The Punchestown Festival 2024 celebrates the end of the Irish jumps season 2023-24 and is a five-day meeting which this year runs from Tuesday 30th April to Saturday 4th May with forty races over the period including twelve at Grade 1 level for prize money just north of E3.5m.
The first two days of the Festival will revert to a 2.30pm start from 3.40pm to assist “travel and post racing arrangements” although the first race on Thursday and Friday remains at 3.40.
Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins dominated the recent end-of-term Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, and he saddled seventeen winners at this meeting twelve months ago although that was two shy of his almost inconceivable record of nineteen set in 2021.
Review of Punchestown Festival 2023
Willie Mullins dominated the 2023 Punchestown Festival, but the big race of the meeting eluded him with Galopin Des Champs going down by just over two lengths to Fastorslow in the Punchestown Gold Cup.
There did not appear any fluke about it although it is unlikely that the market leader gave his true running after his Gold Cup win on soft ground the previous month. The pair will lock horns again twelve months on and Fastorslow may, arguably, be the fresher horse as he unseated JJ Slevin before the race had begun in earnest at Cheltenham last month.
Facile Vega looked to have the world at his feet when landing the G1 Champion Novice Hurdle by over 7L last year, but he has been a disappointment over fences this term – despite finishing third in an Irish Arkle – and it will be fascinating to see what avenue connections go down next term.
Gaelic Warrior won the G1 3m Novice Hurdle here last year and showed his versatility and inherent ability when turning the 2m Arkle Novice Chase into a procession at Cheltenham last month.
British trainer Anthony Honeyball loves the craic and the prize money on offer at Punchestown and landed the valuable 3m handicap Hurdle in 2023 with Kilbeg King. That was, remarkably, the third year in a row that the Devon based trainer had tasted success at the Festival and he is reported to be planning another strong raiding party this year headed by his Badger Beer winner Blackjack Magic who is an intended runner in the Pat Taafe Chase.
State Man will be back to defend his Champion Hurdle crown on Friday, and he will be looking to follow up his victory in the Cheltenham equivalent when he took advantage of the no show from Constitution Hill. The ultra professional State Man was 3L too good for stablemate Vauban last year and he will be a very short-priced favourite to double up.
The mare Lossiemouth was a fluent winner of the Juvenile Hurdle last year and connections must decide whether to take on State Man in the Champion Hurdle on Friday or wait another 24 hours to take on her own sex in the Mares Champion Hurdle over a longer trip.
Mullins trained nine winners of the twelve Grade 1 races at Punchestown in 2023 (and had seven finish runner up). He continues to break records on both sides of the Irish Sea and there is every chance that he will go into the Punchestown Festival as the Champion British Jumps trainer for the first time after his remarkable achievements at Cheltenham and Aintree.
Day One
Four Grade 1’s on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival 2024 with the feature race the Wiliam Hill sponsored 2m Champion Chase due off at 5.25 a race monopolised by Mullins in recent years having saddled the winner for the last five years.
No Energumene – winner in 2022 & 2023 – this year but the betting for the Champion Chase is headed by El Fabiolo who flopped at Cheltenham having been pulled up before halfway by jockey Paul Townend after a shuddering error at the fifth fence. He looks sure to be an odds-on favourite when the tapes rise but he is likely to be opposed by the Cheltenham winner Captain Guinness and trainer Nicky Henderson suggested that last week’s Aintree Melling Chase winner Jonbon was also a possible runner having missed Cheltenham when the stable were under a cloud.
Other potential equine stars on view include the brilliant Cheltenham winner Ballyburn, although he is considered more likely to run over an additional near half-mile on Friday, and Inothewayyurthinkin who would be looking to win at all three major spring Festivals having landed the Kim Muir at Cheltenham before making a successful transition to Grade 1 company at Aintree.
The Irish Grand National winner Intense Raffles jumps right, and this track should suit, but his best form is when the mud is flying. He would not want conditions to dry out too much in the next fortnight.
Day Two
The feature race of the meeting is the Punchestown Gold Cup and Fastorslow will be looking to gain a third course win having added the G1 John Durkan back in November to his success in this corresponding race last year.
On both occasions he has had the dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs in arrears but the betting for the Gold Cup suggests that the Willie Mullins trained runner – who is himself a previous winner of the John Durkan – will gain his revenge. This is a big ride for talented jockey JJ Slevin who, by his own admission, did not cover himself in glory on Fastorslow at Cheltenham.
Shishkin was not at his best at Aintree last time, but trainer Nicky Henderson suggested he was likely to head to Punchestown given he missed Cheltenham. I have always felt he was a better horse going left-handed and I am not convinced Punchestown will suit, but his participation would certainly enhance the race.
