Mullins hails unsung heroes as big guns primed for Punchestown

Gaelic Warrior has such ability that he could win at any trip.    Lossiemouth is “entering Quevega territory”.   And the reformed Il Etait Temps benefited from the ride of the week by Paul Townend in the shadow of the Cotswolds, to score in the Champion Chase. So says the man who has overseen the development of the Cheltenham Triple Crown-winning trio, Willie Mullins.

Each has presented a puzzle to solve at various points in their careers and one suspects that solving such conundrums and ruminating upon the best course of action for any given horse is as much the reason why the enduring behemoth of the jumps game gets as much a kick out of his staggering success now, as ever.
Mullins heads to the Punchestown Festival, which kicks off next Tuesday, armed with such artillery that even though he trails Gordon Elliott by €154,000 in the race to be champion trainer, he is an unbackable favourite to garner enough of the record €3.6 million in prize money on offer throughout the five days, to secure his 20th title.

The aforementioned superstars are all on target for a bid at following up on home turf, but in the case of Gaelic Warrior and Il Etait Temps, there are considerable challenges from stablemates to face. Fact Or File comes into the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup fresh, having been withdrawn from the Ryanair Chase due to unsuitable ground, while in the William Hill Champion Chase, Majborough represents the latest enigma for the master conditioner to deal with, capable of blowing a race apart but also of shooting himself in the foot.

This is championship racing, in every sense.

It is funny now, to reflect on how many column inches went into Mullins’ slow start to the season. It was relative, of course, but it wasn’t totally imagined. The man himself has acknowledged it. And coupled with Elliott’s blistering campaign, it is why Closutton still has ground to make up if the yard is to record a 19th consecutive trainers’ gong.
“We were very happy with the season, how it played out and is playing out,” says Mullins now, with the festival just days away. “We still have Punchestown to go but we are very happy that we’ve had a good season.

“What can we say? We had a great Cheltenham, then there was winning the Grand National and we had a good home season as well.”
He has spoken before about the impact of the sustained rain as Autumn transitioned to Winter, arriving as it did, on the back of a near drought. Delaying seasonal debuts caused a backlog in terms of finding races for all the horses. It felt like a race against time, on occasion, but as sure as night follows day and Punchestown brings the curtain down on the Irish jumps season, the Closutton crew got it right when it mattered most. The boss hails the endeavours of his staff for ensuring this was the case. “A really prolonged wet period is tough on staff, tough on horses… I must compliment my staff this year with the year that was in it, how good they are. Every day, they’re all dressed for wet weather, and they appear in and get their work done, and there’s never a grumble from them. We’re very grateful to have such fine staff, who seem to enjoy the challenge that we had. Yeah, we owe them a big thanks.

“I think in any business to have good staff morale is important. And when you take that into context, the horses have to be in good form as well. If you have happy staff, you’ll have happy horses. If horses are happier, they’ll work a lot more for you. That’s a big thing.” The fruits of all those labours are illustrated best in Spring. Gaelic Warrior is a case in point, a horse that has had many people scratching their heads at different times. Can’t go left-handed, needs a trip. Then wins a Cheltenham Arkle Chase over two miles, after an exhausted fall at Leopardstown that offered proof positive he would not even be a Ryanair horse. Begins this season with triumph in the John Durkan Memorial in an epic battle with Fact Or File, after running away with Townend. That made it three from four at Punchestown, the first victory coming in what is now the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle in 2023, the only defeat being inflicted by Il Etait Temps in the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase 12 months later. And most recently, one of the most impressive winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in recent memory.
“I just think Gaelic Warrior has such ability, on a given day, he could do two miles, two and a half or three, depending on opposition. He’s got such ability, he can do that. But he was brilliant in the Gold Cup.”

Il Etait Temps bouncing back from a below par effort at Ascot in January was probably the team’s best feat though, Mullins indicates.
“I would take more from the likes of Il Etait Temps. A lot of people put a line through him when he fell in Ascot and for him to come back and win the Champion Chase was great.
“But to me, that victory as much down to Paul’s, what I would have thought was ride of the week in Cheltenham. Now I might be a bit biased. I’d be only looking at our own horses, but I thought his ride in the Champion Chase was just something else.

