Paul Townend returns to action at Kilbeggan

My Great Mate looks the Closutton banker in the Clarke’s Electrical Contractors Beginners Chase which closes the card.

Galopin Des Champs and Jockey Paul Townend celebrating their Gold Cup win. Pic: David Davies for The Jockey Club/PA Wire.

Fri, 04 Sep, 2026 - 06:00

John Ryan

Seven-time champion Paul Townend, sidelined since a fall in Ballinrobe on August 10, returns to action at Kilbeggan’s final meeting of 2026.

Townend has three rides for Willie Mullins.

My Great Mate looks the Closutton banker in the Clarke’s Electrical Contractors Beginners Chase which closes the card.

This grey Jukebox Jury gelding has already won two bumpers (Galway and Punchestown) and two hurdles (Sligo and Galway) and has already shown an aptitude for chasing in three outings over the bigger obstacles.

Having ended his hurdling career with a fourth to The Yellow Clay in a Grade 2 in Navan, My Great Mate chased home the smart King Of Kingsfield on his fencing bow at last year’s Galway festival.

Back to Ballybrit in October, he was sent off 8/11 favourite for another ‘beginners’ but could only manage fourth spot behind Rocky's Diamond.

The seven-year-old was off the track until reappearing at the 2026 Galway festival and, contesting the same race he had run in a year earlier, finished a creditable third to Frankie John.

This gelding has experience and a solid rating. And this looks a straightforward task for him.

The earlier Midland Veterinary Beginners Chase looks a lot more competitive, with the Mullins runner Fou De Toi and Henry de Bromhead’s Los Blanco holding obvious claims.

But it might prove smart to side with the only four-year-old in the field, Gordon Elliott’s consistent dual hurdle winner Manoir De Mirande, receiving plenty of weight from his older rivals, plus Josh Halford’s 7lb. claim.

And top-weight Pinot Gris, successful over fences in Wexford before finishing second to Grann’s Boy in a valuable handicap hurdle in Galway, should go close in the Kilsaran Handicap Chase.

In Down Royal, another top-weight Ragmans Corner sets the standard in the marathon Grant Thornton Ulster Cesarewitch.

Narrow winner of an amateur riders’ event in Killarney last time, ‘Ragman’ had earlier finished fourth in the Guinness Galway Hurdle and, off 80, should prove a tough nut to crack.

And Johnny Feane’s filly Forza Magico, pipped by Cool Azul in Navan on her second start, back in July, makes plenty of appeal in the five-furlong maiden.

Kilbeggan

4.07 Ivatt

4.42 Hopeful Hero

5.15 Pretty Wild

5.45 Pride Of Place

6.15 Manoir De Mirande

6.45 Pinot Gris

7.15 My Great Mate (Nap)

Next Best

4.07 Dawn Coming

4.42 Speisialta

5.15 Speed For Fun