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David Cottin is well placed to wrest the lead in the Crystal Cup from Josef Vana, as the 12 leg pan-European cross country steeplechase challenge meets its 7th leg at Cheltenham this Friday.

Iceo Madrik has been given an attractive low weight to add to his victory in the sixth leg at Compiegne in early November, but a win outside France would earn the likeable Cottin double points in pursuit of the challenge, which offers €50,000 in bonuses to owners and trainers of the leading two horses.
Cottin announced his intent to pursue the challenge in the opening leg at Waregem in late August, when Placenet won handsomely. A win from the progressive Iceo Madrik on Friday would catapult Cottin to within 6 points of long time leaderboard favourite Vana, with the Czech trainer not running in England. The remaining 5 races take place either in France, at Cheltenham, or in Ireland, lending themselves to a strong French finish.

Cottin should be encouraged by the exploits of Sweet David in the corresponding Glenfarclas – sponsored chase at the November fixture, as Sweet David’s trainer had swerved running against Iceo Madrik at Compiegne on November 11th for the easier race at Cheltenham.

Current Trainer Leaderboard standings
Josef Vana (CZ) 39
Patrice Quinton (FR) 28
David Cottin (FR) 21
P Griffin (IRE) 16

Mystery surrounds the absence of any British-trained runner in the challenge. Despite favourable conditions applying to British-trained entries abroad, the Crystal Cup’s lucrative races have been largely ignored by the owner-trainer fraternity.

The Challenge moves to Pau on February 9th after Friday.

ENDS

Contact:
Peter McNeile, Crystal Cup – +44 7850 091523 or info@crystalcup.org

 

It’s the people who make Punchestown and this weekend Punchestown is delivering for the people.

Punchestown is set to shine this weekend as the prestigious Punchestown Premiere Weekend features two thrilling days of Grade 1 action on Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th. The weekend’s marquee events include the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle on Saturday and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on Sunday, both of which will showcase some of the sport’s most exciting horses, including the top-rated horses in Ireland State Man and Galopin Des Champs.

Between the 17 horses declared across both feature races at Punchestown this weekend they have won a combined total of 40 Grade 1 races and it is set to be a sporting weekend to remember with history in the making on Saturday and a potential race for the ages on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday’s Unibet Morgiana Hurdle: A Showdown of Champions
The €150,000 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle stands alone as a highlight of the jump season, and this year’s renewal promises to be a thrilling contest with State Man, trained by Willie Mullins, seeking to make history by winning his third consecutive Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, a feat last achieved by the legendary Hurricane Fly.

In the biggest Unibet Morgiana Hurdle field since the turn of the century, the Grade 1 star will face a formidable field, including talented stablemate Lossiemouth and Gordon Elliott’s highly-regarded Brighterdaysahead, who comes into the race with the benefit of match practice following her win at Down Royal.

State Man, whose only defeat in Grade 1 company was to Constitution Hill, is seeking an eleventh Grade 1 success over hurdles, two of which came in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown and last March he famously captured the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Lossiemouth, who is the mount of Patrick Mullins, is herself a four time Grade 1 winner, while Brighterdaysahead won at the highest level at Aintree last season.
Gordon Elliott, speaking ahead of the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, said: “We had a few options for her after Down Royal but we thought the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown was the best next step for her.

“She’s come out of Down Royal in good form and couldn’t have done much more there so we’ll go to Punchestown now at the weekend and find out a lot more about her. It’s a very prestigious race and we look forward to running her and her performance on Saturday will tell us a lot more about what direction to point her in next.”

The race will also feature the Mullins-trained Daddy Long Legs, the classy Sir Gerhard, and Winter Fog, as well as Smooth Tom (Andy Slattery) and No Looking Back (Oliver McKiernan). With a €150,000 prize fund on offer, Saturday’s showpiece promises to be a memorable renewal of race which has a notable roll of honour including the aforementioned Hurricane Fly, Faugheen, Nichols Canyon, Solwhit and Hardy Eustace.
Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase: A Clash of Gold Cup Heroes
Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase is set to be the weekend’s most eagerly anticipated race and could well be in line for race of the season even at this early stage.