“That’s the difference, having a man on board who is not afraid to sit when he thought the pace was too fast and if it didn’t work out, he was going to get a lot of criticism. I’m looking at Paul and thinking, ‘He knows something. He knows they’re going too fast.’ I had such confidence in him. I just thought it was a huge ride from him in a race like that.”
There was a time when Townend just could not get it right with Il Etait Temps and on more than one occasion, the Cork pilot – who has made a virtue out of being on the right one more often than not – chose a stablemate, only to see the eight-year-old owned by Hollywood Racing and Barnane Stud gallop away into the distance in front of him.
Prior to this season’s two Grade 1 victories in which Townend has done the navigating, the son of Jukebox Jury had scored five times at elite level and Danny Mullins was on board for four of them. Seemingly always under-appreciated, from his seven top-flight successes, he has only been favourite once, when careering to a nine-length victory in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown last December.

“Il Etait Temps was a tough ride in his early stages, he was hard to ride. Apart from riding him right, he was just hard to ride. He was very keen. He was tough on jockeys. Danny got a great tune out of him in the early days.” Townend has always been a regular on Lossiemouth, however, and it was the desire to maintain that partnership that had connections preferring the Mares’ Hurdle option at Prestbury Park until this season, when injury ruled State Man out. Indeed, the manner of her victory at Cheltenham is clearly a direct compliment to the ability of State Man, another apparently underrated Closutton stalwart, albeit that Rich Ricci’s mare is now in the throes of establishing her own legendary status. “Paul would never have gotten off State Man to ride Lossiemouth any day of the week and told me that more than once over the last couple of years, so it just shows (how good he is),” Mullins acknowledges.
“But it shows what a mare she is too. She’s been to Cheltenham four times and won four times. That’s a fair statistic. She’s getting into Quevega territory.”
Lossiemouth also has a fantastic record at Punchestown, where she has a blemish-free record from three outings, all in Grade 1s. Most recently, she has added the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle in November to her festival successes in the Ballymore Champion Hurdle (2023) and SBK Irish EBF Mares’ Champion Hurdle.
Mullins reports the trio and indeed all of his Cheltenham Festival-winning squad to have come out of proceedings well and on track to rock up to Punchestown. The Kildare venue is one he appreciates and the festival is one he relishes.

“We have a good team coming next week. The key to Punchestown is the fact that they water so well and provide safe jumping ground.
“It’s one of the biggest meetings in our season, we enjoy going there. The weather is usually good, the ground is good, the prize money is good. It’s just a fabulous meeting and we take it very seriously. It’s been good to us over the years.”
It is the first time since he nabbed Elliott in the dying embers of the 2018 festival that Mullins goes into Punchestown trailing in the trainers’ championship.
“Yes! It’s going to make it a very interesting week. And we’ll enjoy it either way. Everyone’s in good form at Punchestown and you’ve got to take it as it comes. We’ve had upsets there before, and we’ll have more, but largely, it’s been very good to us.”

Willie Mullins Stable Tour
LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP
“Both GAELIC WARRIOR and FACT TO FILE are in good shape and it should be a fascinating race again, over a longer trip compared to the John Durkan.
“Fact To File didn’t run in Cheltenham so that’s going to be a huge advantage to him I’d say.
“We’ll leave it till the weekend to make a decision on IMPAIRE ET PASSE. He was going quite well until falling at Aintree so we’ll see. The National didn’t work out for GRANGECLARE WEST or CHAMP KIELY and they have been left in for now as well.”

WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE
“IL ETAIT TEMPS, MAJBOROUGH and ENERGUMENE have done their final bits of work and I am very happy with them. Il Etait Temps has come out of Cheltenham very well.
“I think we still have to find the right way to get Majborough right. He’s not a finished product yet. We’ve got to ask ourselves, ‘Does he need a longer trip?’ I don’t know. There’s certain days he looks fantastic, and other days he doesn’t. We haven’t got the finished product yet.
“At this point in time, Energumene will run. The weather forecast wouldn’t be great for him (as he needs soft going) but if the ground is safe for him, he’ll run. And they’re past masters at getting safe ground in Punchestown.”

