WELCOME
WELCOME TO
Dear Friends Of Punchestown,
On behalf of the Kildare Hunt Club and the entire team here at Punchestown Racecourse I’m delighted to welcome you to the opening day of the 2025 Punchestown Festival, William Hill Champion Chase Day.
The Punchestown Festival is a massive event that ignites local pride and captures national attention. A celebration over 5 days for the culmination of the jumps season boasting 12 Grade 1 races and over €3.5 million in prizemoney drawing champions, dreamers, and crowds from far and wide. With a reputation which brings both responsibility and pressure to deliver perfect jumping ground. It is Ireland’s largest corporate hospitality event, where top class racing meets the glamour of fashion, the joy of entertainment, and creates special moments and memories that last a lifetime. But beyond the numbers, the prestige, and the spectacle - Punchestown is more than that, Punchestown is special, Punchestown is tradition.
As we embark on a major milestone in our history, the 175th anniversary of Punchestown, our focus in 2025 has been to instil that tradition so that the business continues to evolve and grow so that we safeguard Punchestown for the generations to come. This would simply not be possible without the support of each and every one of you here today and the integral part you play in the tradition of Punchestown and for that I want to say Thank You.
A thrilling renewal of the Grade 1 €300,000 William Hill Champion Chase takes centre stage as the feature race on day one. I would particularly like to acknowledge and thank the team at William Hill and indeed all our partners today and indeed throughout the week for your invaluable support. Without their involvement it wouldn’t be possible for us to attract and showcase the very best jump racing stars on both sides of the Irish Sea, for the grand finale of the Irish jump racing season.
We’re delighted to see such an array of notable entries from the UK throughout the week who are set to renew rivalries again on Irish soil. The UK involvement is a long-standing tradition and such an integral part of our festival. This has been bolstered this year with the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series. This initiative consists of 12 qualifiers, evenly dispersed throughout the UK and Ireland, culminating in a €100,000 final which takes place at the Punchestown Festival today. We sincerely thank Ronnie, Alex and the team at Albert Bartlett and all UK Trainers, Owners, Jockeys and Racing Enthusiasts for making the extra effort to travel to Punchestown and we wish you a very enjoyable stay.
The next five days really are something to savour, and we hope that you enjoy the action on and off the track with a host of entertainment lined up for you all to enjoy. Don’t miss a moment of the magic, enjoy the Punchestown experience and I hope you have a few winners as well!
I look forward to welcoming you all back tomorrow for more exhilarating action with the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Gold Cup the feature highlight on Day 2 which the first race going to post at 2.30pm.
Kindest Regards
Conor O’Neill CEO, Punchestown Racecourse
Dear Racegoer,
