UPDATED 2:36PM, APR 25 2021
Irish champion jockey Paul Townend will make a timely return to the saddle on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival after being booked to ride in each of Tuesday s three Grade 1s, providing a huge boost for the Willie Mullins team ahead of the biggest week in Irish jump racing.
Townend has been sidelined since injuring his foot after falling from Egality Mans at Fairyhouse earlier in the month, an injury which forced him to miss the Grand National meeting at Aintree, but he has been declared fit to ride at the five-day extravaganza.
The 30-year-old’s return comes at the perfect time as he is coming under increasing pressure from Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winner Rachael Blackmore in the race to be Ireland’s leading jockey this season.
IT IS a huge weekend of national hunt racing with the Leopardstown Festival and for most Irish runners a final chance to see if they are true Cheltenham Festival material.
The big race over the two days is the Irish Gold Cup (Sunday, 3.40) with a small, but select, field of just five and MINELLA INDO trying to put his fall in the Savills Chase behind him.
It may not be last chance saloon for the Henry De Bromhead runner to prove his Gold Cup worth, but he certainly needs a convincing victory to keep himself in the first half dozen in the betting and a wet week will certainly have played in his favour and be against Kemboy.
Dublin Racing Festival: Timeform preview day one action
By Andrew Asquith
17:22 · FRI February 05, 2021
Andrew Asquith outlines the Timeform view on the opening day of the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Recommended Saturday bets
Back The Moyglass Flyer in the 15:50 at Leopardstown
Back Chacun Pour Soi (13:35 Leopardstown) and Energumene (14:10 Leopardstown) in a win double
There are four Grade 1 races at Leopardstown on Saturday and, as is usually the case, Willie Mullins holds an incredibly strong hand, responsible for the favourite in each of the top-level contests bar the Irish Champion Hurdle.
The opening Golden Cygnet Novices’ Hurdle (13:05) has a more competitive feel to it than the betting suggests, but the market leader Gaillard du Mesnil tops Timeform weight-adjusted ratings. He built considerably on his hurdling debut when beating two subsequent winners over two and a half miles at this course in December, looking a novice hurdler of serio
UPDATED 8:43PM, JAN 31 2021
The countdown to the Dublin Racing Festival is on, with the two-day meeting at Leopardstown attracting some of the most talented horses, trainers and jockeys in Irish jump racing.
Held each February, there are seven races on the Saturday card, highlighted by the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, while Sunday showcases an eight-race fixture, spearheaded by the prestigious Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.
When and where does the Dublin Racing Festival take place?
First introduced in 2018, the Dublin Racing Festival has quickly become a vital element of the Irish jump racing calendar, held at Leopardstown racecourse, just 8km south of the capital s city centre.