BOODLES CHAMPION HURDLE
LOSSIEMOUTH has come out of Cheltenham fine and we are looking forward to her being back at Punchestown, where she has a great record.
ANZIDAM is another horse, like Il Etait Temps, that’s been difficult to ride in the early stage of his career, so I’m hoping we get a better handle on him next week. Maybe he’s a horse that needs to go over fences and that might make him easier to handle.
It’s been tough for PONIROS and it always is at his age, coming out of a juvenile campaign. I’m not expecting anything from him this week and am waiting more for next season for him when he matures. EL FABIOLO and ABSURDE are also still in the mix.

LADBROKES CHAMPION STAYERS’ HURDLE
“I’m not sure what way we’re going to go in the Stayers’. Teahupoo will be hard to beat, whatever we run. We have four left in it: ABSURDE, JIMMY DU SEUIL, KAWABOOMGA and JADE DE GRUGY. We’re looking at an end-of-season experiment to see have we got one good enough for a staying hurdle campaign next year.

NOVICE HURDLERS
“I’m hoping they’ll all rock up again. Some of them showed well at Cheltenham, some were disappointing. LEADER D’ALLIER (PRL Champion Novice Hurdle) is a nice horse but I don’t think we’ve got anything like the best out of him yet. His homework would suggest he’s a lot better than his finishing position at Fairyhouse, though he won his maiden well at Punchestown in January.
It was fantastic to get a winning bracket at Cheltenham for KING RASKO GREY, and I’m not decided yet which direction I’m going to go with him, but it would look more like the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle over two and a half miles, than the PRL Champion Novice Hurdle over two.
DOCTOR STEINBERG obviously is very good over a trip, but we’ve got to get the tactics right. He was way too free in Cheltenham.
KITZBUHEL was brilliant in Cheltenham but there won’t be a rematch with FINAL DEMAND in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase. I just wasn’t happy with him (yesterday) morning. He’s a big unit and I’d rather have him fresh for next season.”

VIEW ENTRIES HERE 

Gaelic Warrior, Fact To File and Jukebox Man in mix for Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup as Punchestown Festival Grade 1 entries for are released
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William Hill Champion Chase shaping up to be a cracker with Il Etait Temps, Marine Nationale and Majborough among entrants
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Queen of the Turf Lossiemouth to take on allcomers in Boodles Champion Hurdle
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MEDIA RELEASE 13TH APRIL 2026: Gaelic Warrior, Lossiemouth and Il Etait Temps are among a mouth-watering cast of equine luminaries bidding to put a glorious full stop on another epic jumps season at the Punchestown Festival. Entries for the dozen Grade 1 contests held during the traditional high-powered conclusion to the Irish campaign have been unveiled this morning and the customary elite nature of their composition is maintained.Tomorrow marks the two-week warning for the commencement of a guaranteed rollercoaster of activity and emotion, as the cream of the crop in Ireland and Britain, with a sprinkling of French involvement too, vie for a share of the record-breaking total prize fund of €3,600,000 on offer from Tuesday 28th April to Saturday 2nd May.

As ever, this carnival provides something for everyone and if there will be a party taking place during the week, the action promises the most intense championship racing.
There is the added ingredient too of the possibility, at least, of Willie Mullins’ 18-year run as champion trainer on his native shore coming to an end, as Gordon Elliott leads the race in pursuit of his maiden title. The Closutton guru remains hot favourite to secure his 20th crown in total, to go with his pair of British championships, with the aforementioned Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase heroes in the mix to go to war on his behalf.

