Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup
Grade 1, Punchestown 17:30
 €300,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus,
3m 1f, Class 1      
Wednesday 29th April 2026

There are seasons when the Punchestown Gold Cup feels like an epilogue; this year it shapes more as a reckoning. The €300,000 centrepiece on April 29 is already beginning to draw together strands left tantalisingly unresolved at Cheltenham, with unfinished business, shifting narratives and, perhaps, a defining clash still to come.

At the heart of it all sits Willie Mullins’s Fact To File, a horse whose absence from the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham did little to diminish his profile and, if anything, heightened the sense of anticipation surrounding his next appearance. Withdrawn on the day over concerns about quick ground, he has since become as much a talking point for what he did not do as for what he has already achieved.

That absence has only sharpened interest in a potential meeting with Gaelic Warrior, whose emphatic Gold Cup success cast a long shadow over the Festival. The form line between the two — Fact To File having beaten him earlier in the season — adds a layer of intrigue that Punchestown now seems poised to explore.

Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus, has made the likely target clear enough: “They do a great job with the ground in Punchestown so I would be surprised if he doesn’t end up there in the three-mile race.”

Ground, indeed, may prove the quiet arbiter. Punchestown’s tendency towards yielding conditions — rarely extremes in either direction — offers a more predictable platform than Cheltenham’s occasionally contentious surface, and one that should suit a horse whose connections have shown themselves unwilling to compromise.

If Fact To File represents the unanswered question, then Inothewayurthinkin arrives as something closer to a known quantity attempting to reassert himself. Last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner endured a far from straightforward preparation this time around, yet his rally to finish third suggested that ability remains intact, even if the journey there has been less than smooth.

Trainer Gavin Cromwell reflected on a performance that hinted at more to come: “It was a very frustrating run, really, he never travelled or jumped very well early on.

“He did then come home well, to be fair to him, so we’ll take the positives and look forwards to his next run.

“He’s very well, he’s come out of Cheltenham absolutely fine.

“He’s back in work and doing well, we’re aiming him towards Punchestown with him now.”

That upward trajectory, even if gradual, places him firmly in the conversation once more.

Others arrive with rather more uncertainty. The Jukebox Man, whose Cheltenham Gold Cup effort promised much before unravelling late, now finds his participation in doubt after a muscle injury that has complicated an already imperfect campaign. Trainer Ben Pauling outlined the unexpected setback: “He was OK the day after the Gold Cup but then was noticeably off on his near-fore.

“Basically, the chiropractors and massage team have been in and he has pulled his bicep and his pectoral pretty badly. I have no idea where that has come from because the day before he was spot on.

“Whether he has got cast in his box, I don’t know but, when you put that with the fact we think he wants his soft palate tightening, it was amazing he went as far as he did in the Gold Cup.

“In a nutshell the dream was alive for a long way at Cheltenham and then came crashing down.”

Whether he makes it to Punchestown remains uncertain, but the race would be richer for his presence.

And that, perhaps, is the essence of this year’s renewal. Not yet fully formed, but already compelling, it brings together horses at different stages of their campaigns: one seeking redemption, another validation, and a third simply the chance to line up. The final shape will become clearer in the weeks ahead, but the outline is already there — and it promises a race of consequence.

Punchestown Gold Cup
€300,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m 1f, Class 1
entries
Going:

 

