#Paul Townend

Letsbeclearaboutit and Keith Donoghue winning the maiden hurdle Monday: Punchestown Gavin Cromwell enjoyed a productive afternoon as he landed a double on the card, headlined by Letsbeclearaboutit winning the 3m½f maiden hurdle. The eight-year-old justified favouritism under Keith Donoghue, pulling 22 lengths clear of Rowdy Romeo in second, and…

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend after Impaire Et Passe won on his hurdling debut at Naas in December Impaire Et Passe was cut for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle over 2m and the longer Ballymore Novices' Hurdle over 2m5f after impressing at Punchestown. Which race at the festival do our experts favour? If he were mine it would be the Supreme…

Can Al Boum Photo join Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate and Cottage Rake to become only the fifth horse to win the Gold Cup on three occasions? It's the main event that everyone's talking about: the Gold Cup. Last year's winner, Al Boum Photo, will head to Cheltenham Festival on 19 March with just one start under his belt this season, having won the…

The five-year-old was sent off the 1/3 favourite for Sunday's Sky Bet Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle on the back of a wide-margin Irish debut win in a Naas maiden during December. Supporters of Willie Mullins' son of Diamond Boy didn't have much to worry about throughout the two-mile contest, Paul Townend pushing the 1/3 favourite out to a six and a…

Flying high: Paul Townend manages to hold on to Flame Bearer at the last fence Saturday: Fairyhouse The Foley family will be forever associated with Danoli and the late Tom's final winner was Rebel Gold at Gowran Park in 2021. Fast-forward almost two years and the same horse gave son Pat the biggest day since the training baton was handed over when…

It is going to be very good to see Davy Russell back in action at Fairyhouse on Saturday, and racegoers on the day won't have too long to wait, as the three-time champion returns to the saddle on Jazzy Matty in the opening four-year-olds' hurdle. This is a warm contest, with the impressive Cork winner Blood Destiny in opposition, as well as the…

All eyes were on the course as Day Three of Cheltenham Festival got underway. That wet course has had more rain overnight, and the going already described as tacky by some jockeys yesterday. After a fourth Coronavirus case was confirmed in Gloucestershire yesterday, racegoers can can expect increased hygiene measures, including extra hand sanitizer…

A punter saw their £40000 bet go up in smoke when Galopin Des Champs fell at the last fence when well clear of the field in the opening race on day three of the Cheltenham Festival. The Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs - the 5/6 fav - had pulled well clear with a tenacious jumping display until the final jump, over jumped at that point and…

Legendary jockey Ruby Walsh has admitted he wouldn't have come out of retirement like Davy Russell. Less than a month after announcing he was hanging up his boots, 43-year-old Russell returns to the saddle at Fairyhouse on Saturday for trainer Gordon Elliott, who saw his main jockey, Jack Kennedy, break his leg in a fall last weekend. Paddy Power's…

Kilmaley native, Richard O'Brien, came in for lavish praise following the success of Paul Nolan's well-fancied newcomer, Cut The Rope (5/1), in the concluding four-year-old bumper at Naas on Sunday. O'Brien is a very successful trainer based in Ballingarry, County Limerick and it was on his advice that the Nolan camp purchased Cut The Rope, before…

Al Boum Photo: new Punchestown Gold Cup favourite following defection of Minella Indo Your guide to Wednesday's Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup (5.55), the feature race on day two at the Punchestown festival. The field was on Monday reduced to six following the withdrawal of hot favourite Minella Indo.

Gavin Beech puts the six short-priced, ante-post favourites for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival under the microscope and provides his analysis on their credentials. There are currently six horses chalked up at 6-4 or shorter in the ante-post markets for this year's Cheltenham Festival, with Constitution Hill, who is a best-priced 4-11 for the Unibet…

The Albert Bartlett has thrown up some wild results in the last decade and an average winning SP of 18-1 reminds us that rewards can be reaped by ignoring the obvious. Experience tends to be one of the most important factors as the average Albert Bartlett winner ran 5.4 times over hurdles before arriving at the festival, compared with 3.4 for the…

Jack Kennedy: took a heavy fall from Top Bandit at Naas on Sunday X-rays have confirmed that Jack Kennedy has broken his leg for a fifth time following a fall from Top Bandit at Naas on Sunday, but Gordon Elliott is hopeful his number one jockey will be back in time to ride at the Cheltenham Festival. The 23-year-old leads the Irish jump jockeys'…

Not without late support but sent off at 100/30 as the Willie Mullins second-string behind stablemate Grangeclare West, Champ Kiely set off in front and barely saw another rival en route to winning Sunday's two and a half-mile feature. The seven-year-old son of Ocavango, who disappointed when only fourth as the odds-on jolly in the Royal Bond over…

The Henry De Bromhead-trained daughter of Stowaway, winner of the mares' novices' hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2021, hadn't tasted success in any race since that high-profile Grade Two score but had made an encouraging enough start over fences at Thurles last month. She was 5/4 to go one better and ultimately proved six lengths too good for…

