The Punchestown Winter Festival is on the horizon

With the football season just starting and cricket still being played, it may seem a tad early to be talking about the winter. Not if you’re an Irish horse racing fan, though, because the countdown is already on for the Punchestown Winter Festival and it can’t come soon enough.

Saturday November 16th and Sunday November 17th are the dates to put down in your diary. This year, the Winter Festival is expected to be bigger and better than it has ever been before.

What more could you ask for in mid-November? Well, dry weather perhaps unless that horse you can’t wait to back loves the mud. It’s already been an exciting year for Punchestown, and there has been refurbishment of most of the public facilities. Next year will see the length and width of the course increased as well.

This Winter Festival isn’t all about horses continuing their preparations for the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. Following the success it had last year, the Up the Yard Stable Staff Challenge is back. It’s an early start for racegoers on the 18th when it’s Up the Yard Stable and Stud Staff day.

The challenges will include a one mile and six furlongs race around the famous Punchestown track. Those taking part certainly do have a challenge ahead of them as competitors must not have ridden under rules or between the flags. A special assessment session at RACE will be held before the actual event to determine that riders of a high enough standard to compete safely.

Those taking part will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the 2018 winner Camilla Sharples who won a holiday in the Algarve. There will also be inter-yard challenges and fun competitions throughout the day.

Sunday sees the Berney Bros Huntsman’s Challenge with everything from a sack race to a best dressed competition and fund raising events for the Irish Injured Jockey Fund.

But now to the serious side of the Punchestown Winter Festival, where there will be some excellent action on the turf and bookies such as Betfair, Bet365 and SportNation will be as usual vying to offer the most attractive odds. The latter offers very competitive odds so it’s worth keeping an eye on their horse racing page.

The top race on Sunday is the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle, a Grade 1 race with the entrants looking to bolster their hopes of success at Cheltenham next year. The race is open to horses that are aged four years and over and is run over two miles. It is a pattern trial race for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. In 2012, Hurricane Fly won this race and then went on to win that major race.

This is a race that has been dominated by trainer Willie Mullins in recent years. He’s trained the winner of the last eight renewals beginning with Thousand Stars in 2011 and last year seeing Sharjah race to victory. That winner went on to win the Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown but was then brought down at an early stage in the Champion Hurdle.

Hurricane Fly won this Grade 1 race three years in a row between 2012 and 2014. Faugheen was the winner two years ago, and if Mullins can train the winner this year, it will be his tenth success in this race.

Some more legendary names to win the Morgiana Hurdle in the recent past include Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca and Harchibald.

Cross country races are always entertaining to watch. Punchestown has a cross country banks course just waiting to deliver thrills galore. There are brush fences, grass banks, hurdles and stone walls. These races include some good horses, too, and double Grand National winner Tiger Roll has been a regular competitor in them, though never over the Punchestown banks courses.

The Grade 2 Betway Craddockstown Novice Chase is another exciting race and takes place on the first day of the Winter Festival. Last year, the race was won by Voix du Reve, trained by Willie Mullins. That success was a stepping stone for the winner who went on to win the Grade 1 Ryanair Gold Cup Novice Chase at Fairyhouse this year.

The Grade 2 Florida Pearl Novice Chase is run over two miles and six and a half furlongs. Named after the legendary Florida Pearl, it was fitting that his trainer Willie Mullins won this race last year with Some Neck. Gordon Elliott was going for three in a row with the favourite Blow By Blow but the Mullins horse lived up to his name to prevail by a neck though he had to survive a stewards enquiry before being declared the winner.

The Punchestown Winter Festival marks the real beginning of the National Hunt season and get racing fans excited for Christmas and the big events ahead in the Spring.