Another mouth-watering clash between Galopin Des Champs, the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, and Fastorslow, the Punchestown Gold Cup victor is in store. This is the latest chapter in an exciting rivalry between the two eight-year-olds and will be the best jump race we have seen since their Punchestown Gold Cup clash last April.
Both Fastorslow and Galopin Des Champs are arguably coming into their prime season now but will start the campaign by taking on some of last season’s leading novice chasers in Fact To File, Grangeclare West, Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower. Blue Lord and Journey With Me are both highly rated chasers in their own right and Minella Cocooner makes up a very strong field for the €150,000 feature.
Martin Brassil, trainer of Fastorslow, expressed his excitement ahead of the race: “Everything has gone to plan with him, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge. It’s fantastic to see so many top-class horses taking each other on in their first race of the season.”

The JP McManus-owned trio of Fact To File, Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower all polished off fine seasons with Grade 1 successes last spring. Fact To File, the mount of Mark Walsh, won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, Inothewayurthinkin scored at Aintree while Spillane’s Tower is a course and distance winner having landed the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Blue Lord, a Grade 1 winner over two miles returns to action for the first time since last year’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, while the extremely talented Grangeclare West, a Grade 1 winning novice last season, also makes a long awaited return to action for the champion trainer.
Quality action across the weekend
Saturday’s card will also feature the Boodles Florida Pearl Novice Chase, where Gordon Elliott will saddle all three runners, including Stellar Story, Search For Glory, and Rainbow Trail. Elliott’s stable jockey Jack Kennedy rides Stellar Story with Sam Ewing onboard Search For Glory and Jody McGarvey booked for Rainbow Trail.
On the same day, Ballyburn, who triumphed in the Grade 1 Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, will make his highly-anticipated chasing debut in the Conway Piling Beginners Chase. Fellow Punchestown Festival winner Sermandzarak, who claimed the Goffs Defender Bumper, will embark on his hurdling career in the Sebden Steel Maiden Hurdle.
Sunday will see exciting action in the BetVictor Craddockstown Novice Chase, with Farren Glory and Touch Me Not from Gordon Elliott’s yard headlining the Grade 2 contest. Nurburgring, the Galway Hurdle winner, is another standout entry for trainer Joseph O’Brien.
Racing on Sunday will begin with the Colm Quinn BMW Risk Of Thunder Chase, with Stumptown, a Punchestown Festival winner, among the declared runners in the cross-country race.

Conor O’Neill, Punchestown Racecourse CEO added: “I think that this is probably one of the best weekends racing we have had here in many years. The increase in prize money, bringing the Durkan back into the Premiere Weekend is reflected in the sheer calibre of horses declared to run. We are all systems go and the reaction to the good value tickets has been really positive.”
Live Coverage on TG4 and RTÉ
Both days of top-tier racing will be broadcast live on terrestrial television, with TG4 airing its first-ever Grade 1 meeting on Saturday and RTÉ covering Sunday’s action.

Tickets and further event details are available at punchestown.com.

Click here for the full fields for racing on Saturday

Click here for the full fields for racing on Sunday

 

 

Punchestown Announce The Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series

€100,000 Prize Fund announced under new series partnership

Punchestown racecourse today made the exciting announcement that Albert Bartlett, the UK’s leading producer of potato products, will sponsor the newly branded Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series in a significant three-year deal that will see the series final prize fund grow to €100,000.

Further to today’s announcement the initiative will expand from ten to a total of twelve qualifying races divided between England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The first qualifier will take place on Saturday 23 rd November at Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend fixture and culminate on the opening day of the 2025 Punchestown Festival, Tuesday 29 th April, with the €100,000 Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final.

