The Punchestown Festival is the culmination of the National Hunt season in Ireland and the five-day meeting will take place from Tuesday April 29th until Saturday May 3rd.

It's the last of the three major spring festivals in Britain and Ireland, following on from Cheltenham and Aintree, and will feature a host of Grade 1 contests with more than €3m in prize money on offer.

We're looking at some potential outsiders of note at the Punchestown Festival.

Punhcestown Dark Horse Tips

Punchestown Betting Offer

Monty's Star — Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup (Wednesday April 30th)

The Cheltenham Gold Cup proved a bridge too far for Monty's Star but trainer Henry De Bromhead and owner Barry Moloney wouldn't have left the Cotswolds too disheartened.

Monty's Star was beaten less than eight-lengths in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February and, for many, the additional quarter of a mile at Cheltenham was viewed as a positive.

In retrospect, he perhaps didn't quite see it out, but ran a commendable fourth in the circumstances.

Winner Inothewayurthinkin won't be present at Punchestown and runner-up Galopin Des Champs has looked more vulnerable at this track than anywhere else.

Monty's Star has shown an above-average ability as a staying chaser already and the Punchestown Gold Cup has a track record of producing shocks.

Banbridge — William Hill Champion Chase (Tuesday April 29th)

It's back to the drawing board for Joseph O'Brien with Banbridge after he was well beaten in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham last month.

The petrol light appeared to come on in the final half-mile or so of that stamina-sapping three-and-a-quarter-mile journey in the Cotswolds. He wouldn't be the first King George winner to find it too much.

Banbridge is a Grade 1 winner at trips from 2m-3m and won the William Hill Champion Chase 12 months ago when getting up late to deny the Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Captain Guinness.

Ryanair scorer Fact To File is favourite for this race now, but the minimum trip will pose a different question for him and Cheltenham hero Marine Nationale isn't certain to run. At double figure odds, Banbridge is perhaps overlooked in the market for a race he won a year ago.

Rubaud - Barberstown Castle Novice Chase (Thursday May 1st)

Paul Nicholls has a history of finding a winner or two at Punchestown and the Ditcheat supremo is seemingly targeting the Barberstown Castle Novice Chase with Rubaud, who can be backed at prices as big as 25/1.

He was a very gutsy winner of the Pendil Novices' Chase at Kempton in February over two-and-a-half-miles having come under pressure a long way from home.

It didn't quite come off for him at Aintree since in the Manifesto Novices' Chase as he finished only fifth in a race won by Impaire Et Passe but it wasn't any disaster.

A faller as Sir Gino won at Kempton over Christmas on his chasing bow, that is one of just two runs over fences at the minimum trip for Rubaud.

The second of those was at Warwick in the Kingmaker Novices' Chase when he gave L'eau Du Sud plenty to think about and was beaten a length at the line.

Majborough is the expected favourite in this Grade 1 but his jumping rather let him down at Cheltenham in the Arkle last time and he could be vulnerable. Rubaud could be overpriced for a place.