To the staff of Punchestown Racecourse,
On behalf of myself, my husband Jim, and our three children, George, Olivia and Grace, we would like to thank you most sincerely for sending us to Lapland last Saturday, the 13th of December.
George was the lucky boy from Two Mile House National School whose Golden Ticket was pulled from the hat at Punchestown Premiere Weekend. He won an all-expenses-paid day trip to Lapland in Finland. Having his name called felt like a Christmas miracle — a truly wonderful thing to happen to our family — and we were filled with excitement and gratitude from that moment on.
We were even excited for our 3.00am wake-up call on Saturday morning! I would describe the day as a Magical Marathon — 21 hours of constant movement, filled with truly magical moments.
We flew with TUI, who had chartered the flight to Kittilä in northern Finland. The flight lasted over three hours, and we disembarked into a very unfamiliar world. The temperature was -22°C. My nose hair froze as I breathed in, and the cold crept up the legs of my jeans — a dry cold unlike anything we experience in Ireland. It was dusky even at 1 o’clock local time. The trees were covered in snow, and the surroundings were quiet and beautiful. Santa’s elves were everywhere, spreading cheer and encouraging us along.
On arrival, we had to layer up to protect ourselves. We were warned that it was particularly cold, even by local standards — snowing and breezy — but the suits we were given worked a charm.
We got to meet Santa, and we asked him to help Punchestown win Racecourse of the Year. He said he would. We also told him how excited all the boys and girls from Punchestown and Two Mile House are for his visit next week and sent him their love.
Throughout the day we enjoyed so many incredible experiences: a reindeer ride, a husky sleigh, sledding down snow slopes, snowball fights with the elves, cookie decorating, warming up by cosy fires and even riding a snowmobile.
The day was made up of beautiful moments that will never be forgotten. The children loved every part of it — even the long flights, the tiredness & the cold.
Punchestown has played an important role in my family’s history. My grandmother and grandfather: Maura and Michael Burke, leased land in Punchestown from Mrs. Arthur Moore during the 1980s and 1990s.
As a Two Mile House girl, Punchestown has been a constant in my life from early childhood to the present day. When I was in primary school, we had three days off during the Punchestown Festival every year. My extended family and I loved Punchestown week and always attended at least one day. We would be given a pound by my grandmother and spend hours on the hurdy-gurdys going back and forth to our family.
I celebrated my hen party at Punchestown, and my husband and family attend the New Year’s Eve meeting every year.
Punchestown generously donated money to my brother, Adam Burke, in 2017, and I attended with him on the morning it was presented to him by Dick O’ Sullivan and Snowball Pearce. We celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday of Premiere weekend in the private suites and were so well looked after by your staff.
My aunt Helen Smullen and cousins Ciara, Sinead and Eimear Smullen rode in the charity race at the Punchestown festival over a number of years.
The racecourse is interlinked with so many of our family traditions, and now we bring our own children to Punchestown annually as well.
Congratulations on winning Racecourse of the Year — it is so richly deserved. The racecourse is such an important part of many local people’s lives. It’s a happy place for us where we celebrate, be together and feel at home.
Thank you again for an experience our family will treasure forever.
With sincere thanks,
Kate Eustace & Family
Winners of the famous Velka Pardubicka from outside the Czech Republic has been as rare as hen’s teeth in the past 30 years, but Stumptown leads the charge to become the first ever Irish-trained winner of the race on Sunday since its creation in 1874.
The winner of cross country races at Cheltenham and Punchestown is one of three declarations for the race trained outside the Czech Republic, looking to break a home-trained stranglehold on the race. It’s A Snip in 1995, and before that, Stephen’s Society in 1973, are two in just seven foreign-trained winners of the race in 60 years.
Gavin Cromwell, whose expertise spans major Flat races as much as the top echelon of Jumping, reported Stumptown to have set off for Pardubice on Monday, and will join him there for Sunday’s race, his first visit with a runner, although he attended as a spectator 18 years ago.
“We’re delighted to have a runner. It’s a unique discipline and some stuff at Pardubice will be new to my horse. If he takes to it, he’ll take some beating,” he reported today. Owners, the Furze Bush Syndicate, led by Ger Teahon, will be in vociferous support of jockey Keith Donoughue, who has an outstanding record in cross country events.
The Irish challenge is completed by Peter Maher’s Cavalry Master and a late purchase, trained by Mrs Arthur Moore, in Gentleman de Reve. Cavalry Master, who joined Peter Maher from Gordon Elliott last January, has been well beaten and pulled up in two outings over the banks course at Punchestown and ridden by Francis O’Keefe. Gentleman de Reve is a different kettle of fish altogether.
The French-bred has been running in the best cross country company under the guidance of Emmanuel Clayeux. Six sporting US owners, led by Dixon Stroud, one of the leading US timber race owners, tasked their Maryland trainer, Joe Davies, to find a horse, to be ridden by son Teddy, who is diverting from University studies this weekend to take the mount, and has already tasted big race success in the 2024 Maryland Hunt Cup. He pulled up in the Czech race last year a mile from home after his horse blew up. Co-owners Sam Slater, Charles Noell, Victoria Crawford, Mary Charlotte Parr and Dann Colhoun will travel from Baltimore later this week.
Gentleman de Reve is not eligible to run in US jump races, so will lodge with Peter Maher after the race with a view to taking in cross country races at Punchestown and possibly Cheltenham. Expect him to figure in Crystal Cup standings as the series develops.
“These are a group of great sporting owners,” reported Joe Davies. “Dixon set his heart on the Velka some time back, and this is our second attempt. I guess if you’re fishing for Moby Dick, best bring the tartare sauce.” American parlance for fancying their chances, we think.
But if the English-speaking raiders think this will be an easy task, they are sorely mistaken. The entire Czech steeplechase calendar is built around qualifying for this 4 1/2m contest, so no surprise that course and distance winners do well here.
The home team is led by Klarc Kent, a length second to Captain Cody in the Scottish National last April when trained by Willie Mullins. Since purchased by Jiří Charvát, Chair of the Czech Jockey Club and owner of Most Racecourse, an hour north west of Prague, his single race over cross country obstacles to date was disappointing, giving him ground to make up on Dulcar de Sivola and Stormmy, but if that experience has taught him how to deal with the wide variety of fences this discipline presents, his rating should put him in with a strong chance.
Two of last year’s first three line up again for a race in which 4 horses have won on 3 or more consecutive occasions since 1987, the most recent being Orphée des Blins in 2014. Last year’s dead heat winner Sexy Lord, trained by Martina Růžičková, has enjoyed a near perfect prep, winning at Pardubice over 5,800m in June with several of Sunday’s runners behind, and a length second to Chelmsford in an identical race in August. The gelding has the beating of Cuwall, Lost, Dumon du Roclay and Zarate on the form of those races. Zarate is one of two mounts James Best has picked up at Pardubice.
Eight year old High In The Sky hasn’t won for trainer Dalibor Török since October ’23, finishing a never-challenging second in his qualifying race at the start of September. Charyjape also has plenty to prove against Dulcar de Sivola on the form of their last meeting here in early September. Araucarias was an 8l second to the French-bred on that occasion too.
The Velka Pardubicka, now in its 135th year, throws up occasional surprising results in the way Aintree used to before modification of the fences turned it into a fairly orthodox, albeit very valuable, handicap. As a conditions race, all bar the mare, Lost, carry 70kg, lending the advantage to those familiar with both the obstacles and course. Stumptown is however, more highly rated than any of the other runners, and with luck in running, should prevail over Sexy Lord with Zarate fancied to fill the minor placings.