The last seven favourites have been successful in this Grade 1, including Envoi Allen and Bob Olinger who went on to win the Ballymore, and Grangeclare West will be the one trying to continue that sequence. Willie Mullins has won this race eight times and had the option of running Boodles runner-up Gaelic Warrior, who won at Tramore by 86 lengths…

It was another fantastic festive period of equine action as Leopardstown and Limerick took centre stage at the end of December. Not surprisingly, Kilkenny trainer Willie Mullins continued to dominate the training sphere over the days after Christmas as he saddled 16 winners, of which were five Grade 1's. In total Mullins had 73 runners over the…

A NEW kid on the block has emerged as the main danger to Constitution Hill at Cheltenham. Nicky Henderson's wonder horse is as short as 2-7 for the Champion Hurdle and notched his fourth straight Grade 1 win at Kempton on Boxing Day. Opposition towards him at the Festival in March was looking very thin on the ground, especially with Honeysuckle…

Willie Mullins has farmed the New Year's Day feature in winning eight of the last 10 runnings, but Minella Indo's battling display in the hands of Rachael Blackmore ended the Closutton handler's five-year stranglehold on the Grade Three contest and gave Henry de Bromhead his second win in the race after Champagne West's success in 2017. Winner of…

Reverting to hurdles having been highly tried as a novice chaser last season, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was soon in an early advantage and it was one he would not relinquish. A trait of his time over fences was that he raced keenly, sometimes too keenly for his own good, and while he was racing enthusiastically for Paul Townend, the…

Locked alongside Apple's Jade, Limestone Lad and Solerina on three victories in the race, the two-time Champion Hurdle victor was looking to create history and become the first four-time winner of the Grade One contest as she started another campaign on familiar territory. Heading into her fifth year in training, the engine appeared to be purring…

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a horse race, it's a social gathering and it's a handsome 96-year-old trophy. But it's also the most prestigious National Hunt (ie horses which race over jumps) festival in the calendar. This year the Cheltenham Festival runs from Tuesday March 10 to Friday March 13, with the highlight, the Gold Cup race itself, is…

All the action, as it happened, at Prestbury Park Another fantastic week of racing at the Greatest Show on Turf. And the Cheltenham Gold Cup certainly lived up to the hype amid a titanic tussle between Native River and Might Bite. Relive that, and the rest of Friday's coverage, below... 1:30pm JCB Triumph Hurdle 1. Farclas 9/1 2. Mr Adjudicator…

Altior powered to a brilliant win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on a dramatic day at the Cheltenham Festival. The evens favourite, ridden by Nico de Boinville, shrugged off a late fitness scare to provide another big victory for trainer Nicky Henderson, who landed the Champion Hurdle with Buveur D'Air 24 hours earlier. Douvan fell at the…

Dan Sheridan/INPHOCould State Man give Constitution Hill a race at Cheltenham? # The Challenger Champion Hurdle still a live event with State Man set to give Constitution Hill a crack Johnny Ward reports from another Willie Mullins-dominated final day at Leopardstown. WE HAVE SEEN this week that Willie Mullins saddling the first three home in a…

State Man continued his march towards a likely clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival in March with a comprehensive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on…

2022-12-29Grade One glory again for Willie Mullins as Gaillard Du Mesnil romps home Willie Mullins and Paul Townend grabbed another Grade One success this week as Gaillard Du Mesnil claimed an easy victory in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Although winless in six previous outings over the larger obstacles, the dual Grade…

Ruby Walsh has offered his expert insight into the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with the legendary jockey expecting another thrilling week of action in England. Walsh is no stranger to Cheltenham having been the leading jockey 11 times at the Festival, nabbing 59 winners and twice racing to Gold Cup glory. And previewing the races, Walsh is backing…

Gaillard Du Mesnil: clears a fence on the way to Grade 1 win at Leopardstown Thursday: Neville Hotels Novice Chase, Leopardstown Willie Mullins believes Gaillard Du Mesnil would have little difficulty excelling over the National Hunt Chase distance, after his high-class six-year-old picked the perfect moment to make his breakthrough over fences in…

Shewearsitwell provided Willie Mullins with a sixth victory in the last seven runnings of the BeattheBank.ie Irish EBF Mares Hurdle at Leopardstown. Two subsequent Cheltenham Festival heroines in Let's Dance and Concertista are among the champion trainer's recent winners of the Grade Three contest and Shewearsitwell was actually sent off favourite…

Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day. And while connections of the unbeaten five-year-old are unlikely to be quaking in their boots, State Man gave further evidence he may well prove his biggest threat with…

Conflated put himself firmly in the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture with a dominant success in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. The Gordon Elliott-trained eight-year-old was a surprise winner of the Irish Gold Cup over the course and distance last season and went on to run well before falling two from home in Cheltenham's Ryanair Chase before pushing…