Launched in October 2023, the initial concept for the series was to provide an opportunity for horses in the competitive two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle category, with ratings of up to 120, to compete for an impressive prize on a feature festival day. Born from the success of the inaugural running, Albert Bartlett have increased the number of qualifiers and boosted the final prize fund from €80,000 to €100,000.

Albert Bartlett Chairman Ronnie Bartlett outlined the key driver behind their support of the series: “We were really impressed with the first running of the concept in 2023. We hope partnering to create the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series will enhance the series further to encourage travel, cohesion and alignment throughout jump racing in the UK and Ireland with the exciting involvement of UK trained and owned horses competing at Punchestown. The series allows owners and trainers to visit new tracks, cross the Irish sea, meet with new peers, all built around enjoying flagship race days and competing for meaningful prize money. Ultimately we hope this will create more really entertaining days for race fans to enjoy and that’s what it is all about.”

Punchestown CEO Conor O’Neill, said: “We are delighted to announce The Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series and really look forward to optimising this exciting concept alongside the Albert Bartlett team who share in our vision and objectives for the initiative. Together we aim to create an inclusive prospect for horses at a particular level to compete for a significant prize pot on the big stage whilst providing an excellent opportunity to open up the sport even further by encouraging owners and trainers to travel and compete across what is a relatively small jurisdiction. To this end we couldn’t have hoped for a better result of the inaugural running when Herefordshire trainer Tom Lacey won the final with Tune In A Box owned by the Woolhope Hopeful Syndicate.”

Reflecting on their Punchestown Festival Experience, Rachel Tobey, member of 2024 series final winning owners Woolhope Hopefuls, said: “We had the most wonderful and memorable experience at Punchestown. The welcome was exceptional. A group of us travelled over expecting the visit to the highlight but as our name suggests we were hopeful that Tune in a box could deliver. To win was beyond our dreams! We think that what is now the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series initiative is absolutely brilliant. Without it we would probably have never had a runner at Punchestown and now we are fully focused on returning again!”

The 2024/2025 Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Qualifiers

1. 23rd November – Punchestown
2. 5th January – Chepstow
3. 12th January – Punchestown
4. 26th January – Naas
5. 23rd January – Huntingdon
6. 14th February – Kelso
7. 15th February – Gowran Park
8. 26th February – Wincanton
9. 7th March – Ayr
10. 17th March – Down Royal
11. 20th March – Cork
12. 28th March – Wetherby
** 29th April – Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final, Punchestown Festival**

Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Details

• The Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series includes twelve qualifying races that will take place across Ireland and the UK with the €100,000 final taking place on the opening day of the 2025 Punchestown Festival, Tuesday 29th April.
• The qualifying races in the series will take place from November 2024 to March 2025.
• Each qualifier will be a hurdle race over a distance of between two miles two furlongs and two miles six furlongs, exclusively for horses rated 0-120. The series culminates with a 130 =11st 12lb final, allowing horses that improve their handicap marks throughout the season to still compete in the final.
• The first five home in each qualifier will be eligible to enter the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series final.
• Qualifier placings will take precedence over handicap ratings in the ballot process, ensuring the most competitive horses earn their chance to compete in the final.
• The Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series final will be run over two miles four furlongs at the 2025 Punchestown Festival.
• The Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series will be kindly hosted in association with geographically selected tracks across England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
• This series launches on day one of the Punchestown Premiere Weekend, 23rd November 2024 and culminates on the opening day of the 2025 Punchestown Festival, Tuesday 29th April.

A collection of Ireland’s premier racehorses are on course to line up at Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend next month as Grade 1 racing returns to the home of jump racing.
Ireland’s highest rated hurdler and highest rated chaser feature among the entries for the Grade 1 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase respectively. Both races will see an increase in prize money this year with the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle receiving a €25,000 boost and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase prize being upped by €50,000.
State Man is one of 12 horses entered for the €150,000 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle which takes place on November 23rd, while dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs could be set for another Punchestown showdown with dual Punchestown Gold Cup winner Fastorslow on November 24th in what could potentially be one of the races of the entire season.

