33,082 attended Ladies Day at Punchestown today, a remarkable 3,019 up on the Friday meeting last year.

Gordon Elliott enjoyed a welcome change of luck as Dortmund Park claimed victory in a dramatic renewal in the Profile Systems Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Supasundae claimed a dramatic victory after both Samcro and Melon came to grief in the BETDAQ 2% Commission Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

Willie Mullins stole the show again at the Punchestown Festival as he increased his lead over Gordon Elliott in the battle for the Irish jumps trainers' championship to €424,148, with just two days of the season remaining.

Willie Mullins fires an incredible seven-pronged assault on the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown tomorrow.

Tuesday, the opening day of the Punchestown, was to be Willie Mullins’ day. Expectation was high that the stable could make the necessary start in its bid to reel in championship leader Gordon Elliott in the race for the trainers’ title. And so it did.

It’s Gold Cup day in Punchestown and while I don’t know if we’ll have the race we had last year, with Sizing John, Djakadam and Coneygree providing a brilliant spectacle, it’s still a great race.

Ruby Walsh has failed in his bid to be fit for the Punchestown Festival next week.

The Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle - the feature race on day three of the Punchestown Festival - was a tale of one jockey who can practically do no wrong this season and another who can barely catch a break this week, writes Darren Norris.

Irish-trained runners were utterly dominant at the Cheltenham Festival, recording a record haul, but the British-based trainers are fighting back on the return trip, to Punchestown, writes Tommy Lyons.

Jessica Harrington's Cheltenham Gold Cup hero was the 9-10 favourite to follow up on home turf.

The Punchestown Music Festival have announced that Culture Club will perform a headline slot on Saturday 29 July.

It’s the weekend between the Irish Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup, but it’s another busy and important one. I have three rides this afternoon at Fairyhouse, but it’s Douvan, in the Tied Cottage Chase tomorrow at Punchestown, who will be focus of most attention.

Punchestown is the focus of our attention for the next two days, and the nap on this afternoon’s good card goes to Bosco Di Alco, in the www.Coral.ie Maiden Hurdle. 

All attempts to temper enthusiasm and curb expectation were lost in just two words: “just spectacular.”

World Hurdle hero Thistlecrack will not run at Punchestown next week, trainer Colin Tizzard has announced.

Crabbie’s Grand National hero Rule The World is set to make a swift return to action in the Growise Champion Novice Chase at next week’s Punchestown Festival.

Risk Of Thunder, owned by actor Sean Connery and credited with stimulating interest in cross-country races in Ireland, has died at the age of 27.

Faugheen tasted defeat for the first time as he was upstaged by his stablemate.

The Monday morning after Aintree, a couple of weeks before the Punchestown festival, I spoke to Ruby Walsh.

One lucky punter had an afternoon to remember at Punchestown yesterday, when a four race bet won him €15,894.50.

It was the perfect conclusion to an imperfect campaign.

Less than a week after racing said an emotional goodbye to one genius, another weighing room veteran showed that, at 41, the fire still burns bright.

It’s five years since trainer Enda Bolger last saddled the winner of the La Touche Cup but Quantitativeeasing can right that particular wrong in this afternoon’s renewal at Punchestown.

Punchestown is one of the most important weeks of the year and just like Cheltenham, it starts for me with Douvan (4.20). He seems in really good form and is coming off a brilliant performance in winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Punchestown may be the focus of attention right now but the spate of serious injuries suffered by jockeys recently is exercising the minds of the experienced pilots in the Weigh Room.

Hurricane Fly is set to tackle three miles for the first time in the Ladbrokes World Series Hurdle at Punchestown next week.

Tony McCoy believes it is “very likely” that he will ride Shutthefrontdoor rather than Cause Of Causes in the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree next month and has also confirmed he will not be riding at the Punchestown Festival.

A butterfly flutters its wings and a tree falls, or in this case, a water pipe bursts on a bank holiday Friday and in Punchestown the chosen 10 for the Land Rover Most Stylish Award are forced to endure an anxious wait for Amy Huberman to arrive with the prize.

Very few events can cause more than 16,000 people to fall silent, but when a crowd has come to the races to acclaim a queen, only to watch her carried out on her shield, a shocked hush is the only appropriate response.

Soaring temperatures brought the crowds flocking to Punchestown yesterday and the thermometer wasn’t the only thing cracking, as the turnstiles had to cope with the biggest opening-day attendance at the festival.

The Punchestown festival will see the end of the National Hunt season in the dying days of this month and into early May.