Willie Mullins has saddled the winner of the race on six previous occasions and the last British trained winner of the race was Clan Des Obeaux for Paul Nicholls in 2021. Henderson has never saddled the winner of a race for which winning connections will pick up E177,000.
If you get the opportunity do look back at the run of Jungle Boogie in the Gold Cup. Turning for home he looked to be going better than anything apart from winner Galopin Des Champs. This shorter trip might see him in an even better light.
The Cheltenham Festival Bumper winner Jasmin De Vaux is reported to be on target for the Punchestown equivalent although Gordon Elliot will be hopeful that his Romeo Coolio can reverse the form. This is another G1 contest that Mullins has farmed in recent years, having saddled the winner seven times in the last decade. Elliot’s last win in the race was with Fayonagh back in 2017.
Day Three
Gaelic Warrior is the star on show on Thursday having landed the Arkle at Cheltenham last month when returned to the minimum distance. Remember this is the same horse who won the 3m G1 Novice Hurdle at this meeting in 2023 and it looks as if Willie Mullins – who else – has stumbled over his optimum trip. Gaelic Warrior has always shown a tendency to jump out to his right and this clockwise track is ideal. He will be very tough to beat.
The other G1 on the card is the Stayers’ Hurdle and it is another race where the winner of the Cheltenham equivalent will be market leader.
Gordon Elliot’s Teahupoo is a horse who goes well fresh and there is only seven weeks between Festivals. His best form is with plenty of cut in the ground and, if it ever stops raining, he may be vulnerable on good ground.
Stablemate Irish Point – who is in the same ownership as Teahupoo – was last seen finishing runner up in the Champion Hurdle but he has winning form over this 3m trip. Note he is also entered in the Champion Hurdle and a rematch with State Man on the Friday.
Champ is the sole entry from Britain, and he will likely stay in Ireland and summer with his owner JP McManus although there must be every chance that retirement beckons for the 12-y-old. A winner of eleven of his twenty-five career starts, he won a vintage RSA Chase at Cheltenham back in 2020 when getting up close home to beat a subsequent Gold Cup winner Minella Indo, third in the Grand National last weekend, and the great Allaho.
Day Four
Lossiemouth has only lost one of her eight career starts and was a fluent winner of the juvenile Hurdle at this corresponding meeting in 2023. She easily landed the odds in the Mares Hurdle last month and she has the option of the mares only race on the Saturday over an additional three furlongs.
Champion Hurdler State Man made all to win the corresponding race twelve months ago giving Mullins a record ninth win in the race. He will be sent off a short price in the Punchestown betting – went off odds-on at 2/5 in 2023 – to confirm Cheltenham form with Irish Point. Note Elliot has never saddled the winner of the race.
Henry de Bromhead saddled the wonderful dual Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle to win the corresponding race in 2021 & 2022 and it will be fascinating if he gives Bob Olinger the opportunity to go one better than when runner up in the Aintree Hurdle earlier in the month.
Bob Olinger was beaten over 5L by State Man in the Irish Champion Stakes at this two-mile trip earlier in the season but that was on soft ground, and I wonder if connections will consider a change of tactics and go from the front. What have they got to lose?
Day Five
Nicky Henderson saddled the winner of the Champion 4-y-old Hurdle with Fusil Raffles in 2019 and there is every chance that he will take his recent Aintree winner Sir Gino across the Irish Sea given the juvenile had to miss Cheltenham and has had just the three starts so far this season.
The Triumph Hurdle winner Majborough has not been entered for the race, but Mullins will still have a strong hand given he has seven of the sixteen entries for this early closing race. That said Sir Gino looked a star at Cheltenham on Trials Day back in January and he would merit banker material if facing the starter although his hurdling left something to be desired at Aintree last week and needs brushing up.
Lossiemouth holds an entry in the Champion Hurdle on Friday, but one would imagine connections will wait until next season before they consider a tilt at the geldings.
Brighterdaysahead also holds entries in the 2m Novice Hurdle on Tuesday and the 2m 3f+ Novice Hurdle on Friday, but this recent G1 2m 4f Aintree Novice Hurdle winner is held in such high esteem by Gordon Elliot that she has been given an entry in the Mares’ Champion Hurdle.
She seemed to improve for the step up in distance on Merseyside and, with Ballyburn in opposition on Friday, I wonder if Gigginstown will wait until the final day before unleashing a mare they felt had to be pointed in the right direction at Cheltenham when beaten by Golden Ace.
By Charlie McCann
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