Racing Post

PUNCHESTOWN FESTIVAL THE CURTAIN-CLOSER April 25-29

James Hill on the five-day spectacular that often brings together Cheltenham winners and settles championship issues

IRELAND’S great finale to the jumps season also feels like the last big bonanza of the National Hunt game for British fans these days. Punchestown is now the spring festival which has all the star names, as the top talent from the powerhouse yards of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead are seen for one final time before the term ends.

Punchestown is one of the finest venues in Ireland, with its unique cross-country track the jewel in its crown. It might not quite have the quantity of action Galway’s got – although 40 races over five days is still some party – but this meeting isn’t just about the craic and the banks any more, the quality on show is now extraspecial.

You only have to look at the winners from last season: Energumene, Facile Vega, Allaho, Klassical Dream, Honeysuckle and Vauban all dazzled.

It’s a meeting dominated by Willie Mullins – he operates at a mind-boggling 18 per cent strike-rate at the fixture. He celebrated his 15th trainers’ championship in style once again last April, with 14 winners at the meeting, seven of whom were following up their successes at

Cheltenham.

Mullins, along with son Patrick and Paul Townend, are sure to light up the festival once again in 2023, and rest assured there’ll be plenty of quality firepower coming out of Closutton. Good luck to everyone else.

KEY RACES William Hill Champion Chase Tuesday

This race has a fabulous roll of honour as you would expect. However, Queen Mother Champion Chase winners have found it tough following up –

Energumene was just the fourth horse to do so this century when coasting home at odds of 4-7 in

April.

Even the great Moscow

Flyer couldn’t manage to win two Champion Chases in the same year, failing on both occasions.

Recently this has been a race dominated by Willie Mullins, as he’s now won five of the last seven runnings including the last four. Interestingly, Mullins has also had the favourite in this for the last six years yet Energumene was the only one of those market leaders to prove successful. Despite that, he is unbeaten in this event since 2017.

Before Mullins’ dominance, British raiders had a fair bit of success, with nine winners between 1998 and 2017. Those names include the great two-milers in Sprinter Sacre and Master Minded, but a few others might surprise you. Big Matt didn’t have any Grade 1 form in Britain, but won this event in 1998 having been second the previous year, while the likes of Get Real and God’s

Own were proper clockwise merchants.

Older horses also do a bit better than you might think here. The age of a typical winner this century is nine, while some winners have been as old as 11 and 12 since 2014.

Ladbrokes Gold Cup Wednesday

Past winners prove that festival form is what counts in Punchestown’s signature race. The Cheltenham Gold Cup winner rarely turns up here, but when they do, they have had a good record of following up since Ireland’s fortunes changed this century.

Both Kicking King (2005) and War Of Attrition (2006) did the double, as did Sizing John in 2017. Don Cossack won this race before going on to Gold Cup glory in 2016. That was a very good renewal, while Kemboy’s defeat of stablemate Al Boum Photo in 2019 was a rare occasion a reigning Gold Cup winner was beaten here.

Bowl winners at Aintree have also followed up, including Kemboy, Clan Des Obeaux in 2021, and First Gold (2003) and Florida Pearl (2002).

Don Cossack had previously landed the 2m4f Melling Chase, enhancing the impressive strike-rate of

Aintree winners in all races at this festival to 33 per cent (1443), although none of the six who attempted to follow up last season were successful.

Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle Thursday

Cheltenham’s Stayers’ Hurdle winner has yet to follow up here this century. You have to go back to Anzum in 1999 to find the last to do so.

In fairness, most of the great stayers from the last 20 years did not attempt the double. None of Baracouda, Inglis Drever, Big Buck’s or Thistlecrack ran here, while Quevega proved her staying attributes in this contest – winning it four times for Willie Mullins – but never took part in the Cheltenham Grade 1.

Flooring Porter did run here in 2021 when he had an offday. His absence this year left the floor clear for Klassical Dream to win the race for the second year running, completing a third victory at the meeting in the process.

Klassical Dream was also the fourth winner since 2008 to have been beaten in the Stayers’ the previous month.

Winners tend to come more from Aintree, with as many as nine having taken part in the Grand National meeting in the last 18 years, including six straight between 2004 and 2009.

Quite a few of those coming from Liverpool were stepping up in trip, and it’s interesting to note how many former twomilers are on the roll of honour.

Klassical Dream won the Supreme Novices’ as a youngster, Faugheen (2018) and Jezki (2015) were former Champion Hurdle winners, while Quevega was always stepping up in distance in her four wins having landed the 2m4f Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham the previous month.

British raiders also have a pretty good record overall having won three of the last six runnings, while they landed it six times between 1999 and 2008.

Paddy Power Champion Hurdle Friday

Of all the premier Grade 1s at Punchestown, this is the one where quality tends to come to the fore most.

The Champion Hurdle winner often comes here and they usually win again, with as many as seven following up in the last 18 years. In fact, of the last ten to have attempted victory in both races, only two failed. That list obviously includes Honeysuckle, who has now done the double for the last two seasons. She’s also the fourth eight-year-old to be successful since 2017 so experience is important.

Perhaps it was a wise decision then that connections of five-year-old novice Constitution Hill did not attempt to pick up the

€100,000 bonus put up by Paddy Power in April for any British-trained horse to win the race. The sponsors might not be so bold this time around, although Constitution Hill would still be the youngest winner since 2014 if he were to make a successful trip this spring.

Willie Mullins has the best record in the event with eight wins. Four of those came with the great Hurricane Fly, although Mullins did also cause a surprise when

Wicklow Brave struck at 12-1 in 2017, while his Davenport Milenium was actually winning for the second time that week when successful in 2002.

However, no winner was more surprising than 2007 victor Silent Oscar, scoring at 20-1 to upset the big guns, proving it’s not always about champion hurdlers.

Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle Saturday

Punchestown tends to fade a bit on the final day. There are two Grade 1s on the card, but neither would be the top event at Cheltenham or Aintree and it’s a slightly weak finish to a fabulous five days.

This Four-Year-Old Hurdle has been a Grade 1 since 1995, but the roll of honour didn’t have a Triumph Hurdle winner on the board this century until the Willie Mullins-trained Vauban struck in April.

However, that was only a matter of time. Many Triumph winners had previously preferred Aintree, and those who made the frame at

Cheltenham have always done pretty well in this, with as many as ten going on to strike if you include 2021 Boodles victor Jeff Kidder.

Mullins has dominated this race for a while now, winning it seven times since 2013, although before Vauban, only Apple’s Jade of his winners had gone on to really bolster the form.

Nicky Henderson has won this on four occasions, and his winners have proved to be of better calibre, with one of them, 2007 victor Punjabi, going on to land Champion Hurdles at Cheltenham and this meeting.

THE BIG JUMP OFF

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