Five days of top-class action in prospect as the Irish National Hunt campaign draws to a close
The narrative over the five days of the Punchestown Festival in the last two seasons has been Gordon Elliott’s spirited but ultimately doomed attempts to seize a first trainers’ championship from Willie Mullins. Last year, Elliott started the week as an odds-on chance for the title but was blown away by a 9,802-1 six-timer from Mullins on day two. A year earlier, the decisive shift arrived even later in the week when Mullins and his son, Patrick, landed a Grade One double on day four.
This time around, it is not even close. Mullins has been trailing Elliott for the last two years at the start of Punchestown week but on Tuesday he will go into the grand finale of Ireland’s jumps season with a lead of more than €1m over Elliott. Runners from his stable also dominate the ante-post betting on many of the week’s biggest events, including the featured Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday in which he will field the only three runners – Al Boum Photo, Kemboy and Bellshill – at a single-figure price.
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Wolverhampton
2.00 Sharrabang 2.30 Second Collection 3.00 Willkommen 3.30 Gemini 4.05 Astraea 4.35 Mokammal 5.10 Up Ten Down Two