Eyecatchers from the Punchestown bumpers

As always at the Punchestown Festival, there was no shortage of bumper action with seven in total across the five-day meeting.

The likes of Willie Mullins, Emmet Mullins and Alan King were all successful, but there were plenty of eyecatching runs in defeat too.

We are picking out some beaten bumper horses from Punchestown who might be worth following down the line.

Starting Fifteen

Limerick trainer Eric McNamara would have been pleased with what he saw from Starting Fifteen in the Willie Coonan Memorial Flat Race, a quality four-year-old bumper.

The City Light gelding had been second in a Listed bumper at Limerick in March, doing well behind a previous winner from the Joseph O'Brien team.

He wasn't unfancied in this 23-runner heat and shaped well, coming to challenge under Finian Maguire inside the final two furlongs after meeting some trouble in the run.

He was no match for the impressive winner Bud Fox under Derek O'Connor and perhaps paid for getting out after him when he dropped to third late on, but there is a future for him when he goes jumping.

Green Hint

Green Hint won a point-to-point at Daramona House and made his rules bow in the €60,000 Goffs Defender Bumper having been snapped up by the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede ownership.

He's now trained by Stuart Crawford, the northern-based handler who continues to receive excellent patronage from these top owners.

Green Hint was one of two runners for the yard, alongside Green Style, and the Crystal Ocean gelding raced quite prominently early on. He came under pressure in the home straight but rallied well and finished second behind Wonderful Everyday, a smart-looking newcomer from the Willie Mullins team.

Green Hint made a very decent first impression and should go on to better things for the shrewd Crawford string.

Good Girl Kathleen

The Emmet Mullins-trained Good Girl Kathleen was only good enough to finish seventh in the Grade 3 Weatherbys General Stud Book Irish EBF Mares Flat Race in the end, but it was a run that had plenty of promise to it.

Winner of a bumper at Limerick over 2m3½f in early April, this was a quick turnaround and perhaps the drop back in trip didn't suit.

She was always handy throughout but got caught for a turn of foot entering the home straight, which was no shame as the classy Seo Linn increased the tempo up top before eventually getting pipped at the post herself by Carrigmoornaspruce.

Good Girl Kathleen wasn't disgraced upped in grade here and should be one to make progress hurdling at intermediate trips.

Conman John

A rare Irish runner for Lucinda Russell, Conman John was fifth in the Overlander Flat Race on Friday evening, a 2m3f contest for five- to seven-year-olds.

Rob James was on board and gave the previous Newcastle runner-up a patient ride in the rear of the 22-runner field.

They made some inroads from around halfway, but were perhaps forced wider than ideal heading into the home straight and stayed on encouragingly into fifth at the line, never any nearer to the principals. The first four home represented top bumper yards in Willie Mullins, Anthony Honeyball and Gordon Elliott.

A November 2024 point winner at Damma House, scoring in wide-margin fashion, going jumping would always have been the long-term aim and Conman John is one for the notebook.