Hurdle winnerPunjabi(2007),Grandouet(2011)andmore recently, Fusil Raffles His four winners in the race have been well spread out, but his runner(s) must be respected as he has actually only had nine runners since 1999 Henderson has entered Triumph Hurdle second Lulamba this year and with him having missed possible engagements at Aintree (declared a non-runner in the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle), Punchestown is likely coming underseriousconsideration

Henderson’stwolatestwinnersbothcarriedthe double-greensilksofSimonMunir&IsaacSouede, who sawZarak The Brave finish runner-up in 2023 Theownersboastarecordoftwowinnersandtwo secondsfromjustsevenrunners

Owner MrsSusannahRiccihas been touched uponalready.Shewentcloseonanumberofoccasionsbetween2012and2016(3placedhorses)before herfortunesturnedwithBapaume in2017 Shehas sinceseenSaldier, Vauban andLossiemouth carry herpinkandvividgreen-spottedsilkstosuccessand herrunner(s)warrantrespectinthisraceandinthis divisionasawhole.Since2017,herrunnersintherace boastanincrediblerecordof4-4.

ROLLOFHONOUR

LEADINGTEN-YEARGUIDES

Grade 1 Entries

(3:40)THEKPMG

DayOne

(6:00)DOOLEYINSURANCE CHAMPIONNOVICECHASE (Grade 1) €73,750.00 (3m 213y - 5yo+)

(5:25)WILLIAMHILLCHAMPIONCHASE

Grade 1 Entries

(4:15)CHANNORREALESTATE GROUPNOVICEHURDLE

(Grade 1) €73,750.00 (2m 7f 180y - 4yo+)

DayTwo

(4:50)RACE&STAYATPUNCHESTOWN INHFLATRACE

(Grade 1) €59,000.00 (2m 70y - 4-7yo)

(5:25)LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWNGOLDCUP (Grade 1) €177,000.00 (3m 30y - 5yo+)

Grade 1 Entries DayThree

(5:25)BARBERSTOWNCASTLE NOVICECHASE

(4:50)LADBROKES CHAMPIONSTAYERSHURDLE

Grade 1 Entries

(6:00)BOODLESCHAMPIONHURDLE

DayFour

(6:35)ALANNAHOMES

1) €73,750.00 (2m 4f 140y -

Grade 1 Entries DayFive

(3:42)SBKIRISHEBFMARES CHAMPIONHURDLE

1) €73,750.00 (2m 4f 118y - 4yo+)

(4:50)BALLYMORECHAMPIONFOUR YEAROLDHURDLE

MURCIA