Willie Mullins has only had the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle prised away from his keeping once since 2011, that was when Abacadabras claimed the 2020 renewal for Gordon Elliott and Mullins once again has a strong supporting cast alongside Champion Hurdle hero State Man.
Seeking a hat-trick of victories in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, State Man is joined among the entries by Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle winner Ballyburn, KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle winner Mystical Power and Coolmore Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle winner Lossiemouth as well as Daddy Long Legs, Sir Gerhard and Winter Fog.
Gordon Elliott’s quest for a second victory in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle relies on the Grade 1 winning novice Brighterdaysahead and Fils d’Oudairies who was third in this race last year.
Recent Punchestown winner Aspire Tower may well stick to hurdling for this assignment after getting his season off to a good start at Punchestown this month for Henry de Bromhead, while the potential line up is completed by the locally trained No Looking Back for Oliver McKiernan, and the Andy Slattery-trained Smooth Tom.

A mouthwatering list of 20 horses have been entered for the €150,000 John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, headed by Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow.
Galopin Des Champs has reigned supreme twice in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but Fastorslow has had his measure in two editions of the Punchestown Gold Cup as well as the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase last season. Added into the mix is the Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe and the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge is a fascinating entry having won the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase here in April.
The Jimmy Mangan-trained Spillane’s Tower ended the season with a Grade 1 double when claiming the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse before signing off a fine campaign in the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival and could make his seasonal deubt back at the Kildare venue.

Conor O’Neill, CEO of Punchestown Racecourse, commented: “This is one of the most exciting times of the year for all of the team here at Punchestown Racecourse as we reignite the jump season with quality Grade 1 racing. We have 32 horses entered across our first two big races of the season, the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle which has six individual Grade 1 winners entered and the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase with 16 of the 20 entries already proven as Grade 1 winners.
“It is already promising to be a fantastic weekend at Punchestown and we can’t wait to welcome back so many familiar faces who will be in for an absolute treat.”

A weekend ticket to cover both days of the Punchestown Premiere Weekend is just €25 and more details on all available packages can be found at www.punchestown.com

THE PUNCHESTOWN PREMIERE WEEKEND INFO PAGE

 

When – Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 November

 

Feature Races

 

Times  

 

Tickets  – BOOK HERE

 

Our Famous Race & Dine from €65pp – VIEW HERE

Enhance your race day with family and friends from only €65pp up to €115pp. Options range from private suites with tailored menus to our flagship Corinthian and Watch House restaurants offering some of the most highly reviewed food in racing enjoyed with the best views in sport.

 

Transport 

 

Family Friendly Venue with Free Kids Stuff!

All children under 14 race for free. Santa Truck here on Saturday. Santa Train on Sunday. Hay Cafe and The Feedroom Cafe  offering full menu of snacks, carvery, salads, barista coffee and of course child sized portions.

All families in attendance can enter to Win a Trip to Lapland. 

 

Music, shops, snacks and strolls. 

Aside from top class grade one racing there will be live music from Evolution (Saturday) and The Sandmen (Sunday) available to all and located in the grandstand.

A festive shopping pavilion will welcome visitors at the turnstiles and as always there will be something for all ages throughout the enclosures.

Pick up a barista coffee and warm pastries or chips and a pint and enjoy a stroll around one of Ireland’s favorite venues in the foothills of the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.

 

What To Wear:

It’s Ireland….in November….so wrap up to enjoy the best of the day. If you are attending one of our restaurant or suite venues we suggest at least smart casual to fully suited and booted. There are plenty of comfortable cosy indoor venues with great access to the parade ring and viewing stands.

 

Can We Assist ?

The best way to keep up to date is to follow our social media channels. Please feel free to contact our team for further assistance on 00 353 (0)45 897704 or contact info@punchestown.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty to look forward to for all families this weekend at Punchestown on 23 and 24 November:

 

 

The chance for one lucky family to win an adventure to Lapland this December.

