Punchestown Champion Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Punchestown Festival)

History, data, and trends combine in our look at the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, run over 2m at Punchestown during the Punchestown Festival. Here, we reveal the winning profiles, connection records, and the statistical patterns that could help guide your selection this year.
Punchestown Champion Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Punchestown Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Punchestown Champion Hurdle Preview

The feature race on day four of the festival is the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, a Grade 1 race that is run over a trip of two miles, in which nine hurdles stand between the runners and being crowned champion. The race is open to runners who are aged four or older.

Punchestown Champion Hurdle Information:

We also have a dedicated Punchestown tips page that will cover this race, as well as all the other races on the day. See which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. We cover all of the major races at the Punchestown Festival, and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday.

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How competitive is the Punchestown Champion Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2012, when the race had an over-round of 108%. The race in 2010 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 125%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, the over-round has been 114%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £114 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Punchestown Champion Hurdle Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Punchestown Champion Hurdle Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Punchestown Champion Hurdle races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Hurricane Fly (3:49.60) in 2011
  2. Wicklow Brave (3:49.90) in 2017
  3. Macs Joy (3:51.80) in 2006

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Punchestown Champion Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 8 winners. Backing all 17 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -0.67. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2027 Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:49.60 was set by Hurricane Fly in 2011, trained by W P Mullins and ridden by R Walsh, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2013 when Hurricane Fly won in a time of 4:14.30 for trainer W P Mullins, who booked R Walsh in the saddle.

What the expert says...
Since 2011, 12 of the 15 winners came from the Champion Hurdle; 8 of those 12 did the double, including the 2026 winner, Lossiemouth.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Punchestown Champion Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Punchestown Champion Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Punchestown Champion Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2026
3:57.00
Lossiemouth (FR)
7yo 11-5 2/7F
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2025
3:57.00
State Man (FR)
8yo 11-12 9/4
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2024
4:04.70
State Man (FR)
7yo 11-12 2/7F
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2023
3:58.90
State Man (FR)
6yo 11-12 2/5F
Paul Townend
W P Mullins (IRE)
2022
3:51.80
Honeysuckle (GB)
8yo 11-5 1/5F
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2021
3:53.10
Honeysuckle (GB)
7yo 11-7 4/7F
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2019
3:54.30
Buveur DAir (FR)
8yo 11-12 2/1F
Davy Russell
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2018
4:00.90
Supasundae (GB)
8yo 11-12 7/1
Robbie Power
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2017
3:49.90
Wicklow Brave (GB)
8yo 11-12 12/1
Mr P W Mullins
W P Mullins (IRE)
2016
4:01.60
Vroum Vroum Mag (FR)
7yo 11-5 4/6F
R Walsh
W P Mullins (IRE)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Punchestown Champion Hurdle have been based:

  • IRE: 18 winners with an additional 15 placings from 107 runners
  • GB: 2 winners with an additional 5 placings from 21 runners

2026 Punchestown Champion Hurdle Replay


Punchestown Champion Hurdle Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins, who has won the race eleven times, with those eleven winners coming from Hurricane Fly (2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013), Faugheen (2015), Vroum Vroum Mag (2016), Wicklow Brave (2017), State Man (2023, 2024 & 2025) and Lossiemouth (2026). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle are Mrs John Harrington (3 wins), Nicky Henderson (2 wins) and Henry De Bromhead (2 wins). One trainer has not had the best of times in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle; Gordon Elliott has sent a total of 11 runners to the race without recording a win.

Here are some of the top Punchestown Champion Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
W P Mullins43-11-20-11.82-0.17
Mrs John Harrington7-3-5+6.55+3.11
Nicky Henderson10-2-5-4.00-2.40
Henry De Bromhead8-2-3-5.23-4.34
C Byrnes2-1-2+1.00+1.20
H Rogers1-1-1+20.00+12.00
Gordon Elliott11-0-0-11.00-9.00
Noel Meade7-0-0-7.00-7.00
David Pipe3-0-0-3.00-2.00
Jeremy Scott2-0-2-2.00+2.13

Punchestown Champion Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Hurricane Fly (2010), State Man (2023, 2024 & 2025) and Lossiemouth (2026).

Here are some of the top Punchestown Champion Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Paul Townend13-5-8-1.77+3.59
Mr P W Mullins5-1-3+8.00+6.60
Jack Kennedy5-0-0-5.00-4.00
Danny Mullins4-0-1-4.00-2.08
Lorcan Williams2-0-2-2.00+2.13
Sean Flanagan2-0-0-2.00-2.00
Keith Donoghue2-0-0-2.00-2.00
Mark Walsh2-0-0-2.00-2.00
J J Slevin1-0-0-1.00+0.00
Danny Gilligan1-0-0-1.00-1.00

Punchestown Champion Hurdle Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +12.74, is when runners last win was 1 start ago.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 wins in the past year, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-29.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Punchestown Champion Hurdle is Cheltenham; there have been a total of 15 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Aintree; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Aintree last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 16 winners from a total of 114 runners, while female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 14 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Punchestown Champion Hurdle:

  • Montjeu (4 Wins)
  • Doctor Dino (3 Wins)
  • Sulamani (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Silent Oscar in 2007, winning for H Rogers at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Robbie Power. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 13 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2027 Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

Route to the Punchestown Champion Hurdle

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Punchestown Champion Hurdle. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Lossiemouth
Cheltenham - 1st of 9 (7/5)
Champion Hurdle
2025 - State Man
Cheltenham - F of 7 (8/1)
Champion Hurdle
2024 - State Man
Cheltenham - 1st of 8 (2/5)
Champion Hurdle
2023 - State Man
Cheltenham - 2nd of 7 (7/2)
Champion Hurdle
2022 - Honeysuckle
Cheltenham - 1st of 10 (8/11)
Champion Hurdle
2021 - Honeysuckle
Cheltenham - 1st of 10 (11/10)
Champion Hurdle
2019 - Buveur DAir
Aintree - 2nd of 7 (5/6)
Aintree Hurdle
2018 - Supasundae
Aintree - 2nd of 9 (11/10)
Aintree Hurdle
2017 - Wicklow Brave
Cheltenham - 7th of 11 (23/1)
Champion Hurdle
2016 - Vroum Vroum Mag
Cheltenham - 1st of 19 (4/6)
Close Brothers Mares Hurdle

Schedule for Tuesday at the Punchestown Festival

The highlight on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival is the Grade 1 Champion Chase, which carries a purse of €300,000. There are also two other Grade 1 races on the card with the Champion Novice Hurdle and the Champion Novice Chase.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Killashee Hotel Handicap HurdleKalix Delabarriere (FR)
6yo - 10/1
W P Mullins
Sean Cleary-Farrell
Champion Novice HurdleEachtotheirown (IRE)
7yo - 16/1
Barry Connell
Sean Flanagan
Punchestown Champion Novice ChaseWestern Fold (IRE)
7yo - 18/1
Gordon Elliott
Jack Kennedy
Goffs Defender BumperAbbeyglen (FR)
4yo - 11/2
Martin Brassil
Mr J L Gleeson
Punchestown Champion ChaseIl Etait Temps (FR)
8yo - 8/11
W P Mullins
Paul Townend

Schedule for Wednesday at the Punchestown Festival

The Punchestown Gold Cup is the feature on day two of the festival. This Grade 1 is worth €300,000 and is one of three G1 races on the card, with the Channor Novice Hurdle and Champion I.N.H. Flat Race being the others.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Channor Group Novice HurdleLe Frimeur (FR)
5yo - 18/1
Harry Derham
J J Slevin
Champion INH Flat RaceWith Nolimit (FR)
5yo - 14/1
Gordon Elliott
Mr J M Halford
Punchestown Handicap ChaseNouvotic (FR)
7yo - 7/1
Henry De Bromhead
Darragh O'Keeffe
Punchestown Gold CupGaelic Warrior (GER)
8yo - 5/6
W P Mullins
Paul Townend

Schedule for Thursday at the Punchestown Festival

Two Grade 1 races feature on day three, the highlight of those two being the €300,000 Champion Stayers Hurdle, the other is the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Conway Piling Handicap HurdleBlue Mosque (IRE)
6yo - 6/1
Noel Meade
Donagh Meyler
Frontline Security Handicap ChaseCome Walk With Me (IRE)
7yo - 4/1
Edward Cawley
Donagh Meyler
Barberstown Castle Novice ChaseSalvator Mundi (FR)
6yo - 13/2
W P Mullins
Harry Cobden
Champion Stayers HurdleBob Olinger (IRE)
11yo - 4/1
Henry De Bromhead
Darragh O'Keeffe

Schedule for Friday at the Punchestown Festival

The Champion Hurdle is the feature on the Saturday; this Grade 1 is worth €300,000 and is one of two Grade 1s on the card, with the Champion Novice Hurdle being the other.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Punchestown Listed Novice Handicap ChaseFuniculi Funicula (FR)
6yo - 7/2
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Punchestown Champion Novice HurdleKing Rasko Grey (FR)
6yo - 8/13
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Punchestown Champion HurdleLossiemouth (FR)
7yo - 2/7
W P Mullins
Paul Townend

Schedule for Saturday at the Punchestown Festival

The final day of the Punchestown Festival sees a couple of Grade 1 races, which both carry purses of €125,000, and those are the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle and the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Irish EBF Mares Champion HurdlePlace De La Nation (FR)
5yo - 10/1
W P Mullins
Danny Mullins
Champion Four-Year-Old HurdleSaratoga (IRE)
4yo - 9/2
Padraig Roche
Mark Walsh
Punchestown Listed Handicap HurdleHello Neighbour (IRE)
5yo - 12/1
Gavin Cromwell
Keith Donoghue

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Punchestown Champion Hurdle Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.

Darren Brett

Darren Brett

Expert Guide

Darren has worked in the horse racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for jump racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful national hunt racing blogs for OLBG.

Other Principal Races at the Punchestown Racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Punchestown racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in February

Races in November

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