MASTER MINDED was supposed to cruise through last evening’s Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown and then skip back across the Irish Sea with another €124,000 plus to his credit.

SOMETIMES the difference between what sporting participants experience and what spectators witness, can vary wildly. So it was at Punchestown yesterday when Master Minded – the so-called invincible two miler – was nearly beaten by a horse which came so close to falling at the last in the Kerrygold Champion Chase.

Master Minded was made to pull out all of the stops to win a thrilling renewal of the Kerrygold Champion Chase on day one of the Punchestown Festival.

COOLDINE, Ireland’s principal hope for next year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, can continue his relentless climb up the ladder in the boylesports.com Champion Novice Chase at the opening stage of the Punchestown Festival this evening.

Master Minded will be the star of the opening day of the Punchestown Festival as jump racing’s outstanding two-miler faces just five rivals in the Kerrygold Champion Chase.

Master Minded looks set to line up at the Punchestown Festival next week after connections decided to supplement him for Tuesday's Kerrygold Champion Chase.

Master Minded looks set to line up at the Punchestown Festival next week after connections decided to supplement him for Tuesday’s Kerrygold Champion Chase.

WILLIE Mullins appears to hold all the aces in Sunday’s Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse with four of the 10 runners in the Grade One contest.

Colm Murphy will give Big Zeb a confidence-boosting run over hurdles at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday in readiness for a trip to the Punchestown Festival.

JIM Dreaper has all but ruled top-weight Notre Pere out of Monday’s Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

Dual Grade One winner Mansony makes his seasonal reappearance in the Ladbrokes.com Fortria Chase at Navan on Sunday.

Paul Nicholls hurls Twist Magic and Natal back into the breach at Exeter on Tuesday.

TWIST MAGIC, so disappointing at Cheltenham, came back to something approaching his best when landing the Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown yesterday.

Ruby Walsh moved ever closer to the Irish jump jockeys’ title with victory on Twist Magic in the Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown.

Twist Magic and Natal have given Paul Nicholls a one-two in the Kerrygold Champion Chase.

This year's five day Punchestown Festival gets underway at the Co Kildare racecourse later today.

CHELTENHAM hero Fiveforthree is the nap choice in the vcbet.com Champion Novice Hurdle, one of three Grade 1’s on the programme at the opening stage of the Punchestown Festival this afternoon.

Paul Nicholls is hoping the faster surface at Punchestown will enable Twist Magic to return to his best in the Kerrygold Champion Chase on the opening day of the Festival meeting.

Kazal and Don’t Be Bitin will have Grade One targets at Punchestown as they spearhead a strong Eoin Griffin raid on the upcoming Festival.

STUNNING Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Master Minded could run at the forthcoming Punchestown Festival.

Punters attending the Punchestown Festival could be in for a treat after Paul Nicholls revealed stunning Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Master Minded could run at the meeting.

Mansony is as low as 14-1 with William Hill to lift top honours at Cheltenham next season after upsetting some of the established order with victory in the Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown.

THE Arthur Moore-trained Mansony stepped well up on anything produced previously when taking his first Grade 1 race, the Kerrygold Champion Chase, at Punchestown yesterday.

Davy Russell piloted Mansony to victory in the day-one feature at the Punchestown Festival this afternoon - the Kerrygold Champion Chase.

The 2007 Punchestown Festival gets underway today, with an eight-race card commencing at 2.15pm.

NEWMILL, so impressive in the race a year ago, is fancied to get back on the winning trail in the Kerrygold Champion Chase at the first stage of the Punchestown Festival this afternoon.

Nickname and Newmill feature among a classy eight-runner field declared for the Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown on Tuesday.

NEWMILL could face two of the three horses that finished ahead of him at Cheltenham last month as he bids for back-to-back victories in Punchestown’s Kerrygold Champion Chase later this month.

River City is to have a busy April as trainer Noel Chance plans a rapid big-race double-header with his star two-miler.

Paul Nolan is hoping for drier conditions to allow him to give Cloone River a much-needed prep run on the Flat before the Punchestown Festival.

Rathgar Beau has been retired after suffering a recurrence of an old leg problem in the National Lottery Agent Champion Chase at Gowran.

Until last March, the name John Joseph Murphy did not exactly trip off the tongue when one thought of big time Irish trainers, but Newmill’s victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and subsequently in the Irish version at Punchestown has propelled the Upton, Co Cork trainer to a new realm of renown.

Champion Hurdle hero Brave Inca is likely to face four rivals as he bids for a Festival double at Punchestown on Friday.

Jubilant trainer John Murphy will weigh up the options before deciding whether to step his brilliant two-mile chaser Newmill up in trip next season.

Just under six weeks after his retirement, Moscow Flyer was back at the racecourse and strutting his stuff before an adoring crowd at the Punchestown Festival.

Newmill ran his rivals into the ground to land the Kerrygold Champion Chase in great style despite making several mistakes.

I CAN think of no good reason to oppose Newmill in the Grade One Kerrygold Champion Chase at the opening stage of the Punchestown Festival this afternoon.

Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Newmill heads a high-class field of six for the Kerrygold Champion Chase over two miles at Punchestown on Tuesday, the opening day of the Festival meeting.

Tony McCoy was at his imperious best as he booted home a 35-1 double aboard Justified and Vic Venturi in the two feature races of the day at Fairyhouse.

CHELTENHAM Festival winner Nicanor is set to spearhead a strong team for trainer Noel Meade at the Punchestown Festival.

Cheltenham Festival winner Nicanor is set to spearhead a strong team for trainer Noel Meade at the Punchestown Festival.

JUSTIFIED will attempt to get his career back on track when tackling two and a half miles for the first time in the Grade One Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

Newmill, the runaway winner of last week’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, is likely to miss a clash with Brave Inca at the Punchestown Festival and instead line up in the Kerrygold Champion Chase.

RATHGAR BEAU remains a possible contender for the William Hill - Tingle Creek Trophy at Sandown on December 3 despite having the Hilly Way Chase at Cork eight days later as his main target.