Punchestown turns on the taps

With 13 days to go to the National Hunt Festival, officials at Punchestown have announced that an extensive watering programme has commenced following the dry conditions of recent weeks.

Over an inch of water has already been applied to both the hurdle and chase tracks using an umbilical system backed up by four specially adapted water tankers, each with a capacity of 4000 gallons.

Watering will continue on an extensive scale as long as the current dry spell continues in order to ensure good ground at the festival.

Commenting on the developments, racecourse manager, Dick O’Sullivan said, “The ground is currently good to firm.

“However, we are watering 14 hours a day to ensure that we get maximum benefit.

“We are getting 30,000 gallons of water per hour onto the track and we will continue to use this extensive watering programme as long as conditions remain settled.

“We are confident that the volume of the water applied will ensure genuine good ground is guaranteed at the Festival.”