THE PRIZE – FULL DETAILS

This one-day Lapland adventure will be on Saturday 7 December travelling from Dublin airport. The highlight of this memorable experience will be meeting Santa in his log cabin after visiting Kittila’s Snow Village where little ones can zoom on the snow slide, learn how to drive a miniature skidoo, enjoy a short husky-led sleigh ride and visit get involved in arty activities and warm up over lunch in the cafe.

Read about the full trip HERE.

HOW TO WIN?

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Schools in the Punchestown Community Programme 2024/2025

  1. An Linbh Iosa, Ballycane
  2. Ballyshannon National School
  3. Caragh National School
  4. Halverstown NS- St Josephs NS
  5. Hollywood NS
  6. Kill National School/ Scoil Bhride
  7. Killashee Multi Denominational National School
  8. Lacken
  9. Rathmore National School
  10. Scoil Mhuire National School, Ballymore
  11. Scoil Bhride National School, Kilcullen
  12. Scoil Brid, Oldtown Naas
  13. Scoil Chorbain
  14. St Marys J.N.S, Blessington
  15. St Marys SNS, Blessington
  16. Marks Newbridge
  17. Naas Community National School
  18. Ursaille Naofa, Twomilehouse
  19. Valleymount

 

Punchestown Announce €50,000 BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series

Punchestown Racecourse together with BetVictor are delighted to announce an exciting €50,000 BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series for the upcoming season at the home of Irish jump racing.

Focusing on the maiden hurdle and bumper ranks, there will be 11 qualifying races throughout the season and the first horse that has won a qualifying race and goes on to win a 2025 Punchestown Festival Grade 1 will scoop the €50,000 BetVictor bonus.

The BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series will get underway with the opening BetVictor Maiden Hurdle and the concluding BetVictor Flat Race on Wednesday’s card at Punchestown.

Previous graduates from this Punchestown fixture include 2023 Supreme Hurdle winner Marine Nationale and multiple Grade 1 winner Samcro.

Sam Boswell of BetVictor said: “We are delighted to support the BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series to go alongside our continued sponsorship of Irish racing. We hope to see as many horses as possible take up the challenge to land the lucrative prize.
“We feel this series adds further interest to the qualifying races prior to the Punchestown Festival in the spring. Everyone at BetVictor loves Punchestown and we look forward to this renewed partnership with such a historic track and we have plenty more exciting activations planned across the jumps season for our Irish customers.”

Punchestown Marketing Manager, Leona Hughes, welcomed the new series: “The €50,000 BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series is exactly the kind of exciting initiative that we love to see at Punchestown. Future champions emerge throughout the season here and with a €50,000 bonus on the table it is a great incentive to encourage even more thrilling festival performances. We want to extend our thanks to Sam Boswell and the BetVictor team for their wonderful support of our season.”

THE BETVICTOR GRADUATION BONUS SERIES QUALIFIERS

October 16
2m Maiden Hurdle – Cappucino (T) Liz Doyle (J) Sean Flanagan (O) Cappucino Partnership
2m Bumper 4y0 Only (Winners Of 1) – Friary Road (T) Ted Walsh (J) Mr J H Williamson (O) Mrs Helen Walsh

15 November
2m 3yo Hurdle (Winners Of 1) – Coul Dreamer (T) W McCreery (J) Ricky Doyle (O) Mrs Suzanne McAuley & Ms C A Jennings
2m4f Maiden Hurdle – Irancy – (T) W P Mullins (J) Mark Walsh (O) Mr John P McManus

24 November
2m1f Bumper – Kalypso’chance (T) Gordon Elliott (J) Harry Swan (O) Gigginstown House Stud

*13 January*
2m 4yo Maiden Hurdle
3m100y 4yo+ Maiden Hurdle

*27 January*
2m 5yo+ Maiden Hurdle
2m4f 5yo+ Mares Maiden Hurdle

*19 February*
2m 148 yds 5yo+ Maiden Hurdle
2m5f Mares Maiden Hurdle

*Awaiting 2025 Provisional Summary*

HORSE RACING ODDS

 

Media Release – Friday 13th September 2024: As Punchestown prepares to host its sole flat meeting of the season, the racecourse today announced that leading horsebox manufacturer Overlander, are to join the sponsorship line-up at the famous sporting venue.