Gaelic Warrior is among 14 entries in the LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP, where two horses that have already beaten him this year, stablemate and Irish Gold Cup conqueror Fact To File, and Ladbrokes King George VI Chase winner The Jukebox Man could oppose.
Lossiemouth is one of a dozen considering participation in the BOODLES CHAMPION HURDLE, with old rival and Thursday’s Aintree Hurdle victress Brighterdaysahead in their midst, while Il Etait Temps has a select group of seven high-class opponents potentially looking to take his scalp in the WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE, which is shaping up to get the festival off to an explosive start as Marine Nationale and Majborough will be expected to line up along with Energumene and Captain Guinness.

Long-time sparring partners, Robcour duo, Bob Olinger and Teahupoo, are in the mix along with 16 other horses for the LADBROKES CHAMPION STAYERS’ HURDLE. Cheltenham/Aintree hero Home By The Lee has been given the option of attempting a unique treble but trainer Joseph O’Brien reports the bid to be unlikely. The roll call remains a competitive one, however, as is typical of the sumptuous feast served up throughout the week.
O’Brien doesn’t contend for champion honours in this sphere, given he trains only 25 or so jumps horses at his predominantly flat operation on Carriganóg Hill, yet his percentage return is hugely impressive at the highest level and only three trainers in Ireland and Britain have trained more individual Grade 1 winners this season – Mullins, Elliott and Nicky Henderson. He will be trying to add to that stunning return, while Elliott and Henry de Bromhead are among others with contenders that are accustomed to big-race success at the famed Co Kildare venue described by Mullins as a “an amphitheatre of racing”.

There is the prospect of a vibrant British representation too, buoyed by last year’s successes at the Punchestown Festival and their improved results on home territory also. Dan Skelton, Ben Pauling, Nicky Henderson, Harry Derham, Paul Nicholls, Olly Murphy and Jeremy Scott are just some of the cross-channel crew eyeing a journey across the Irish Sea.
Meanwhile, Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm have made a couple of entries from their French base.
But as befitting a year when more trainers have elbowed their way into the big time, such as Andy Slattery, Colm Murphy, Emmet Mullins and Noel Meade, the fare is open and there are countless operations dreaming of glory.
Patrick Harty’s earlier memories of racing revolve around the Punchestown Festival. Now that he is joint trainer on the Curragh-based yard with his father Eddie, he is relishing the prospect of being a protagonist on the big stage.
“We are delighted to have a couple of entries in the Grade 1s at Punchestown,” Harty Jnr says.
“The week at Punchestown is a brilliant race week and we’re really excited. As a Kildare man, I have been going for years and taking days off from school. It was always a great meeting and to have horses running in some of the top races and the best races is extremely exciting.
“I would absolutely love to win one of the races I was chasing as a kid, along with the stars of the time, and it would be very cool to train a star of this time.”

LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP
(Wednesday, April 29th – 14 entries)

Gaelic Warrior (Willie Mullins) is the marquee name among the 14 entries for the LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP, following his effortless triumph at Prestbury Park but he won’t have it all his own way and indeed, we could have another pulsating renewal to live up to recent offerings. Gaelic Warrior’s Cheltenham predecessor, Inothewayurthinkin (Gavin Cromwell) could line up after posting his best performance of the current campaign to date when staying on to be third last month, while another JP McManus-owned gelding, Fact To File was a wide-margin winner over his stablemate in the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
The Jukebox Man also finished in front of Gaelic Warrior this year, by the tiny margin of two noses, but that earned Ben Pauling’s stable star the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on St Stephen’s Day.
While not involved at the business end in Cheltenham, a reason has been unearthed and Pauling is leaning towards making to trip to Ireland if his charge shows the right signs after a minor wind procedure.
“He was a bit stiff and sore after the Gold Cup and there was a lot didn’t go our way in the race so we’ve a lot to find. But he’s been at that level before and hopefully he can find that again,” Pauling reports.
“He’s had a little tinkle on his wind – he had a little soft palate issue we had to sort out. But if he shows the form I want him to show leading up to the race, we’ll go over and give it another crack. He’s a horse that I know has got the ability to be in these races. He’s proven it already and there’s no taking away from how impressive Gaelic Warrior was but we’ve got to try serve it up to him.
“He didn’t have an overly hard race at Cheltenham because he probably wasn’t able to put it in. We all know the Gold Cup can leave a dent in horses and he probably hasn’t had that dent put in him. And after running in a Gold Cup, we don’t need to worry about fitness. So long as he’s sound and well and 100%, we’ll be there.”

WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE
(Tuesday, April 28th – 8 entries)
Quality is the watchword in the WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE too with winners of the three of the last five renewals and the last five Queen Mothers at Cheltenham, it has the potential to be one of the greatest renewals in recent memory and certainly will get the Punchestown started with a bang.
Energumene (Willie Mullins) and Captain Guinness (Henry de Bromhead) have moved into veteran status now but remain enthusiastic about their jobs, as the former proved most recently at Fairyhouse.
Marine Nationale thrilled a huge crowd when bolting up in the race 12 months ago, following up from a rousing victory at Cheltenham and replicating Energumene’s double feats of 2022-23.
Barry Connell’s brilliant chaser missed Prestbury Park in March due to a slight knock but is on course to defend his domestic crown with Il Etait Temps, who benefited from a consummately patient ride by Paul Townend to score at Cheltenham, the chief rivaland thus in with a chance of joining the recent double winners.
Another Mullins trainee, four-time Grade 1 winner Majborough, would be a very interesting participant given his tendency to mix the sublime with the ridiculous, while Solness (Joseph O’Brien), himself a triple top-flight victor over two miles, would ensure a true-run affair coming back from losing by just a neck to Grey Dawning over 2m5f in the Melling Chase at Aintree.
“Of the horses that ran at Aintree, Solness is the only one that could continue to Punchestown,” O’Brien comments.
“He ran a great race at Aintree and has had another great season. He would be going back down to two miles but it will all depend on how we feel he recovers from Saturday and we will make a call on that next week.”

BOODLES CHAMPION HURDLE
(Friday, May 1st – 12 entries)
There will be a new name on the roll of honour this year with the winner of the last three renewals, State Man, sidelined with the season still in its infancy.
It was State Man’s primacy that restricted Lossiemouth (Willie Mullins) to mares company but she flourished at Cheltenham, turning the tables on Brighterdaysahead, who had held the upper hand in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in February.
Gordon Elliott’s mare has since won the Aintree Hurdle back over two and a half miles with a game performance, while Lossiemouth has enjoyed some easy time since Cheltenham.
Another horse of the fair sex, Golden Ace is on the list too, having been State Man’s nearest challenger 12 months ago. It was Jeremy Scott’s admirable charge that picked up the pieces when State Man came a cropper at the last in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle prior to that.
Jonjo and AJ O’Neill enjoyed success at the Punchestown Festival last year with Petit Tonnerre but are aiming higher with Wilful, who was runner-up in the Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle 12 months ago but has improved in leaps and bounds since, most recently running out a three-length winner of the William Hill County Hurdle at Cheltenham.
“Wilful is our only Grade 1 entry at Punchestown,” says AJ. “ It was a cracking performance from him at Cheltenham in the County. We were absolutely delighted with him. He’s a horse that has really progressed through the season and kept improving and he has come out of Cheltenham well.
“He’s put in really strong performances in handicaps at Cheltenham and Ascot, when winning, and also at Windsor during their winter festival, so he’s had a really good season and it would be great to see him step up in grade so we will keep an eye on it and make a bit of a plan from there.”

