Iris´s fan club heads to Punchestown

A 50-strong supporting party will accompany owner Robert Lester to Punchestown next Thursday as the incredible Iris´s Gift bids to make another mark in the racing history books by becoming only the second horse to score in graded races at the Irish National Hunt Festival as well as at Aintree and Cheltenham in the same season.

Jonjo O´Neill´s stable star is reported to be 'better than ever' as he heads for the €125,000 Grade 1 Ballymore Properties Champion Stayers´ Hurdle a week today, Thursday, April 29.

Iris´s Gift travels to Punchestown on the back of wins in the bonusprint.com Stayers´ Hurdle at Cheltenham and Martell Cognac Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree. Only the great Istabraq has ever scored in pattern races at the Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown festivals in the same season, achieving the feat in 1999 when taking the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, the Aintree Hurdle and what is now the Emo Oil Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

And for Robert Lester, landlord of the Red Cow pub at Nantwich at Cheshire, next week is the continuation of a dream. Lester bought Iris´s Gift out of a field for #5,000 from the grey´s locally-based breeder, former jockey Reg Crank, and the son of Gunner B has now won 11 of his 15 starts and more than #270,000 in prize money.

'I´ve just been talking to the lad who looks after him as well as Jonjo´s head lad and Iris´s Gift is actually better than ever since Aintree, he seems to have come on again,' said Lester.

'The frightening thing about it all is that Jonjo thinks this horse could be the best he has been involved with. He told me that of all the great horses he has been associated with, like Dawn Run and Sea Pigeon, nothing has got to him like this one.

'It´s a dream to own him, you couldn´t have written the script and he´s such a lovely-natured horse. Although he can be a monkey on the racecourse, he´s really just a gentle giant.'

Punchestown can expect an invasion from all parts of Britain as the Iris´s Gift fan club descends on the Co Kildare course.

'There´s about 50 of us going over from seven different airports, we have family and friends travelling over from Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Lancashire and Cheshire and all over the place to support him,' added Lester.

'I´m going out on Wednesday morning and coming back on Friday afternoon. I first went to the Punchestown Festival two years ago and just love it - the atmosphere is great, the people are so warm and friendly and we are looking forward to a bit more of their hospitality next week!'

Five-day entries have been published today for the Festival´s opening day, Tuesday, April 27, with Native Upmanship supplemented at a cost of €15,000 to take on the brilliant Moscow Flyer in the Grade 1 €150,000 BETDAQ.com Champion Chase, in which nine horses go forward.

There are 23 in the opening Kildare Hunt Club Chase, including Martell Cognac Grand National faller Takagi, while the 23 in the Grade 3 Ellier Developments Novice Chase include five from Britain, headed by Victor Dartnall´s Lord Sam, and the home team includes Powers Gold Cup winner Hi Cloy and Frances Crowley´s Nil Desperandum.

There are 20 in a great renewal of the Grade 1 Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle, which could feature a clash between Cheltenham and Aintree winners Brave Inca and Royal Shakespeare.

There are huge entries in both the Murphy International Ltd Handicap Hurdle, with 52 engaged, and the €100,000 Bewleys Hotels & EBF National Hunt Champion Bumper, in which the 46 entered include the unraced Fortuna Favente, representing Co Durham trainer Howard Johnson and owner Graham Wylie.

The going at Punchestown is currently Soft and Richie Galway, Racing Manager at the course, said: 'We had six millimetres of rain yesterday and it has been dry and bright this morning with mild temperatures. Conditions are set to remain dry tomorrow and over the weekend with temperatures staying mild.'