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Past, Present and Future Champions Set to Clash at Punchestown 03/05/11

The annual five day Punchestown National Hunt Festival gets underway on Tuesday May 3rd and runs for five fantastic days, playing host to some of the very best race on the National Hunt calendar.

Kauto Star
© Racehorse Photos

Kauto Star

There are many current champions from last year’s Punchestown Festival as well as this year’s Cheltenham Festival set to run and undoubtedly a number of future champions too.

Most of the very best Jumpers from Ireland will be looking to see off the ever growing threat of the UK raiders, whose trainers are far more inclined to travel over the Irish Sea these days in search of a final big prize to conclude the season. Amongst those travelling over this year will be the fantastic, dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Kauto Star and the 2010 Champion Hurdler, Binocular. Irish champions set to run include the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winner, Hurricane Fly and winner of the Champion Chase, Sizing Europe.

Kauto Star will go down as one of the greatest chasers ever seen on a racecourse and the Paul Nicholls 11 year old will head for the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup on Wednesday, a race, which Nicholls has had on his provisional agenda for some years. He believes that ‘Kauto’ will love Punchestown and will have a great opportunity to add another Grade One to his resume. Nicholls has won this race twice before in 2007 and 2008 with Neptune Collonges, who will be joining Kauto Star in a two prong attack from the Ditcheat stable.

Binocular
© racing-images.co.uk

Binocular
Binocular, winner of the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2010 for Nicky Henderson was forced to miss the race this year and then ‘fluffed his lines’ when only finishing fourth behind Oscar Whisky in the Aintree Hurdle last month. On his day he is a superb hurdler, but will have to be at his very best if he is to successfully tackle the horse who took his Champion Hurdle crown this year, Hurricane Fly in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle on Friday.

Hurricane Fly is unbeaten this season, the Willie Mullins trained runner proved himself the best two mile hurdler around when he sensationally won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. In that race he had Peddlers Cross, Oscar Whisky and Menorah all well beaten, which leaves Binocular as the only leading hurdler who he has still to beat. However, as things stand right now he will get his chance to do so in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle, a race he won 12 months ago.

Sizing Europe surprised many leading pundits by winning the Champion Chase at Cheltenham and will be looking to confirm that his victory was not a ‘one off’ on Tuesday in the Boylesports.com Champion Chase where he will renew his rivalry with Big Zeb, who was second to him at Cheltenham, but who himself was Champion Chaser in 2010. The third horse home at Cheltenham, Captain Cee Bee will also be in the field, making the race one of the hottest of the week and with Golden Silver also in the reckoning, the feature on the opening day promises to be one of the hottest races of the week.

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