LADBROKES CHAMPION STAYERS’ HURDLE
(Thursday, April 30th – 18 entries)
Although Home By The Lee is reported by trainer Joseph O’Brien to be slated for a trip to Auteuil after carrying out the Cheltenham/Aintree double on Saturday, he has been given the option of bidding for the major festival treble that another 11-year-old, Sire Du Berlais, only failed to record by three-quarters of a length in 2023. The troupe of potentials remains of the highest calibre, with a plethora of Grade 1 winners eyeing up an opportunity to add to their tallies.
Bob Olinger and Teahupoo were Stayers’ Hurdle victors at Cheltenham in 2025 and 2024 respectively for Robcour and while the former ran another cracker last March in third, the latter was unusuallyuncompetitive.
Punchestown is a happy hunting ground however, and were he to score in the LADBROKES CHAMPION STAYERS’ HURDLE on Thursday, he would enter the Pantheon of the racetrack’s greats by emulating Klassical Dream as a three-in-a-row kingpin (2021-23). Quevega retains the record with her four consecutive triumphs from 2010-14.
As well as entering Bob Olinger, Henry de Bromhead has also included two other Robcour representatives, Hiddenvalley Lake and Air Of Entitlement, while Teahupoo’s handler, Gordon Elliott has put Honesty Policy into the mix.

PRL CHAMPION NOVICE HURDLE
(Tuesday, April 28th – 22 entries)
El Cairos was the first Irish-trained horse home in fifth in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and could well be a different proposition back at Punchestown with more improvement in the tank and a runner-up finish in the JP & M Doyle INH Flat Race last year in the memory bank.
The winner of that contest, Baron Noir, also finished just ahead of El Cairos at Cheltenham and it is no surprise that Alan King has a return to the Punchestown Festival in the diary for the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate-owned son of Vadamos.
Gordon Elliott, who trains El Cairos, also has an interesting contenders in Skylight Hustle, who fell in the Turners at Cheltenham after racing keenly going up in trip from her Grade 1 mares’ triumph at Leopardstown, and Koktail Brut, who bounced back from being down the field at Prestbury Park to win at Grade 2 level by almost 10 lengths at Fairyhouse.
The runner-up on that occasion was Ebony King, and Andy Slattery – who is red hot at present – provides his charge with an opportunity to reoppose.
Le Labo has a number of entries and would be included in any calculations were he to turn up here. After unseating John Gleeson on debut over hurdles at Thurles, the Mount Nelson bay fell when clear at the last in a competitive maiden at Cork subsequently. He put it all together last time when rewarding Joseph O’Brien for his ambition to battle to a neck victory in a Naas Grade 3 level early last month.
“Le Labo will definitely go in one of the Grade 1 novice hurdles,” O’Brien confirms. “He was gutsy when winning at Naas, so the next logical step is to go up to the next level with him.”

DOOLEY INSURANCE GROUP CHAMPION NOVICE CHASE
(Tuesday, April 28th – 19 entries)
This has attracted a lip-smacking crop of staying novice chasers with Willie Mullins including the 1-2 from Cheltenham, Kitzbuhel and Final Demand, as well as Kappa Jy Pyke, a winner of the Grade 3 Sky Bet Super Sub Novice Chase at Punchestown in January, who finished second in the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse.
Fleur In The Park provided in-form trainer, Any Slattery and jockey Cian Quirke with a first Grade 1 by scoring in that Fairyhouse feature and could well have a tilt at securing a lucrative and notable double.
Emmet Mullins has given Irish Grand National hero, Soldier In Milan the option, while Henry de Bromhead includes his brilliant mare The Big Westerner, who has not been seen since winning a Grade 2 mares’ chase at Limerick over Christmas and missed an intended Cheltenham engagement due to her preference for soft ground.

