May date for Punchestown 2011 Next year's Punchestown festival will take place from Tuesday 3rd to Saturday 7th May 2011. The revised dates are as a result of Easter falling in late April next year and will mean that the national hunt season finale will take place six weeks after the Cheltenham Festival and three weeks after Aintree. This is the first time since 2000 that the Punchestown Festival will be held in its entirety during the month of May. Top trainers in the UK and Ireland have welcomed the announcement with Irish Champion Trainer Willie Mullins commenting: “The 2011 dates are ideal for us as it gives trainers a great opportunity to get their horses ready to have a right crack at the top prize money on offer at Punchestown. More importantly the ground will be produced to an excellent standard and as always we look forward to what we consider one of the best Festivals on the calendar.” Philip Hobbs, who trained the 2010 Guinness Gold Cup winner Planet of Sound, said: “Easter means that the Punchestown Festival will be in early May next year. The ground this year was fantastic and I am sure will be next year also. We will be back to enjoy the Irish hospitality and will bring a big team of horses.” Commenting on the announcement of the new dates Punchestown General Manager Dick O’Sullivan said: “We are pleased to confirm our dates for 2011 as we already have enquiries for next year and lots of UK visitors looking to book their flights already. The slightly later date will offer trainers extra preparation time for their horses and will hopefully mean good weather for our festival goers. Preparations are already underway for the event. In the meantime we look forward to the Punchestown season opener on Wednesday October 13th “.
