Skip to content

Castlestone Holiday Homes is proud to mark its first anniversary by sponsoring the Castlestone Holiday Homes Pro/Am Flat Race at Punchestown Racecourse’s Summer in Town Race Day this Saturday, 6 June.

The sponsorship represents a special milestone for the growing holiday home company, whose journey began just one year ago with an important partnership that helped launch the business.

Castlestone Holiday Homes’ very first client was Punchestown Racecourse. During the 2025 Punchestown Festival, Castlestone provided accommodation solutions for trainers, stable staff and yard teams travelling to Ireland’s premier jump racing festival. That initial partnership played a pivotal role in establishing the business and demonstrated the growing demand for high-quality short-term accommodation in the Kildare region.

Since then, Castlestone Holiday Homes has developed a strong customer base among racegoers and visitors to the area, providing five-star luxury self-catering accommodation throughout County Kildare.

Speaking ahead of the race, Louise Rawlins Traynor, owner of Castlestone Holiday Homes, said:

“As we celebrate our first year in business, it is particularly meaningful to partner with another local business, Punchestown Racecourse. Punchestown was our very first client and played an important role in helping us establish our business at Castlestone Holiday Homes. The relationship has gone from strength to strength, and we are delighted to mark our anniversary by sponsoring a race at one of Ireland’s most iconic sporting venues.”

Conor O’Neill, CEO of Punchestown Racecourse, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Castlestone Holiday Homes as a race sponsor and to celebrate this important milestone with them. It has been a pleasure to watch their business grow over the past year, and their success is a great example of the strength of local enterprise in County Kildare. We value the partnership we have developed and look forward to continuing to work together in the years ahead.”

For more information, follow Castlestone Holiday Homes on social media: @CastlestoneHoliday

Website: www.castlestoneholiday.com

Contact & Address:

Louise Rawlins Traynor
+353 (0)87 706 0146
Castlestone Holiday Homes
Haynestown Farm
Naas, Co. Kildare
W91 X3DF

ARC, Punchestown and Race and Stay Announce Major Strategic Partnership to grow travel between the UK and Ireland, and enhance the Racing Guest Experience

Arena Racing Company (ARC), Punchestown Racecourse, and premier racing tour specialists Race and Stay are proud to announce a new strategic partnership designed to cross-promote world-class racing experiences across the UK and Ireland.

This venture connects the iconic Punchestown Racecourse with ARC’s extensive UK network of 16 racetracks, creating a seamless bridge for fans to enjoy premier events on both sides of the Irish Sea. From the electric atmosphere of the Punchestown Festival to major UK highlights at Chepstow, Doncaster, Newcastle, and Windsor, the initiative aims to drive attendances and promote racing tourism.

As the official experience partner, Race and Stay will provide fans with a comprehensive, “one-stop” booking service. Beyond simple admission, these curated packages include:

Phil Bell, Regional Director at ARC, commented: “We are delighted to partner with Punchestown and Race and Stay. By combining our 16 diverse venues with Ireland’s finest National Hunt venue, we are offering fans an unparalleled variety of racing, all supported by a premium travel experience.”

Conor O’Neil CEO at Punchestown, added: “This partnership is about making world-class racing more accessible. We look forward to welcoming more UK fans to the Punchestown Festival and seeing our local fans explore the fantastic venues within the ARC network.”

Martyn Pipe, CEO of Race and Stay, stated: “Our goal is to take the stress out of travel. By handling everything from arrival to departure, we allow fans to focus on the thrill of the races. We are excited to showcase the best of British and Irish racing through this initiative.”

Bookings for these exclusive experiences are now open. For more information and to secure your place, visit www.raceandstay.com.

About ARC Racecourses:

Arena Racing Company (‘ARC’) is Britain’s largest racing group, operating sixteen racecourses and five greyhound stadia across the country.

