Testing ground at Punchestown

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

The Co Kildare circuit is set to play host to five days of high-octane National Hunt action, with the likes of Sprinter Sacre, Hurricane Fly, Quevega and Our Conor all lining up at some stage during the week.

A harsh winter means conditions will be more testing than is often the case in late April, but the wide expanses of Punchestown means fresh ground can be provided each day.

Galway said: “If the forecast is correct, I think we’ll get under way on soft, heavy in places on all our tracks – chase, hurdle, bumper and cross-country.

“Not having a spring and having such a tough winter means we’re way behind where we normally would be, but, that being said, we are lucky to have five separate hurdle tracks for each of the five days.

“On the chase track there is scope to move each day. Our fences are winged in, so we’ll open the wings, widen the fences, provide ground around the bends and do as much as we can.

“We can move the two fences in the straight away from the stands’ rail as we go through the week.”

Galway believes the sheer quality of this year’s Festival is higher than he has ever known.

“It really looks phenomenal. The racing through the week is fantastic and we’re thrilled the quality of horses that are taking part,” he told At The Races.

“We have all those Cheltenham winners and all the clashes that take place during the week.

“From a horse point of view, it looks like being the best bunch of horses we’ve managed to get to a Punchestown Festival in my time.”