The new partnership will see Overlander named as Punchestown’s preferred horse transport vehicle alongside a 2025 Punchestown Festival race sponsorship with a complete digital, video, print and social media branding package that will run throughout the season.

Based in the N7 Commercial Centre in Naas, Co. Kildare, the Overlander team place emphasis on quality, safety and service. The model range is expertly engineered around the horse to offer an elevated, user-friendly design that incorporates the highest standards for safe, durable equine transport. In essence, Overlander vehicles work hard and look good doing it.

Joining an existing strategy that includes sponsorship with Naas racecourse and an ambassador role held by trainer Ted Walsh, Punchestown is the latest marketing move by N7 Commercials Managing Director and Overlander Vehicles Co-founder Robert McDonnell. Commenting on the sponsorship announcement McDonnell said: We’re all thrilled at Overlander to have the opportunity to work with Punchestown Racecourse. Our brand stands for durability, style and reliability – driving innovation in horse transport while supporting the champions who inspire it. This partnership reflects our commitment to equestrian excellence and together we are transporting the future of equestrian excellence one race at a time”.

Leona Hughes, Punchestown sponsorship manager welcomed the Overlander team by saying: “It is always a pleasure to work with a team that share the same values and ambitions. The Overlander team use the phrase ‘built beyond’ which emphasises that ethos of exceeding expectations. This together with emphasis on quality, customer service and hard working products and services is our common ground and the reason why we are very happy to welcome Overlander to Punchestown”.

The Punchestown season gets underway on Tuesday 17th September with an all flat card ahead of the return of jump racing on 15th and 16th October.

To view the full overlander range please visit www.overlandervehicles.co.uk/horsebox or www.n7commericalcentre.ie/

 

The Punchestown Festival enjoyed another fantastic annual festival this week. Despite offering punters all four seasons over the five days, the crowds turned out in force and the atmosphere was as vibrant and lively as ever!

Attendance figures were up on 4 of the 5 days, with Ladies Day on Friday attracting the greatest numbers when 36,620 attendees turned out in their finery.

Ballymore Family Day saw 25,396 junior racegoers, families, socialisers and racing fans descend on Punchestown. The overall attendance at the festival was 118,318!

Conor O’Neill, CEO Punchestown commented “We took a big risk this year and made many substantial changes which thankfully paid off and despite the inclement weather, we’ve enjoyed an absolute beano! Whether you’re 5 or 95 there has been something for everyone here at Punchestown this week and that’s what it’s all about! People make Punchestown and we’re so grateful to our sponsors, many stakeholders and everyone who came along to support us! This afternoon I’m most proud of our remarkable team, their unwavering commitment and hard work has been rewarded and I’m delighted for everyone!”

The feature race the Ballymore Champion 4 Year Old Hurdle went to post at 4.50pm. The winner Kargese was given an exceptional ride by Paul Townend to win the final Grade 1 of the season for trainer Willie Mullins and owner Kenneth Alexander.

History was made at Punchestown today when 25 year old Jack Kennedy was crowned Champion National Hunt Jockey of the season for the first time. The Irish National Hunt Champions of the 2023/24 Season are; Champion Owner JP McManus, Champion Trainer Willie Mullins, Champion Jockey Jack Kennedy, Champion Conditional Danny Gilligan, Champion Amateur Patrick Mullins and Champion Lady Amateur Jody Townend.

And off the track there were plenty of winners too including Ciara Toolen from Dublin who won the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition. Her prize, a ‘money can’t buy trip for two’ to Paris, the Champagne Region, Reims and the Bollinger Estate and a year’s supply of Champagne Bollinger.

