
Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025 Punchestown Festival Saturday Highlights
The final day of the Punchestown Festival features two Grade 1's with the ladies taking centre stage in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle. The great mare Annie Power won this race worth 125,000 euros back to back in 2014 and 2015 when still tackling 18 furlongs, the race distance was raised to 20 furlongs in 2017 which saw Apples Jade add her name to the trophy before Benie Des Dieux did the double in 2018 & 2019.
The second Grade 1 on the card also worth 125,000 euros is the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle over two miles. Willie Mullins has won six of the last eight renewals, Apples Jade whilst still under his care took this in 2016 before moving to Gordon Elliott and taking the Mares Champion Hurdle the following year.
The third race included in our Punchestown Festival Trends Preview is the Punchestown Handicap Hurdle over 20 furlongs, this Grade B event has a 100,000 euro purse and has been won six times by Willie Mullins in the past ten years including each of the last four.
Hopefully, we have pinpointed a winner or two on the final day of the Punchestown Festival. Good Luck!
- 15:42 - Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle
- 16:50 - Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle
- 17:25 - SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle
2025 Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle Preview, Trends & Analysis
A Grade 1 race is run at Punchestown racecourse and is the Mares Champion Hurdle run on the fifth day of the Punchestown Festival. The race is run over two miles and four furlongs in which twelve hurdles are faced, the race is open to mares who are aged four or older.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was the W P Mullins trained Tarla ridden by Paul Townend who set the fastest winning time in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 4:08.90 which was set when winning the race in 2010. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer W P Mullins and jockey Paul Townend with Lossiemouth who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 5:12.80 in the 2024 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- 2010 - Tarla (4:08.90)
- 2011 - Shop Dj (4:14.70)
- 2004 - Stashedaway (4:14.80)
How competitive is the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2023 when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2006 was a race which was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 149%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle, the over-round has been 125% which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £125 which is bet.
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 9 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +19.82.
Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle:
Year | Horse | Info |
---|---|---|
2024 | Lossiemouth (FR) 5yo 11-7 2/11F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
2023 | Echoes In Rain (FR) 7yo 11-7 13/8F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
2022 | Maries Rock (IRE) 7yo 11-5 10/1 | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
2021 | Stormy Ireland (FR) 7yo 11-9 7/2 | Danny Mullins W P Mullins (IRE) |
2019 | Benie Des Dieux (FR) 8yo 11-7 2/5F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
Leading Trainers in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 10 wins and 10 places from 40 runners (+0.23)
- Gordon Elliott - 2 wins and 1 place from 7 runners (+29.00)
- Nicky Henderson - 1 win and 1 place from 7 runners (+4.00)
The leading trainer in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race 10 times. Those 10 winners came from Tarla (2010), Glens Melody (2013), Annie Power (2014), Annie Power (2015), Whiteout (2016), Benie Des Dieux (2018), Benie Des Dieux (2019), Stormy Ireland (2021), Echoes In Rain (2023) & Lossiemouth (2024). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle is Gordon Elliott (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle, Mrs John Harrington has sent a total of 12 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Leading Jockeys in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle
- Paul Townend - 7 wins and 0 places from 10 rides (+23.34)
- Danny Mullins - 1 win and 3 places from 6 rides (-1.50)
- Nico de Boinville - 1 win and 0 places from 2 rides (+9.00)
The leading jockey in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race 7 times. Those 7 winners came from Tarla (2010), Glens Melody (2013), Whiteout (2016), Benie Des Dieux (2018), Benie Des Dieux (2019), Echoes In Rain (2023) & Lossiemouth (2024).
Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,(1,3),1,10,2,2,7,1,7,RR,4,1,1,2,1,3,1,3,3,(1,6),1
- 20 / 20 (59%) - Achieved an RPR of 121+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (60%) - Achieved an RPR of 125+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Had 2 - 11 wins (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Beaten no more -12l (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (70%) - Carried 148 - 161lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (72%) - Ran in a Non Handicap (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 33/1 (Career)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Ran over 1m7½f - 2m4f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Had 2 - 11 wins (Career)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Within the first 11 of the market
- 20 / 20 (79%) - No bigger than 18/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not in a Cl2-3/Cl5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Not on GF/FM/STD (Last Win)
2025 Champion Four Year Old Hurdle Preview, Trends & Analysis
One of the feature races on the final day of the festival at the Punchestown racecourse is the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle, as the title suggests the race is open to four-year-olds only and is to determine the champion four-year-old! The race is run over a trip of two miles in which a total of nine hurdles are jumped.
The runner which holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2015 renewal when Petite Parisienne from W P Mullins under the guidance of B J Cooper, won in a time of 4:09.30, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Barizan, trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Jason Maguire set the quickest time of 3:41.90 in the 2010 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- 2010 - Barizan (3:41.90)
- 2007 - Punjabi (3:42.80)
- 2011 - Grandouet (3:47.40)
How competitive is the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2006 when the race had an over-round of 110%. The race in 2012 was a race which was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 130%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle, the over-round has been 118% which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £118 which is bet.
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -14.53.
Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle:
Year | Horse | Info |
---|---|---|
2024 | Kargese (FR) 4yo 10-7 9/4F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
2023 | Lossiemouth (FR) 4yo 10-7 1/2F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
2022 | Vauban (FR) 4yo 11-0 4/11F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
2021 | Jeff Kidder (IRE) 4yo 11-2 22/1 | Sean Flanagan Noel Meade (IRE) |
2019 | Fusil Raffles (FR) 4yo 11-0 13/8F | Daryl Jacob Nicky Henderson (GB) |
Leading Trainers in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 10 wins and 10 places from 47 runners (-5.52)
- Nicky Henderson - 3 wins and 0 places from 5 runners (+3.63)
- Noel Meade - 1 win and 1 place from 7 runners (+16.00)
The leading trainer in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race 10 times. Those 10 winners came from Quatre Heures (2006), Diakali (2013), Abbyssial (2014), Petite Parisienne (2015), Apples Jade (2016), Bapaume (2017), Saldier (2018), Vauban (2022), Lossiemouth (2023) & Kargese (2024). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle is Nicky Henderson (3 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle, Gordon Elliott has sent a total of 14 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Leading Jockeys in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle
- Paul Townend - 3 wins and 4 places from 13 rides (-6.89)
- Sean Flanagan - 1 win and 1 place from 2 rides (+21.00)
- Daryl Jacob - 1 win and 1 place from 2 rides (+0.63)
The leading jockey in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Paul Townend who has won the race 3 times. Those 3 winners came from Vauban (2022), Lossiemouth (2023) & Kargese (2024).
Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,8,3,F,1,4,2,2,4,UR,1,7,1,1,1,UR,1,7,1,1,1
- 20 / 20 (62%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl2/Cl4-5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (67%) - Break of 14 - 81 days (Last Place)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Not in a LST/Cl4-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - No bigger than 22/1
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Had 1 - 3 placings (90 Days)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Achieved a TS of 98+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Achieved an RPR of 126+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Carried 147 - 156lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Within the first 7 of the market
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran in 3 - 12 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 5 - 20 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in a Non Handicap (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - In a field of 4 - 19 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Had 1 - 5 placings (180 Days)
2025 SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle Preview, Trends & Analysis
Run on the final day of the festival at Punchestown racecourse, this Handicap Hurdle is a Grade B race that is run over a trip of two miles and four furlongs in which the runners will face a today of twelve hurdles, the race is open to runners who are aged four or older.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was the John Joseph Hanlon trained Truckers Delight ridden by Conor O'Farrell who set the fastest winning time in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle, the runner won the race in a time of 4:45.60 which was set when winning the race in 2011. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer W P Mullins and jockey Brian Hayes with Chapeau De Soleil who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 5:31.30 in the 2024 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals:
- 2011 - Truckers Delight (4:45.60)
- 2008 - Brave Right (4:48.50)
- 2023 - Seddon (4:48.50)
How competitive is the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2023 when the race had an over-round of 135%. The race in 2005 was a race which was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 172%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle, the over-round has been 149% which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £149 which is bet.
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle next time out then you would have backed a total of 5 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -6.35.
SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle:
Year | Horse | Info |
---|---|---|
2024 | Chapeau De Soleil (IRE) 6yo 11-0 16/1 | Brian Hayes W P Mullins (IRE) |
2023 | Seddon (IRE) 10yo 10-7 13/2 | Ben Harvey (5lbs) John C McConnell (IRE) |
2022 | Camprond (FR) 6yo 11-4 4/1 | Aidan Coleman Philip Hobbs (GB) |
2021 | Koshari (FR) 9yo 11-9 25/1 | Ricky Doyle W P Mullins (IRE) |
2019 | Mr Adjudicator (GB) 5yo 11-9 20/1 | Mr P W Mullins W P Mullins (IRE) |
Leading Trainers in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 10 wins and 19 places from 109 runners (+48.00)
- A J Martin - 1 win and 0 places from 10 runners (-3.00)
- A L T Moore - 1 win and 0 places from 8 runners (+3.00)
The leading trainer in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins who has won the race 10 times. Those 10 winners came from Joueur DEstruval (2006), Sesenta (2009), Dorset Square (2010), Drive Time (2012), The Paparrazi Kid (2013), Open Eagle (2017), Meri Devie (2018), Mr Adjudicator (2019), Koshari (2021) & Chapeau De Soleil (2024). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle, Noel Meade (0-23), Gordon Elliott (0-18) & Mrs John Harrington (0-15) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Leading Jockeys in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle
- Mr P W Mullins - 2 wins and 0 places from 5 rides (+37.00)
- Mark Walsh - 1 win and 1 place from 13 rides (-6.00)
- Paul Townend - 1 win and 3 places from 12 rides (-1.00)
The leading jockey in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Mr P W Mullins who has won the race 2 times. Those 2 winners came from Open Eagle (2017) & Mr Adjudicator (2019). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle, Danny Mullins has sent a total of 13 rides to the race without recording any wins.
SBK Gold Trophy Handicap Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,7,14,10,16,(6,15),5,5,(8,9),6,5,8,4,7,(19,20,PU,PU),10,(7,11),3,2,6,PU
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved a TS of 77+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Achieved a TS of 83+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Highest Won is not Cl4-5
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Carried 142 - 166lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved a TS of 92+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Fewer than 6 races (Jockey)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Carried 136 - 164lbs (LTO)
- 19 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 7/1 (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (78%) - Achieved an RPR of 125+ (Last 3)
- 19 / 20 (88%) - No more than -23lbs (Vs Max Weight)
- 18 / 20 (73%) - Placed within last 3 starts
- 18 / 20 (84%) - Held an OR of 119+
- 18 / 20 (89%) - No more than 1 fall (Career)
- 17 / 20 (73%) - No bigger than 10/1 (Career Win)
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Punchestown Festival Saturday Highlights are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.