In 2025, ARC venues welcomed over 1,000,000 racegoers and hosted some of the highlights of the British horseracing season, including the Betfred St Leger Festival, the Coral Welsh Grand National, Jennings bet Midlands Grand National, Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate Festival, All-Weather Championships Finals Day and the Berkshire Winter Million.

About Punchestown Racecourse:
Punchestown Racecourse is the home of Irish jump racing and the host of twenty fixtures each season culminating with the famous Punchestown Festival at the end of April. Under an hour from Dublin city centre and international airport, Punchestown is ideally located for visitors. Set in the foothills of the Dublin/Wicklow mountains the venue boasts 172 acres of racing ground and a unique traditional banks cross country course within a 400 acre estate. The racecourse is as famous for its wonderful hospitality across a collection of restaurants, bars and pavilions as it is for hosting the most prestigious jump racing on the sporting calendar.

About Race and Stay:
Race and Stay are Ireland’s largest racing tour specialists. Established in 2012 we have welcomed over 80,000 guests to Irish and International race meetings.  We provide guests with unique and exciting packages from 1 night to 10-night tours for all race meetings in Ireland and now, in association with ARC, the UK too.

 

Media Contact:
Martyn Pipe

info@raceandstay.com
+353 87 708 9685

Lossiemouth is crowned the Queen of Hurdling on Ladies Day at Punchestown!

Top Class Racing – Record Crowds – Sensational Style

The Boodles Champion Hurdle was won today by Lossiemouth, making it a career tally of 11 Grade 1’s for the popular grey mare, as she justified her short-priced favouritism in the hands of jockey Paul Townend for trainer Willie Mullins and proud owners Susannah and Rich Ricci.

The win completed an incredible Irish and English trio for jockey Paul Townend who won the Champion Chase, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle in Ireland (Punchestown) and England (Cheltenham) this year with the English Grand National (Aintree) serving almost as the cheery on top in a tremendous season of all seasons for the Cork man.

Longford lass Oniesa Owen was crowned the 2026 Bolling Best Dressed at the Punchestown Festival. Wearing Italian label Ter et Bantine top and coat, teamed with Roisin Linnane trousers, Alaia shoes, a hat by Wendy Louise and a classic Chanel bag she wowed the judging panel led by head judge Jess Colivet and Bollinger representative Arthur Robert.

Another milestone today was jockey Mark Walsh recording his 900th career win at Punchestown. The Kildare native commented that he could not have wished for a better place to record his 900th winner as a jockey than Punchestown and at the Punchestown Festival.

43,572 attended the Punchestown Festival today compared with 42,138 on the corresponding day last year.

The Punchestown Festival continues tomorrow with the first race of an eight races commencing at 2.30pm. Typically, a very busy yet more casual race day experience, the festival finale is Family Day at the County Kildare venue. Offering top class racing, a jam-packed off track entertainment programme, the crowning of this seasons National Hunt Champions and the annual Punchestown Kidney Research Fund Charity Race, there is plenty to look forward to. All children under 14 go free when accompanied by an adult, for all details and tickets visit punchestown.com.


Ireland’s most prestigious style competition, The Bollinger Best Dressed grand finale took place at Punchestown this afternoon.

Longford woman Oniesa Owens was crowned the 2026 Bollinger Best Dressed Lady at the Punchestown Festival today. Her prize, an exclusive money can’t buy trip for 2 to the Bollinger Estate. Her travel companion already confirmed! Oniesa will be bringing her twin sister Aishling on this trip of a lifetime.

Wearing a very chic and elegant look, her navy Ter et Bantine fur effect coat and top were purchased from Fabiani in Longford last year for a wedding. She teamed them with navy barrel leg trousers by Roisin Linnane. Her hat by Wendy Louise was borrowed for the day and her striking red heels are by Alaia and classic Chanel bag were her own.

An emotional winner, Oniesa Owens commented “It just feels amazing. I love fashion, I love style, it goes back generations to my own grandmother in Country Leitrim, I’m just so delighted!”

