Day 1 of the 2026 Punchestown Festival is live tonight. After the Champion Chase at 18:05, the festival has four more days of Grade 1 racing. Here is the complete guide to what is coming.
Wednesday April 29 — The Gold Cup
The headline race of the entire meeting. Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup at 18:05. Gaelic Warrior — who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup by eight lengths — faces Fact To File, who won the Irish Gold Cup by five lengths in February and has had ten weeks of rest since. Both trained by Willie Mullins. The Jukebox Man is out with a foot infection. Galopin Des Champs will not defend his 2025 title. The race has a small but elite field.
The central question: does Gaelic Warrior's Cheltenham dominance hold up against Fact To File's superior freshness? The Punchestown Gold Cup frequently rewards the horse that arrives freshest — and Fact To File has had twice as much rest as his stablemate since their last race.
Thursday April 30 — Champion Stayers Hurdle
Home By The Lee bids for a unique treble — having won the Cheltenham and Aintree Champion Stayers already this spring, he targets the Punchestown equivalent at 18:05. Teahupoo and Bob Olinger provide the Irish challenge. A horse attempting to win three major staying hurdles in the same spring would be one of the achievements of the jump season.
Friday May 1 — Champion Hurdle
Lossiemouth won the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March. She targets Punchestown's Boodles Champion Hurdle at 18:40. The GG.co.uk preview notes that "long-absent William Munny is an intriguing entry in the race" alongside Lossiemouth. A fresh challenger versus the Cheltenham winner — the freshness angle at Punchestown applies here as powerfully as in any race this week.
Saturday May 2 — Festival Finale
The SBK Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle at 15:40 and the Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at 16:50 close the festival on the same day as the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Apolon De Charnie — Triumph Hurdle winner for Willie Mullins — targets the Four-Year-Old Hurdle as the closing Grade 1 of the entire jump season.
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Facts verified via web search April 28 2026. Sources: GG.co.uk Punchestown festival preview, Paddy Power News full schedule, Racing Insider 2026 Punchestown festival guide.