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For the second year in a row Punchestown was blessed with good weather throughout the week and this led to bumper crowds across the five days. In total 139,017 people (new record attendance) turned up compared to 136,651 in 2025.
Over 20,000 more people attended Punchestown this year than in 2024.
My Racing StorySponsored By Tote
I'm a Downpatrick man born and bred and have lived here all my life. My first encounter with horses was through my late father Willie Polly taking me out to my uncle Frank Fitzsimon's stableyard in Vianstown which was actually in the middle of Downpatrick Racecourse. That was the place where my mother was born and reared. Frank, who was a brother of my mother, trained horses out there and we used to go out on a Sunday morning to see the horses and would have gone into what was called the home house for tea. My father bought a horse in the late 70s called Mountain Gale who Frank pre-trained and then sent him on to Noel Meade. He had a few wins, but I remember he wasn't a particularly good jumper! That's where my father first encountered Noel Meade. My dad also had a few point-to-pointers of no real note, and he had a horse with Jeremy Maxwell in his time and with Bunny Cox and with John Oxx to name but a few.
Punchestown, Newmarket and the Curragh reviewed
Emma, Johnny and Paddy look back on a bumper week of racing, including standout performances at Punchestown and Newmarket.
- Last year's Derby winner LAMBOURN looks poised to make a winning return to action back at the site of his Chester Vase victory. After a couple of below-par runs at the end of the season, the application of cheekpieces here can sharpen the colt up. George Scott's Bay City Roller rounded out his season with Group 1 success in Germany and may be the most likely challenger to the Derby winner. King's Gambit was no match for the winner when second in the Sefton Stakes last month but may be better for the run. Curragh Group 3 winner Starford arrives here having made a solid start to his season but will have to overcome the widest draw from stall nine, while Royal Rhyme may appreciate a softer surface than this.