CHANNOR REAL ESTATE GROUP NOVICE HURDLE
(Wednesday, April 29th – 32 entries)
The spread of Grade 1-winning trainers has been a notable aspect of the Irish jumps season and Zanooshis another heartwarming story, having provided Colm Murphy with his first elite success since returning to the training ranks in the Honeysuckle Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Fairyhouse. In the process, the Winning Ways Reunion Syndicate’s daughter of Harzand was also providing jockey, Brian Hayes with his maiden Grade 1 triumph.
It was a fifth straight victory for this clearly progressive mare and it is likely that ground conditions will dictate whether she takes in this three-mile examination or the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle on Friday.
Willie Mullins is mob-handed, with 11 of the 32 entrants, and dual Grade 1 winner Doctor Steinberg would be on a retrieval mission, having faded when travelling very keenly in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle.
There are five cross-channel entrants, including Johnny’s Jury, who won at Cheltenham for Jamie Snowden, and No Drama This End, from the Paul Nicholls yard.
Harry Derham experienced Punchestown Festival success in 2025 when Ascending Lark galloped to victory in the Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle and the talented young conditioner will be back with the Isaac Souede/Simon Munir-owned Le Frimeur, who like Zanoosh, has the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle as a potential alternative.
“Le Frimeur had a setback after he won in the autumn and was good at Newbury. He has been put in the two races. That obviously won’t be a decision just for me. There are some very experienced people in the Double Green team so I would imagine there will be conversations closer to the time.
“He’ll be kept in both and I will just try to prepare the horse in the best possible condition for Punchestown week. I’ll obviously give my view but you have to respect there’s an enormous amount of experience in the team and we’ll make the decision closer to the time.”

RACE & STAY AT PUNCHESTOWN CHAMPION INH FLAT RACE
(Wednesday, April 29th – 19 entries)
Bambino Fever (2025), A Dream To Share (2023), Facile Vega (2022), Fayonagh (2017), Champagne Fever (2012) and Cousin Vinny (2008) completed the Cheltenham/Punchestown double in the past and that is the territory The Mourne Rambler will enter if prevailing for Noel Meade, although flat champion jockey, Colin Keane will not be eligible to do the steering in the RACE & STAY AT PUNCHESTOWN CHAMPION INH FLAT RACE.
The Mourne Rambler was a convincing winner of the Cheltenham Champion Bumper when Love Sign D’aunou was favourite, but the Mullins charge never got involved, having sluiced home to a 24-length triumph on debut on heavy ground in Naas in January.
Gordon Elliott has enjoyed plenty of bumper success during the current campaign and Charismatic Kid, bought for Gigginstown House Stud after winning for trainer Colm Ryan at Navan in December, could be on the upgrade after following up a close third at Dublin Racing Festival with an 11-length victory at Fairyhouse

BARBERSTOWN CASTLE NOVICE CHASE
(Thursday, April 30th – 13 entries)
Racing lovers will not want to miss this if Willie Mullins trainees, Kargese and Kopek Des Bordes do battle once more after a thrilling contest in the Arkle in which the jumping accuracy of Kenny Alexander’s mare under Danny Mullins down the stretch moved the dial in her favour.
Kargese was a high-class hurdler too, and finished third in last year’s Boodles Champion Hurdle, just six lengths behind the dominant State Man, but has improved over fences.
Kopek Des Bordes was victorious in last year’s Supreme at Cheltenham and his endeavours in defeat last month were notable given that he had raced only once over fences prior to that, due to an injury setback.
It is reasonable to expect the McCarthy family’s pride and joy to improve for his first run in almost four months though in truth, he did very little wrong in the jumping department before making a significant error at the last when still travelling strongly.
Stencil would be a fascinating contestant for the French-based training duo, Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm but the JP McManus-owned five-year-old has disappointed since winning at Chepstow in January, racing very keenly in the Jack Richards at Cheltenham and then being pulled up when near the top of the market in the Red Rum at Aintree.
Eddie and Patrick Harty rolled the dice with Irish Panther in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham, and the nine-year-old justified that decision by looking sure to make the frame, only to make an uncharacteristic shuddering error at the last.
A product of the late Edward O’Grady, Irish Panther did connections proud and will now revert to novice company in pursuit of a coveted Grade 1, having been just denied by Romeo Coolio over 2m1f at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day.
“Irish Panther has come out of Cheltenham very well,” reports Patrick Harty. “We were delighted with his run for the most part in the Champion Chase, bar that bad mistake at the last, where he just walked through it and did well to stand up. He would have been in the first four – possibly second – but almost definitely third or firth. So we’re delighted with that. It gives us plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
“We are stepping back now into novice company at Punchestown, which is a very fair track at which the best horse usually wins. He has to take on the first two from the Arkle in all likelihood, but we have a lot of belief in our horse. He’s very fast, he’s very talented and he jumps great and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

