In-form Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins signed off for 2016 with a double at Punchestown to make it a remarkable 24 winners since St Stephen's Day.

Wexford hosts this afternoon’s action in Ireland, and Masonbrook Lady gets the nap to land the eleven-furlong handicap.

Rogue Angel is unlikely to line up in the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday week following his emotional triumph in the Irish equivalent on Easter Monday.

Ireland’s major racecourses endured contrasting fortunes in their attendance figures for 2015 due to the vagaries of the weather.

Ireland's major racecourses endured contrasting fortunes in their attendance figures for 2015 due to the vagaries of the weather.

Punchestown will begin a €6.2m racecourse upgrade in May next year, with the work due to be completed by 2018.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Djakadam and Grade One-winning novice Valseur Lido form a formidable twin assault for Willie Mullins on the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on Sunday.

“Once an Olympian, always an Olympian.”

It was a good day for two Punchestown punters today as they took more than €45,000 off BoyleSports with two accumulators.

Barry Geraghty’s hopes of making the Punchestown Festival rest on a meeting with his surgeon in four weeks’ time.

Hurricane Fly has been nominated by trainer Willie Mullins for the French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil in June.

Rich Ricci is slightly favouring the chances of Pylonthepressure as he prepares to unleash a powerful team of four runners in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival today.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up On His Own and his Aintree and Punchestown-winning stable companion Boston Bob are among 12 horses confirmed for Saturday’s JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal.

Punchestown Racecourse and Kildare County Council are in talks about the feasibility of hosting some, or all, of the Garth Brooks gigs.

Ruby Walsh faces a long spell on the sidelines, following an operation on Monday to repair damaged ligaments in his shoulder.

Odds-on favourite Art Of Logistics is impossible to oppose in the €10 Admission Rated Chase, the opening event at Punchestown’s final meeting of the season.

Willie Mullins’ Thousand Stars came back to something approaching his best when running away with the Grade 2 Keelings’ Irish Strawberry Hurdle at Fairyhouse yesterday.

Hurricane Fly is on target to try for a sixth successive win at the Punchestown Festival and could face stablemate Un De Sceaux in the Racing Post Champion Hurdle, which he has won for the last four seasons, on May 2.

Peter Maher is eyeing Punchestown Festival compensation for Big Shu after his stable star’s early exit from the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday.

Connections of Jezki are keen to let the dust settle after his Champion Hurdle triumph before deciding on plans for the remainder of the season.

Punchestown Racecourse announced yesterday that Bibby Financial Services Ireland (BFSI) are the new sponsors of the Punchestown Gold Cup, in a deal that will see the prize fund increasing by €50,000 to a total value of €200,000.

Willie Mullins, fresh from a satisfactory if not spectacular Leopardstown, has a strong hand at Punchestown today and his Touch The Eden gets the nap in the Buy Your 2014 Annual Membership Beginners Chase.

Willie Mullins topped his own record as two Grade One victories on the final day helped him take his Punchestown Festival tally to 13 winners for the week.

I hope to round off what has been a great season for me by landing the Grade 1 mares’ hurdle aboard Tarla at Punchestown today.

Ladbrokes — and some of their pals — have to be taking the pee, if you will excuse my French.

We've had a wonderful week at Punchestown, with Jezki's victory in the Grade 1 Champion Novice Hurdle the obvious highlight, but it was also fantastic for Madam Bovary to win yesterday’s opening race.

Nicky Henderson is happy for Sprinter Sacre to take his chance on testing ground in the Boylesports.com Champion Chase at Punchestown today.

Punchestown general manager Richie Galway admits parts of the track are likely to be heavy when the Festival gets underway tomorrow.

There was mixed news for racing fans yesterday when it was confirmed equine superstar Sprinter Sacre would take his place in Tuesday’s Champion Chase at Punchestown but perennial British champion jump jockey Tony McCoy would miss the entire festival.

Paul Nicholls had started to doubt the desire of Zarkandar but the application of blinkers and a step up in trip showed the six-year-old in a vastly different light as he thwarted The New One in what looked a top-quality John Smith’s Aintree Hurdle.

Fourteen successes for Ireland at the Cheltenham festival but the real winners — at least going forward — were surely Punchestown.

Sprinter Sacre offered the conclusive proof for his promotion to racing’s new superstar in the Sportingbet Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

Navan on Tuesday and Punchestown on Wednesday provided valuable lessons for any punters who thought they had this game cracked.

Punchestown officials remain hopeful of racing going ahead today despite yesterday’s fixture being lost to waterlogging.

Champion trainer Willie Mullins, currently in France pursuing potential stars of the future, dominated last night’s action in Punchestown, completing a treble with Raptor, Letherbelucky and Passage Vendome.

The final day of the Punchestown Festival will go ahead this afternoon after the course passed a precautionary inspection.

Officials at Punchestown will stage a precautionary inspection at 8am ahead of the final day of the Festival today.

I want to start by describing what Punchestown achieved on Wednesday as quite brilliant.

Organisers expect a €60m windfall for the local economy over the coming days as the Punchestown festival comes under starters’ orders.