Oniesa has won the ‘money can’t buy’ trip for 2 to the Bollinger Estate, a prize she is set to share with her identical twin sister Aishling, who also loves fashion. Their prize includes flights to Paris, a luxury stay at five star hotel, Michelin Star dining, private chauffeur, an exclusive by invitation experience at Champagne Bollinger including private tour of the cellars, vineyards, gardens, house and overnight stay in the beautiful capital of the champagne region eims, plus a year’s supply of Bollinger.

Head judge Jess Colivet, described Oniesa’s winning look, she said “It was just an outstanding look from top to toe, completely polished, very curated, effortlessly elegant and very chic. She cleverly brought in that pop of red shoe into the look complemented by a gorgeous red lip, she borrowed the hat and she was very appropriate for racing. We just loved her energy, you could tell she was so comfortable and it was a unanimous decision.”

Not be forgotten the men, thanks to Louis Copeland who sponsored a prize for the Best Dressed Man today also. Local man, Daire Cullen won wearing a beautiful Tuscany green suit by Suits Supply, a Kennedy McSharry hat, Mr. Jenks pocket square, a tie by Ferragamo and shoes from Churches. Daire said “I’m absolutely over the moon, delighted, humbled and proud. My wife was actually a finalist here on Wednesday, so I’m thrilled to be keeping up with the family! We live locally and have been coming to Punchestown religiously for the last 10 years, we wouldn’t miss it!”   

The Punchestown Festival continues tomorrow with gates open from 12 noon and the first race of a seven race card starts at 2.30pm. Typically, a very busy yet more casual raceday experience, it’s Family Day at the County Kildare venue. Offering top class racing, a jam-packed off track entertainment programme, the crowning of this seasons National Hunt Champions and the annual Punchestown Kidney Research Fund Charity Race, there is plenty to look forward to. All children under 14 go free when accompanied by an adult, for all details and tickets visit punchestown.com.

 

An exciting eight race card was enjoyed by 19,548 patrons at the Punchestown Festival today.

The feature contest, the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle saw Bob Olinger come out on top for owner Brian Acheson, trainer Henry de Bromhead and jockey Darragh O’Keeffe.

The win completed a treble on the card for in-form jockey Darragh O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe has narrowed the gap to three (102-99) behind Jack Kennedy in the jump jockeys’ championship which will make the next two days very exciting indeed.

County Wexford Fashion Designer, Julie Caulfield won the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition today wearing her own 40’s and 50’s inspired design. She teamed it with a boater style hat by Galway Milliner Catriona King Designs and customised her bag with dead stock fabric from last season’s collection. She is fast-tracked to the grand finale tomorrow when the competition off the track will peak in the Bollinger Garden as the competition kicks off at 4.30pm.

There were 19,548 in attendance today compared with 20,228 on the corresponding day last year however, accumulatively the festival is ahead in the numbers game going into Ladies Day and Family Day. Traditionally, Friday and Saturday are the busiest days of the festival in recent years.

Tomorrow, (Friday) the first of an eight racecard goes to post at the later time of 3.40pm, featuring the Boodles Champion Hurdle at 6.40pm for which 7 runners are declared. Patrons are encouraged to come racing early and stay late on Ladies Day, the social highlight of the season. For more information and updates on the Punchestown Festival visit www.punchestown.com.

Press Release: Thursday, April 30 2026

For Immediate Release

Irish Designer wows the Bollinger Best Dressed judges at Punchestown today!

Wexford Fashion Designer, Julie Caulfield has won the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition today. A regular at the Punchestown Festival, Julie always opts to wear her own designs to enjoy the fashion, racing and social scene at the County Kildare venue.

Donning a power blue beautifully textured two-piece from her own collection, a boater style custom made hat by Catriona King Designs and a bag which she cleverly covered in dead stock material, Julie was quickly identified as a firm favourite in the Bollinger best dressed competition today.

Guest Judge, Niamh Devereux, Acting Editor of Irish Country Magazine said “She really stood out to me from early doors. Irish designed from head to toe. It was just the most exquisite, dainty, beautiful look and it was a total show-stopper.”

