As the jewel in Ireland’s National Hunt crown, the Punchestown Festival is the final major meeting of the season on either side of the Irish Sea, with over €3.2 million in prize money across 39 races with a whopping 12 Grade 1’s over the five-day marathon. The 2020 festival will take place between Tuesday April 28 and Saturday May 2 inclusive.
Thousands flock to the Kildare venue at the end of April for a spectacular conclusion to the jumps calendar with racing of all grades including the famous La Touche Cup, raced over Punchestown’s spectacular cross-country track.
Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Joseph O’Brien, Jessica Harrington and Noel Meade all have plenty of Irish firepower to aim at the festival while British raiders Nicky Henderson - who trained Buveur D’Air to BETDAQ Champion Hurdle victory in 2019 - and Paul Nicholls often have several entries over the week.
The course itself is very fair, with the hurdles track spanning one mile six furlongs while the chase track is two miles long, on the outer of the hurdles course.