Finally, on Ballymore Family Day the winner of the 2024 Punchestown Art Competition for juniors was second class student Finn Houlihan from Ballyshannon National School. The senior competition devised for group entries was won by Holy Child, 4th Class, Room 1.

The 2025 Punchestown Festival, will take place from Tuesday 29 April to Saturday 03 May. Flexi tickets are available online now for a limited time only. The Festival flexi ticket allows access to any one of the five days at Festival 2025, so get your Festival 2025 Flexi Ticket at punchestown.com.

Boodles, Bollinger and Bravado galore…at the Punchestown Festival on Day 4!

Despite the damp weather, the atmosphere at Punchestown remained as vibrant and lively as ever on Ladies Day. The stylish crowd added splashes of colour to lift the spirits of the enclosures while the thrilling action on the track ensured there was something for everyone to enjoy!

Ciara Toolen from Dublin, who was fast tracked to the final on Tuesday, the opening day of the festival, emerged victorious as the overall winner of the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition at Punchestown.

Her reaction to the win was a beautiful blend of shock and excitement. Ciara’s win was a testament to her timeless taste and style, qualities that shone brightly throughout the competition. Her ensemble exuded sophistication and elegance, showcasing her unique fashion sense and attention to detail. Her outfit featured a stunning hat by Linda Fleming from Wexford, a chic suit by Balmain, a stylish coat by Reiss, and a beautifully crafted blouse by Irish designer Aoife McNamara. Ciara’s outfit effortlessly captured the essence of the event, earning her the coveted title of Bollinger Best Dressed at the Punchestown Festival.

The Style Council tasked with selecting the 2024 Bollinger Best Dressed Winner included Jess Colivet, Jessica O’Mahony, Lawson Mpame, Suzie O’Neill, David O’Connor, Kate Nally McCormack and Roxanne Parker. They were seeking a combination of elegance, creativity, and attention to detail, qualities that Ciara showcased in abundance. Her head-to-toe curated look embodied the essence of Bollinger’s motto: “Timeless taste, Timeless style.”

As Ciara basks in the glow of her well-deserved victory, she looks forward to enjoying the amazing prize that awaits her. Ciara and a guest will enjoy a ‘money can’t buy’ trip of a lifetime to the home of Bollinger. This is not a cliché, you literally cannot buy this prize as it is invitation only. Business class flights to Paris, five-star hotel accommodation, Michelin Star dining, private chauffeur are all included. In addition, they will enjoy an exclusive Champagne Bollinger experience including private tour of the cellars, vineyards, gardens, house, an overnight stay in the beautiful capital of the champagne region Reims and one year’s supply of Bollinger.

All finalists received a deluxe goody bag with gifts from Bollinger, AYU and Pestle and Mortar and the most stylish gent Hugo Browne was treated to a case of Bollinger along with a Louis Copeland tailored suit along with commemorative cuff links and tie.

The feature race on Friday’s card, The Boodles Champion Hurdle (Grade1) was won once again by State Man the odds-on favourite. The Champion Hurdle hero is now a ten-time Grade 1 winner and is unbeaten in five course runs at Punchestown.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the final day of the 2024 Punchestown Festival, when the next generation of racegoers will descent in their droves for Ballymore Family Day. An amazing day out for all the gang with tons of free children’s activities, shows and rides to choose from, Family Day at the Punchestown Festival is also exceptional value with a pay on the gate ticket available at €50 per family.

Gates will be open from 11.30am, the first of an eight-race card goes to post at 2.30pm and the feature race the Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle (Grade 1) is scheduled for 4.50pm.

For more information and updates on the Punchestown Festival visit www.punchestown.com.

 

ENDS.

 

For Further Information Contact:

Carey Ann Lordan, Red PR

M: 087 9270730         E: clordan@redpr.ie               T: 052 6184343

 

Shona Dreaper, Punchestown

T: 045 897704          E: sdreaper@punchestown.com

 

Editors Notes:

Pics attached | Captions Embedded | No Repo Fee (Michael Chester)