In keeping with the theme “something old, something new…” Julie completed her look with shoes she borrowed from a friend, Dylan Oaks earrings she won in a goodie bag previously and her sister’s bracelet, which she was terrified she would lose!

Describing the inspiration for the look, Julie Caulfield said “I love the structured style of the 40’s and 50’s. I think they just knew how to dress women back then – bringing in the waist of everything but with that structure of the top so I loved designing and wearing it today because it is so structured at the top yet so floaty and romantic at the bottom, I’m delighted with the win and thrilled the judges loved it too!”

Head judge Jess Colivet said, “Julie Caulfield is an absolute vision today in powder blue and from the moment we saw her, she was the one everyone had to beat. Our decision was unanimous and we are delighted to see her fast tracked through to tomorrow’s grand finale, she absolutely deserves it.”

Remarkably, the best dressed final line up included five ladies and one man today, a wild card introduced at the judges’ request, Jess explained “The standard among the men was incredibly high, we saw some truly exceptional looks. But there was one gentleman who was simply outstanding, and we couldn’t let that moment pass. His tailoring was impeccable, his style absolutely immaculate just really, truly stunning. We weren’t willing to take a place away from any of the women on stage, so instead we made the decision to add Raymond Gilbourne in as our wild card and he looks amazing up there. It was absolutely the right decision.”

Widely regarded as Ireland’s most prestigious style competition, The Bollinger Best Dressed competition takes place across the first four days of the festival from Tuesday 28th April to the final on Friday 1st May inclusive. Today’s winner, Louisa Murphy has been fast-tracked to the grand finale on Friday when the overall Bollinger Best Dressed Winner for 2026 will receive a ‘money can’t buy’ trip for 2 to the Bollinger Estate. The overall prize includes flights to Paris, 5* Hotel, Michelin Star dining, private chauffeur, an exclusive Champagne Bollinger experience including private tour of the cellars, vineyards, gardens, house and overnight stay in the beautiful capital of the champagne region Reims plus a year’s supply of Bollinger.

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 | No repo fee (Michael Chester / Shelley O’Rourke)

PIC Caption Suggestion: “Fashion Designer, Julie Caulfield wins Bollinger Best Dressed Competition at the Punchestown Festival Today”

 

Olivia Clayton from Worcester in the UK was deemed the Bollinger Best Dressed at the Punchestown Festival today. Head judge Jess Colivet was joined by the ‘In the Edit’ duo Hayley Nolan and Carol StJohn and Marietta Doran. Together with a dedicated team of fashion scouts, they scoured the enclosures of the packed County Kildare venue to find the Bollinger Best Dressed on Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup Day.

An avid racegoer and regular at Cheltenham, it proved to be her lucky day on her first visit to Punchestown. Olivia embraced a green look, with her outfit inspired by a tree in her mother’s garden. Unable to find a hat she liked, she created her own headpiece, starting with a base and adding silk cream and green hydrangea flowers to reflect the garden theme.

Olivia Clayton commented on her win, “Amazing, honestly I feel so lucky not only just to be a finalist but just to be on the top ones it’s such an honour. The Irish girls really bring their absolute best so it’s a privilege. Thank you very much.”

Hayley Nolan from In the Edit shared, “It was actually a standout look. As soon as we saw her, she was sitting down, her amazing hat just caught her eye. And it turns out she actually made it herself, which I think is amazing”. Carol StJohn added “and then when she stood up, she’s wearing a gorgeous green suit and the colour just popped. The whole look was so well polished and put together. Brilliant.”

Jess Colivet commented “Olivia brought a really fresh contemporary perspective and it was very fashion forward, she wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries. There was a real sense of modern style from her look and I just love the fact that she made the headpiece herself. I love the tailoring. When I looked really closely at the tailoring of the print it just stood out and she wore her look with such great confidence and what a gracious winner.

