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.
2026 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!
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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)
- 2006 - Brogella (4:16.10)
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 123% which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £123 which is bet.
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the last 20 renewals, 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 +18.14.
Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle:
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jade De Grugy (FR) 6yo 11-7 1/1F | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 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) |
Leading Trainers in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 11 wins and 11 places from 43 runners (-0.77)
- Gordon Elliott - 2 wins and 1 place from 8 runners (+28.00)
- 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 11 times. Those 11 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) & Jade De Grugy (2025). 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 11 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Leading Jockeys in the Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle
- Paul Townend - 8 wins and 0 places from 11 rides (+24.34)
- Danny Mullins - 1 win and 4 places from 7 rides (-2.50)
- 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 8 times. Those 8 winners came from Tarla (2010), Glens Melody (2013), Whiteout (2016), Benie Des Dieux (2018), Benie Des Dieux (2019), Echoes In Rain (2023), Lossiemouth (2024) & Jade De Grugy (2025).
Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,1,10,2,2,7,1,7,RR,4,1,1,2,1,3,1,3,3,(1,6),1,1
- 20 / 20 (63%) - Achieved an RPR of 121+ (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Achieved an RPR of 125+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Beaten no more -12l (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (66%) - Had 2 - 11 wins (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (71%) - Carried 148 - 161lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Ran in a Non Handicap (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - No bigger than 33/1 (Career)
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Within the first 11 of the market
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Ran over 1m7½f - 2m4f (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Had 2 - 11 wins (Career)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not in a Cl2-3/Cl5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - No bigger than 18/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Career Place)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Not on GF/FM/STD (Last Win)
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.
When looking over the last 20 renewals, a time of 3:41.90 was set by Barizan in 2010, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Jason Maguire. The slowest winning time was set in 2015 when Petite Parisienne won in a time of 4:09.30, booked to ride was B J Cooper on this W P Mullins trained runner.
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 last 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -15.86.
Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle:
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Lulamba (FR) 4yo 11-0 11/10F | James Bowen Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 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) |
Leading Trainers in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 10 wins and 11 places from 54 runners (-12.52)
- Nicky Henderson - 4 wins and 0 places from 6 runners (+4.73)
- Noel Meade - 1 win and 1 place from 5 runners (+18.00)
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 (4 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 5 places from 14 rides (-7.89)
- Sean Flanagan - 1 win and 1 place from 2 rides (+21.00)
- James Bowen - 1 win and 0 places from 1 ride (+1.10)
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): ,3,F,1,4,2,2,4,UR,1,7,1,1,1,UR,1,7,1,1,1,1
- 20 / 20 (59%) - Within the first 5 of the market
- 20 / 20 (61%) - Not in a LST/Cl2/Cl4-5 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (63%) - Break of 14 - 81 days (Last Place)
- 20 / 20 (64%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl2/Cl4-5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (71%) - Had 1 - 3 placings (90 Days)
- 20 / 20 (72%) - No bigger than 22/1
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Achieved a TS of 98+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Achieved an RPR of 126+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Carried 147 - 156lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran in 3 - 12 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Ran in a Non Handicap (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 4 - 19 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 5 - 20 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Had 1 - 5 placings (180 Days)
SBK Listed 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.
The runner which holds the record over the last 20 renewals, for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2024 renewal when Chapeau De Soleil from W P Mullins under the guidance of Brian Hayes, won in a time of 5:31.30, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Truckers Delight, trained by John Joseph Hanlon and ridden by Conor O'Farrell set the quickest time of 4:45.60 in the 2011 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run Punchestown Listed 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 Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2025 when the race had an over-round of 131%. 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 Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle, the over-round has been 147% which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £147 which is bet.
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the last 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Punchestown Listed 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.
Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle Past Winners
Here are the past five winners of the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle:
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Hey Sunshine (IRE) 6yo 10-6 11/2 | Paul Townend W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 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) |
Leading Trainers in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle
- W P Mullins - 11 wins and 20 places from 112 runners (+51.50)
- A J Martin - 1 win and 0 places from 10 runners (-3.00)
- A L T Moore - 1 win and 0 places from 7 runners (+4.00)
The leading trainer in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is W P Mullins, who has won the race 11 times. Those 11 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) & Hey Sunshine (2025). There are multiple trainers who have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle, Noel Meade (0-20), Gordon Elliott (0-18) & Mrs John Harrington (0-13) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Leading Jockeys in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle
- Paul Townend - 2 wins and 3 places from 13 rides (+4.50)
- 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)
There are two leading jockeys in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle over the last 20 renewals with both Paul Townend & Mr P W Mullins who have both won the race 2 times. Paul Townend winners have been with Drive Time (2012) & Hey Sunshine (2025). Mr P W Mullins winners have been with Open Eagle (2017) & Mr Adjudicator (2019). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle, Danny Mullins has sent a total of 13 rides to the race without recording any wins.
Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): ,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,PU
- 20 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 25/1
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Within the first 17 of the market
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Achieved an RPR of 125+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Placed within last 4 starts
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Highest Won is not Cl4-5
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved a TS of 75+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Fewer than 6 races (Jockey)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Carried 136 - 164lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Had 2 - 10 wins (Career)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Carried 142 - 166lbs (Last Win)
- 19 / 20 (78%) - No bigger than 7/1 (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (86%) - Won within last 7 starts
- 17 / 20 (64%) - Achieved a TS of 110+ (Last 5)
- 17 / 20 (74%) - No bigger than 10/1 (Career Win)
- 17 / 20 (80%) - No bigger than 20/1 (LTO)
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.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