On only two occasions in the past decade has either Gordon Elliott or Willie Mullins failed to win this top-level prize, a race that has been won in that time by the likes of Carlingford Lough, Don Poli, Our Duke, Shattered Love, Delta Work and Monkfish. Ireland's two powerhouse trainers come to the fore once again, with Mullins' sole…

Conflated put himself firmly in the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture with a dominant success in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. The Gordon Elliott-trained eight-year-old was a surprise winner of the Irish Gold Cup over the course and distance last season and went on to run well before falling two from home in Cheltenham's Ryanair Chase before pushing…

Leopardstown is once more the mainstay for the ITV Racing team on Thursday, with another brace of Grade 1 races from the Foxrock track on the final afternoon of its Christmas Festival. The Neville Hotels Novices Chase (1.45pm) and the Matheson Hurdle (2.20pm) are the features from Leopardstown, with ITV showing four races from Ireland alongside two…

They say that no success or defeat is necessarily final, but Honeysuckle needed to send a message to the precocious young pretender on her traditional Fairyhouse reappearance, and for the first time in her glorious career she was found wanting. Bidding for what would have been a historic fourth Bar One Hatton's Grace Hurdle, she led two out and…

2022-12-28Conflated in the Cheltenham Gold Cup picture after dominant win at Leopardstown The Gordon Elliott-trained eight-year-old was a surprise winner of the Irish Gold Cup over the course and distance last season and went on to run well before falling two from home in Cheltenham's Ryanair Chase before pushing Clan Des Obeaux close in the Bowl…

2022-12-28Wednesday Leopardstown top racing tip: Kemboy set to lead from the front in Savills Chase The market revolves around the short-priced favourite, A Plus Tard, who is rated 180, but who is able to race on level terms with opposition rated 151-168. However, he comes here under a cloud after pulling up as the odds-on favourite for last…

Blue Lord emerged as a potential threat to Queen Mother Champion Chase-winning stablemate Energumene following an impressive success in the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown. The seven-year-old was in the top rank of novice chasers last season for Willie Mullins, with Grade One wins at Leopardstown and Punchestown sandwiching a third place…

The sextet includes a brace of Grade One prizes with Blue Lord capturing the Paddy Power Rewards Club Chase and Facile Vega maintaining his unbeaten record in the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle. Winter Fog made a winning start for the yard when coming clear in the Paddy Power'Je Suis Une Baguette' Handicap Hurdle while the Closutton…

The Paddy Power Chase eluded Willie Mullins but nothing else on Tuesday's card at Leopardstown did as the champion trainer recorded a remarkable 102-1 six-timer. It was not a first for the trainer who has achieved almost everything the sport can ask - he did likewise on April 25, 2018, at Punchestown - but the only surprise was the fact he fell…

Consistency had been a notable trait in A Plus Tard's star-studded career before bombing out in the Betfair Chase, and Henry de Bromhead is optimistic the scintillating Cheltenham Gold Cup winner is back to himself. Cheveley Park Stud's dual Cheltenham Festival winner had never finished out of the first three in his 19 starts before pulling up at…

Willie Mullins hailed a sensational six-timer at Leopardstown on Tuesday - with a 102-1 multiple that included a pair of Grade 1 wins - as one of the best days of his training career. Victory in the concluding bumper at Limerick with 11-8 favourite Largy Hill made it an across-the-card seven-timer on the day - a feat that matched his previous best…

Willie Mullins towered over his rivals at Leopardstown on Tuesday, saddling six of the seven winners on the card, including both Grade 1s, at combined odds of 102-1. The champion trainer saddled each of the first five winners before his winning streak was halted in the Paddy Power Chase by 33-1 shot Real Steel. However, Fact To File completed a…

Only one of Willie Mullins' seven Supreme Novices' Hurdle winners have won this Grade 1 contest en route. That was Appreciate It in 2020, who was sent off 8-11 favourite for the festival opener and Facile Vega is likely to go off at even skimpier odds in March should he make it six from six in impressive fashion here. The five-year-old has been…

Chacun Pour Soi bids to prove he is still a force to be reckoned with in the two-mile division in the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown today. The Rich and Susannah Ricci-owned gelding has won six times at the highest level, with four of those victories secured at Leopardstown - including in this race in 2020. His most recent triumph came…

Once 5-2 favourite for last year's Derby, High Definition now finds himself among the top six in the betting for this season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle after staying on resolutely to make a winning hurdles debut for Joseph O'Brien. Nearly seven months to the day that he was narrowly denied a Group 1 victory on the Flat by Alenquer in the Tattersalls…

Donkey Years (left) and Panda Boy are both well fancied for the Paddy Power Chase Renowned as one of the toughest handicap chases in the Irish calendar, the Paddy Power Chase has seen just one winning favourite across the last 17 runnings. Another tricky puzzle looks in store, but punters are often well rewarded for solving this 28-runner…