The Bollinger Best Dressed competition will take place again tomorrow (Thursday) with the grand finale on Ladies Day, Friday 01 May. Today’s daily winner, Olivia Clayton has been officially fast-tracked straight to Friday’s final, when the overall Bollinger Best Dressed Winner for 2026 will be revealed. Rest assured the competition in the fashion stakes will be as competitive as the on track action! The winner will enjoy a ‘money can’t buy trip for 2 to the Bollinger Estate’. The overall prize includes flights to Paris, 5* Hotel, Michelin Star dining, private chauffeur, an exclusive Champagne Bollinger experience including an invitation only private tour of the cellars, vineyards, gardens, house and overnight stay in the beautiful capital of the champagne region Reims plus a year’s supply of Bollinger.

A record Gold Cup day crowd of 26,432 attended the Punchestown Festival today. The feature race of the day, the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup, went to Gaelic Warrior in the hands of Paul Townend for trainer Willie Mullins, backing up his Cheltenham Gold Cup glory in fine style.

Olivia Clayton from Worcester in the UK enjoyed her first visit to the Punchestown Festival when she was chosen as the daily winner of the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition. Olivia embraced a striking green look, with her outfit inspired by a tree in her mother’s garden. She impressed judges and attendees alike with her impeccably tailored style and handmade headpiece.

Attendance figures were significantly up on 2025, with 26,432 at Punchestown today compared to 23,285 on the corresponding day last year.

The action continues tomorrow (Thursday), with the first race going to post at 2.30pm. Gates open from noon, with patrons encouraged to arrive early to soak up the atmosphere. The feature on the card is the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle Grade 1 contest, going to post at 6.05pm.

Teahupoo leads the way in wide‑open Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle

 

Teahupoo is the 15/8 favourite to make it three in a row in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle, according to the sponsor.

 

Ladbrokes say the market is shaping up to be one of the most open renewals in recent years.

 

Bob Olinger heads the list of challengers at 11/4, with Kawaboomga close behind at 4/1. Honesty Policy is priced at 9/2, while Jimmy Du Seuil is a 9/1 chance.

 

Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: “Teahupoo will be hard to beat if he bounces back to his best but this is shaping up to be one of the most competitive renewals we’ve seen in years. Bob Olinger and Kawaboomga are both attracting plenty of support, and with several live contenders close behind, it’s a wide‑open market.”

 

**Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle

 

15/8 Teahupoo, 11/4 Bob Olinger, 4/1 Kawaboomga, 9/2 Honesty Policy, 9/1 Jimmy Du Seuil, 33/1 bar

 

++ends++

Almost 18,000 attendees enjoyed a glorious start to the opening leg of the five-day festival at Punchestown Racecourse today. The great and the good of National Hunt Racing from both sides of the Irish sea went head-to-head on the track, while social racegoers enjoyed the glorious sunshine and soaked up the electric atmosphere.

An exciting seven race card featuring no less than 3 grade ones and the first day of the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition, ensured the festival opener gave punters a great taste of what’s in store for the rest of the week at the County Kildare Venue.

Eachtotheirown did the business for Connell, O’Driscoll and Flanagan in the PRL Champion Novice Hurdle. The impressive winner benefited from a brilliant front-running ride by Seán Flanagan for Nurney based owner and trainer Barry Connell and co-owner Tim O’Driscoll.

Louisa Murphy from Tramore enjoyed a winning visit to the Punchestown Festival when she was chosen as the daily winner of the Bollinger Best Dressed Competition. Having really embraced the theme of the competition she rented her bag, got her dress on vinted and wore her favourite ‘go with everything gold heels’. Louisa awed the judges and attendees with her impeccable style and the story of the lengths she went to curate this look which included hunting down a headpiece all the way from Melbourne and her recent engagement too!

Attendance figure were slightly up on 2025 with 17,923 at Punchestown today in comparison with 17,842 on the corresponding day last year. The first race tomorrow (Wednesday) goes to post at 2.30pm the feature being the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup at 6.05pm. For more information and updates on the Punchestown Festival visit www.punchestown.com.