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Your Essential Guide to the 2027 Punchestown Festival
The Punchestown Festival is considered by many to be the biggest horse racing event in Ireland and takes place at the Punchestown Racecourse, which is located in County Kildare and is the finale of the Irish jump season.
Racing has taken place at Punchestown since 1824. It was 'Kildare Hunt' who organised the early racing at the course, and in the 1960's it was designated as the "National Hunt Meeting" of Ireland.
The Festival got a real boost in 1868 and was thrown into the spotlight when the Prince of Wales visited the festival, who was the future King Edward VII and made it a must-attend attraction.
The festival has undergone plenty of changes over the years. Originally a two or three-day meeting, it was expanded in 1999 to make it four days and then again in 2008 to its current five-day festival.
Punchestown Festival Information
- Opening Day: Tuesday 27th April
- Closing Day: Saturday 1st May
- Number of Races: 40
- Number of Grade 1s: 12
- 2026 Leading Trainer: Willie Mullins (13 Winners)
- 2026 Leading Jockey: Paul Townend (6 Winners)
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2026
Route to the Punchestown Festival
Below you can see how many winners came from either the Cheltenham Festival or the Aintree Grand National Meeting.
As you would expect, many more come from Cheltenham; there is a month and a half break between Cheltenham and Punchestown, which gives the runners a much better break than the two and a half / three weeks between Aintree and Punchestown.
2025 saw 47 runners come from Aintree, the highest number since 2016 (49); however, those only produced two winners (James Du Berlais & Petit Tonnerre), which probably highlights that the break is not enough time for a horse to properly recover and probably why there were only 26 who came here in 2026.
Those coming from Cheltenham were up in 2026; we saw 87 runners come here compared to 78 the year before, and that was the biggest number since 2022 and the second biggest since 2003. Despite being more than 2025, they produced 11 winners, some 5 fewer than in 2025.
Top Punchestown Festival Trainers
When looking over the last ten Punchestown Festivals and looking at trainer wins, there is one trainer who stands head and shoulders above the rest, and it will be no surprise to anyone that it is Willie Mullins.
He has had an unbelievable 138 winners, which is on average 14 winners each year! He has had runners in 307 races over those 10 years, and with 137 race wins, that means he has won 45% of the races where he has had a runner.
Gordon Elliott is next on the list with 31 winners; that just shows the vast gap between Willie and the rest. He has had 107 more winners than Elliott, and there are only six trainers in total who have hit double-figure winners.
The top English trainer is Nicky Henderson, who has had 7 winners. 2025 was a bumper year for the Brits with 8 winners, which was an excellent return when you consider that for 2022, 2023 & 2024 combined, they only had 6 winners, but it was back to normal in 2026 with just 1 winner from 49 runners, that winner was a first Grade 1 success for Harry Derham with Le Frimeur winning and that means Harry has now had winners at the last two festivals with Ascending Lark winning there in 2025.
Top 10 Punchestown Festival Trainers (By Winners)
| Trainer | R-W-P | LSP |
|---|---|---|
| Mullins, W P | 869-138-304 | -72.06 |
| Elliott, Gordon | 448-31-88 | -74.66 |
| Harrington, Mrs John | 162-17-47 | -6.35 |
| Bromhead, Henry De | 271-13-56 | -165.98 |
| Cromwell, Gavin Patrick | 142-13-34 | -37.91 |
| Mullins, Emmet | 50-10-20 | +16.91 |
| Meade, Noel | 125-8-30 | -45.74 |
| O'Brien, Joseph Patrick | 101-8-28 | -22.00 |
| Bolger, E | 71-8-30 | -43.00 |
| Henderson, N J | 52-7-18 | +6.23 |
Top Punchestown Festival Jockeys
Considering the number of wins that Willie Mullins has had at the festival over the last ten festivals, it is no surprise that Paul Townend tops the list for jockeys based on the number of wins.
He has notched up a total of 58 winners since 2016, with all 58 of those coming for Mullins. The 2023 festival was a highlight for him; he got into double figures, riding 11 winners from 20 rides.
Patrick Mullins is next on the list, again, not really a surprise to see him up there, considering the number of rides he gets from his dad Willie, who he has ridden 21 winners for, with 2 for other trainers.
Third on the list is Mark Walsh with 18 winners, 9 of whom have come for Willie, and the large majority have come for owner JP McManus.
Top 10 Punchestown Festival Jockeys (By Winners)
| Jockey | R-W-P | LSP |
|---|---|---|
| Townend, P | 198-58-93 | -11.42 |
| Mullins, Mr P W | 119-23-51 | +24.83 |
| Walsh, M P | 158-18-45 | -48.17 |
| O'Connor, Derek | 85-14-34 | -5.11 |
| Mullins, D E | 158-11-45 | -29.00 |
| Slevin, J J | 76-11-20 | +66.38 |
| Kennedy, J W | 133-9-31 | -35.67 |
| Flanagan, S W | 103-9-25 | -0.79 |
| O'Keeffe, Darragh | 98-6-13 | -52.00 |
| Codd, Mr J J | 50-6-13 | -21.87 |
Day One - Tuesday 28th April Champion Chase Day
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.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle | Kalix Delabarriere (FR) 6yo - 10/1 | W P Mullins Sean Cleary-Farrell |
| Champion Novice Hurdle | Eachtotheirown (IRE) 7yo - 16/1 | Barry Connell Sean Flanagan |
| Punchestown Champion Novice Chase | Western Fold (IRE) 7yo - 18/1 | Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy |
| Goffs Defender Bumper | Abbeyglen (FR) 4yo - 11/2 | Martin Brassil Mr J L Gleeson |
| Punchestown Champion Chase | Il Etait Temps (FR) 8yo - 8/11 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
Day Two - Wednesday 29th April - Gold Cup Day
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.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Channor Group Novice Hurdle | Le Frimeur (FR) 5yo - 18/1 | Harry Derham J J Slevin |
| Champion INH Flat Race | With Nolimit (FR) 5yo - 14/1 | Gordon Elliott Mr J M Halford |
| Punchestown Handicap Chase | Nouvotic (FR) 7yo - 7/1 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
| Punchestown Gold Cup | Gaelic Warrior (GER) 8yo - 5/6 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
Day Three - Thursday 30th April - Champion Stayers Hurdle Day
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.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Conway Piling Handicap Hurdle | Blue Mosque (IRE) 6yo - 6/1 | Noel Meade Donagh Meyler |
| Frontline Security Handicap Chase | Come Walk With Me (IRE) 7yo - 4/1 | Edward Cawley Donagh Meyler |
| Barberstown Castle Novice Chase | Salvator Mundi (FR) 6yo - 13/2 | W P Mullins Harry Cobden |
| Champion Stayers Hurdle | Bob Olinger (IRE) 11yo - 4/1 | Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe |
Day Four - Friday 1st May - Champion Hurdle Day
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.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Punchestown Listed Novice Handicap Chase | Funiculi Funicula (FR) 6yo - 7/2 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Punchestown Champion Novice Hurdle | King Rasko Grey (FR) 6yo - 8/13 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
| Punchestown Champion Hurdle | Lossiemouth (FR) 7yo - 2/7 | W P Mullins Paul Townend |
Day Five - Saturday 2nd May - Festival Finale
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.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle | Place De La Nation (FR) 5yo - 10/1 | W P Mullins Danny Mullins |
| Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle | Saratoga (IRE) 4yo - 9/2 | Padraig Roche Mark Walsh |
| Punchestown Listed Handicap Hurdle | Hello 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 Essential Guide to the Punchestown Festival 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
Expert Guide
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
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.