ALANNA HOMES CHAMPION NOVICE HURDLE
(Friday, May 1st – 31 entries)
King Rasko Grey is the one to beat among this lengthy catalogue of talented operators at the intermediate trip, the gelding owned by Audrey Turley and trained by Willie Mullins building on the promise he had shown when third at the Dublin Racing Festival over 2m, by prevailing in the Turners at Cheltenham.
Stablemate He’s On Fire would be one to note if lining up, as a late starter this term that has created a major impression by backing up a 20-length maiden hurdle victory at Carlisle in February with a Grade 2 success by a dozen lengths at Fairyhouse.
Mullins might stew over the participation of Doctor Steinberg also, given how hard he pulled in the Albert Bartlett on his first attempt at 3m. He was a Grade 1 winner by eight lengths over 2m5f at the DRF despite that over-exuberance.
As mentioned already, this would be an option for Zanoosh also, with two and a half miles on soft ground right up her ally as evidenced when winning the Grade 1 Honeysuckle at Fairyhouse, but also proving her stamina over three miles, which is why the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle is being considered by trainer, Colm Murphy.
After some good runs in defeat, Barley Lane got off the mark over hurdles at Down Royal last month and Eddie and Patrick Harty believe the time is right to try find out what the five-year-old’s level might be.
“We were very happy with how he won at Down Royal on St Patrick’s Day,” says Patrick Harty. “It was a big step forward on his two previous efforts. He’s a horse with a lot of promise, a lot of potential and we’re quite interested to run him in a Grade 1, to see how he copes with the higher tempo against better horses than he has previously encountered and it will help us decide what we do going forward.”
This is among the options for Le Frimeur (Harry Derham) and Le Labo (Joseph O’Brien), as mentioned by both trainers above.

SBK IRISH EBF MARES’ CHAMPION HURDLE
(Saturday, May 2nd – 10 entries)
Lossiemouth (Willie Mullins) heads the entries herealong with old rival Brighterdaysahead (Gordon Elliott) but they would be expected to participate in the Boodles Champion Hurdle if drawing the curtain down on their campaigns at the Punchestown Festival.
Golden Ace (Jeremy Scott) could take this in, however, having run well in defeat in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle and the Aintree Hurdle. She showed her liking for the course when the nearest challenger to State Man in the 2025 Boodles Champion Hurdle.
Wodhooh would be a tough nut to crack though, as Elliott’s saviour at the last two Cheltenham festivals, most recently in the Mares Hurdle. The Meath mancould be in need of the prize money too in his bid to secure a first championship title.

BALLYMORE CHAMPION FOUR-YEAR-OLD HURDLE
(Saturday, May 2nd – 22 entries)
The curtain comes down on the Grade 1 fare with the juvenile hurdlers. Apolon De Charnie will attemptconfirm his dominance of the division after winning in the Triumph Hurdle in his first run since joining the Mullins brigade from France and theoretically, should improve for that experience.
Mange Tout has been held in high esteem at Cullentra House for some time and confirmed why when holding off a rallying Selma De Vary in the Grade 1 Boodles Anniversary 4YO Hurdle at Aintree on Thursday.
Bartholomew created a strong impression when scoring by 10 lengths in his maiden hurdle at Cork last week, while the George/Zetterholm tandem could ship Noire Wulf, who won at Compiegne the same day.
One Horse Town (Harry Derham) is a likely participant. He was winning for the fourth successive time in a busy campaign when delivering a Grade 2 at Prestbury Park last November. He then placed in three subsequent top-class juvenile affairs subsequently before finishing down the field in the Triumph.
“One Horse Town had a little break after Cheltenham,” Derham reveals. “He’s had a great season, wasn’t good enough at Cheltenham, but he deserves his place in the line-up.
“He’s been a really good fun horse for his owners this season and he’ll go there and take his chance. We’re not going under any illusions but he’s been a really tough, hardy juvenile and we’ll go and hope he runs a nice race.”