One week from today the Punchestown Festival begins. Tuesday April 28 to Saturday May 2. Twelve Grade 1 races. A record €3.6 million prize fund across 40 races. The Cheltenham and Aintree winners return to Ireland for one final week of championship racing before the summer. Here is the complete race-by-race guide.
Tuesday April 28 — William Hill Champion Chase Day
The festival opens with the William Hill Champion Chase — the two-mile championship for the season's leading chasers. This race draws the best short-trip chasers from both Britain and Ireland and regularly features horses that contested the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in March. Alongside it, the opening day card features two more Grade 1 contests, making the first day already one of the most competitive cards on the Irish racing calendar.
Wednesday April 29 — Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup
The Punchestown Gold Cup is the headline race of the entire festival. Run over three miles one furlong at 6:05pm, the €176,700 first prize attracts 14 entries including Gaelic Warrior — who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup by eight lengths in March — and Fact To File, who beat Gaelic Warrior by five lengths in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival in February. Both are trained by Willie Mullins. Their fourth meeting of the season at Punchestown is the defining contest of the Irish National Hunt calendar's final week.
The Jukebox Man — King George VI Chase winner — is also entered, along with Banbridge and Grey Dawning. The Gold Cup is expected to attract a strong British contingent targeting the rich prize money.
Thursday April 30 — Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle
Teahupoo heads the entries for the Champion Stayers Hurdle — the festival's premier long-distance hurdle. Bob Olinger is also entered, giving the race a competitive three-mile staying hurdle profile that complements the Gold Cup.
Friday May 1 — Boodles Champion Hurdle
Lossiemouth won the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March. She heads to Punchestown for the Boodles Champion Hurdle, which carries the status of the Irish equivalent of the Cheltenham championship. Her Cheltenham win was one of the performances of the Festival — and Punchestown provides the opportunity to confirm that level of dominance on Irish soil.
Saturday May 2 — Festival Finale
Saturday closes the festival with the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle and the Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle — the race that identifies the leading novice hurdler of the season and has consistently produced future champions.
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