); Mullins had his 15th championship in the bag before Punchestown but it didn’t stop him dominating
Donn McClean takes a look back at the 2021 Punchestown Festival and Willie Mullins’ 19-winner haul. By Donn McClean Tuesday 4 May 2021, 7:00 AM 3 hours ago 1,575 Views 1 Comment
GOING INTO THE Punchestown Festival in 2018, one week to go in the 2017/18 Irish National Hunt season, and Willie Mullins trailed Gordon Elliott by over €500,000 in the trainers’ championship.
You knew that Willie Mullins would be strong at Punchestown but, even so, it was a fair gap, and the bookmakers made Gordon Elliott favourite to claim his first title.
HENRY DE BROMHEAD and Rachael Blackmore combined to claim two winners on the belated final day of the Christmas Racing Festival at Limerick.
The six-race card was saved and swiftly re-scheduled to a midweek slot, following Sunday’s abandonment because of a waterlogged track.
Proceedings got under way with the ‘David Fitzgerald – Take It Easee’ Maiden Hurdle, which saw French import Kalkas open his Irish account at the second attempt.
Third on his only start in his homeland a year ago, Kalkas subsequently changed hands for £210,000, but was comprehensively beaten on his debut for De Bromhead at Navan earlier this month.