Year Horse Age/Wt Owner Trainer Jockey SP

2025 Galopin Des Champs 9 11-10 Mrs Audrey Turley W P Mullins Paul Townend 5/6F
2024 Fastorslow 8 11-10 Sean & Bernardine Mulryan Martin Brassil J J Slevin 7/2
2023 Fastorslow 7 11-10 Sean & Bernardine Mulryan Martin Brassil J J Slevin 20/1
2022 Allaho 8 11-10 Cheveley Park Stud W P Mullins Paul Townend 6/5F
2021 Clan Des Obeaux 9 11-12 Mr & Mrs P K Barber, G Mason & Sir A Ferguson Paul Nicholls Sam Twiston-Davies 100/30
2020 Abandoned - Covid-19
2019 Kemboy 7-11-10 Kemboy/Brett Graham/Ken Sharp Syndicate Willie Mullins R Walsh 13/8F
2018 Bellshill 8-11-10 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins DJ Mullins 4/1
2017 Sizing John 7-11-10 Ann & Alan Potts Limited Mrs J Harrington R M Power 9/10F
2016 Carlingford Lough 10-11-10 J P McManus John Kiely Barry Geraghty 12/1
2015 Don Cossack 8-11-10 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott Paul Carberry 5/2
2014 Boston Bob 9-11-10 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins Ruby Walsh 5/2 Fav
2013 Sir Des Champs 7-11-10 Gigginstown House Stud Willie Mullins Davy Russell 2/1 Fav
2012 China Rock 9-11-10 Michael O’Flynn Mouse Morris Barry Geraghty 20/1
2011 Follow The Plan 8-11-10 Redgap Partnership Oliver McKiernan Tom Doyle 20/1
2010 Planet Of Sound 8-11-10 Charles Lloyd-Baker Philip Hobbs GB Richard Johnson 14/1
2009 Notre Pere 8-11-10 Tilly Conway Jim Dreaper Andrew Lynch 15/8 Fav
2008 Neptune Collonges 7-11-10 John Hales Paul Nicholls GB Ruby Walsh 9/10 Fav
2007 Neptune Collonges 6-11-12 John Hales Paul Nicholls GB Ruby Walsh 8/1
2006 War Of Attrition 7-11-12 Gigginstown House Stud Mouse Morris Conor O’Dwyer 4/5 Fav
2005 Kicking King 7-11-12 Conor Clarkson Tom Taaffe Barry Geraghty 8/11 Fav
2004 Beef Or Salmon 8-11-12 Joe Craig Michael Hourigan Timmy Murphy 5/4 Fav
2003 First Gold 10-12-00 J P McManus Francois Doumen FR Thierry Doumen 7/4 Fav
2002 Florida Pearl 10-12-00 Violet O’Leary Willie Mullins Barry Geraghty 13/8 Fav
*2001 Moscow Express 9-12-00 John Corr Frances Crowley Barry Geraghty 8/11 Fav
2000 Commanche Court 7-11-09 Dermot Desmond Ted Walsh Ruby Walsh 100/30
1999 Imperial Call 10-11-09 Lisselan Farms Ltd Raymond Hurley Ruby Walsh 8/1
1998 Mahler 8-10-12 English Badminton P’ship Nigel Twiston-Davies GB Carl Llewellyn 5/1
1997 Noyan 7-11-01 C H McGhie Richard Fahey GB Norman Williamson 13/2
1996 Billygoat Gruff 7-11-03 Peter Cooper David Nicholson GB Richard Johnson 7/1
1995 Butches Boy 6-10-07 Bridget Kennedy Pat Fahy Francis Woods 14/1
1994 Merry Gale 6-12-00 Herb M Stanley Jim Dreaper Kevin O’Brien 5/2
1993 Fissure Seal 7-11-01 Delton Syndicate Harry de Bromhead Graham Bradley 7/1
1992 Second Schedual 7-11-00 Hugh McMahon Arthur Moore Richard Dunwoody 12/1
1991 Local Whisper 7-10-07 Mrs Chris Harrington Arthur Bunyan Tommy Carmody 9/4 Fav
1990 Mixed Blends 8-11-00 J Spearman Mouse Morris Charlie Swan 7/4
1989 Super Furrow 9-11-09 Mrs M Marshall Jerry O’Neill Padge Gill 8/1
1988 Doubtful Venture 12-10-07 E Morrissey Paddy Mullins Conor O’Dwyer 12/1
1987 Bankers Benefit 7-10-13 Brigadier B Fowler John Fowler Anthony Powell 6/4 Fav
1986 Daltmore 8-10-01 N Coburn Paddy Mullins Tony Mullins 20/1
1985 Larry’s Latest 8-10-01 Miss A Collen Miss A Collen M Cummins 14/1
1984 Lantern Lodge 7-9-09 Mrs M Farrell Paddy Mullins Tony Mullins 7/2 Fav
1983 Pearlstone 7-10-08 William W Brainard Jnr Paddy Mullins Tony Mullins 3/1 Fav
1982 Fethard Friend 7-10-09 M Aherne Francis Flood Frank Berry 7/4 Fav
1981 Luska 7-10-01 John Brophy Paddy Mullins T V Finn 100/30
1980 Kilbricken Money 11-9-07 Mrs Charmian Hill
*Run at Fairyhouse

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