Guinness Extend Punchestown Gold Cup Sponsorship

Punchestown Racecourse and Diageo Ireland have announced a three year extended sponsorship agreement for the Guinness Gold Cup at The Punchestown Festival. The sponsorship agreement means that the prize fund for the race will increase to ?300,000 during the lifetime of the sponsorship securing the Guinness Gold Cup as the richest Grade One Championship Chase in Ireland.

Since its first running in 2005 The Guinness Gold Cup has established itself as the premiere Irish championship race for long distance chasers. In both 2005 and 2006 Irish trained Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Kicking King and War of Attrition made triumphant returns to Ireland winning the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown, while last year Paul Nicholls produced the first UK winner in Neptunes Collonges.

Speaking on behalf of Guinness, Michael Whelan, Head of Sponsorships at Diageo Ireland, said 'We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Punchestown and to be involved in this showcase of national hunt racing excellence at one of Europe´s top racecourses. Guinness has a long tradition of involvement in prestigious sporting events and over the last three years the Guinness Gold Cup has certainly established itself as a high profile event.' He added 'Guinness Gold Cup day at Punchestown is not only a tremendous branding opportunity for us but also provides us with a tremendous platform to entertain our clients who love the atmosphere and excitement of corporate hospitality at Punchestown.'

Dick O' Sullivan, General Manager of Punchestown said, 'Over the last three years attendances at the Punchestown Festival has grown by 25% and the support of Guinness has been invaluable in driving this growth. We are looking forward to our first ever five day festival at Punchestown this year and delighted to have the support of Guinness to drive the festival forward '

The five-day Punchestown National Hunt festival will run from Tues 22nd ? Sat 26th April 2008 and represents the climax of the National Hunt Season. This year champions from home and abroad will compete for a total prize fund of close to ?3 million over the historic Punchestown course.