The Punchestown Champion Novice Chase is a Grade 1 race over an extended three miles at the Punchestown Festival meeting.
The Champion Novice Chase takes place on the 30th of April 2024.
The race was only established in its current format in 2007 but Trainer Willie Mullins has already won it four times, notably with the high-class Sir Des Champs (2012).
Other significant winners include the Gordon Elliott trained duo, The Storyteller (2016) and Delta Work (2017).
The Punchestown Champion Novice Chase is the Irish equivalent of the Cheltenham Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and is one of the top novice chase races of the entire jumps season.
Find out more about the Punchestown Champion Novices Chase:
The Punchestown Novices Chase – currently known as the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase – is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase for horses aged five and up.
It is run at Punchestown racecourse over a distance of approximately 3 miles and a half furlong, with seventeen obstacles to be jumped.
The race is for beginner chasers and takes place each year in late April or early May during the Punchestown Festival.
Ellier Developments initially sponsored the race, which was first held in 2007. In previous years, there had been two similar events: a Grade 2 race over a shorter distance (also sponsored by Ellier) and a handicap race over the same distance. Boylesports supported the new version in 2009, and Growise supported it from 2010 until 2018.
Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase Previous Winners
Check out the previous winners for this race:
Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
2013
Mount Benbulben
8
Danny Mullins
Gordon Elliott
2014
Carlingford Lough
8
Tony McCoy
John Kiely
2015
Valseur Lido
6
Ruby Walsh
Willie Mullins
2016
Zabana
7
Davy Russell
Andrew Lynch
2017
Disko
6
Bryan Cooper
Noel Meade
2018
The Storyteller
7
Davy Russell
Gordon Elliott
2019
Delta Work
6
Davy Russell
Gordon Elliott
no race 2020 [a]
2021
Colreevy
8
Danny Mullins
Willie Mullins
2022
Capodanno
6
Mark Walsh
Willie Mullins
2023
Feronily
6
Donagh Meyler
Emmet Mullins
Famous Punchestown Champion Novice Chase Winners
The race was introduced to the Punchestown Festival to entice horses from the top staying novice chase at Cheltenham.
The inaugural running in 2007 was won by Offshore Account, trained by Charlie Swan and ridden by Dennis O’Regan.
The following season brought the first, and so far only, British-trained winner in Air Force One. He was trained by Charlie Mann and ridden by Noel Fehily and had finished fifth in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham.
Willie Mullins claimed his first success in the race with Kempes in 2010, the mount of Tony McCoy. The Champion jockey would later win the race aboard Carlingford Lough (2014) for trainer John Kiely. The horse would go on to win the Irish Gold Cup in consecutive seasons (2015 and 2016) in the colours of JP McManus and returned to the festival meeting to win the Punchestown Gold Cup in 2016.
2012 winner Sir Des Champs won ten of his nineteen races under rules including the Irish Gold Cup and Punchestown Gold Cup in 2013. He won this race by 36 lengths but almost unseated Davy Russell when making a mistake at the final fence.
Sir Des Champs was fancied for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2013 but was beaten by Nicky Henderson’s Bobs Worth.
Delta Work (2019) was another high-class winner of this race. He won the Savills Chase in 2019 and the Irish Gold Cup in 2020 but could finish only fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He lost his form the following season but returned to form to beat dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. He then finished a creditable third in the Aintree Grand National carrying 11st 9lbs.
Key Punchestown Champion Novice Chase Trials
Although this race was designed to attract runners from the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (formerly the RSA Chase), the shorter Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham has also been a useful form guide. Three of the last eleven winners ran in that race while the other key trial has been the Fairyhouse Gold Cup Chase at the Irish Grand National meeting. That race has already produced four winners of this event, although none of them had won the Fairyhouse contest.
Four of the last eleven winners of the Punchestown Champion Novice Chase ran in the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following season. Sir Des Champs fared best when finishing runner-up in 2013. Two winners went on to run in the Ryanair Chase with Valseur Lido (2015) finishing runner-up.
Punchestown Champion Novice Chase Betting Trends
Favourites have a mixed record in this race with three successful market leaders in the past eleven seasons; Sir Des Champs (2012), Disko (2017) and Delta Work (2019). Sir Des Champs was the shortest-priced winner at 2-7 favourite.
Five of the remaining winners were either second or third favourite but the race has thrown up one or two surprises.
Mount Benbulben was a 14-1 winner for Gordon Elliott and Danny Mullins in 2013.
The Storyteller returned two points longer at 16-1 when successful for the same trainer in 2018.
Horses aged six and seven tend to do best here, although Mount Benbulben (2013), Carlingford Lough (2014) and Colreevy (2021) all won at the age of eight.
An official rating of 150 or higher is normally required to win this race.
Zabana (rated 145) did win here in 2016 while the highest rated winner was Sir Des Champs (2012) with a rating of 162.
Previous Punchestown form is almost essential with nine of the last eleven winners having had at least one previous start here, four of them claiming at least one course victory.
Class usually comes to the fore with all but one of the last eleven winners having already been successful in a Grade 1 to 3 race.
Punchestown Champion Novice Chase – Top Trainers and Jockeys
Trainer Willie Mullins leads the race standings, as he does at so many of the Punchestown Festival races, with five winners; Kempes (2010), Sir Des Champs (2012), Valseur Lido (2015), Colreevy (2021) and Capodano (2023).
He is closely followed by Gordon Elliott who has three victories to his credit; Mount Benbulben (2013), The Storyteller (2018) and Delta Work (2019).
Davy Russell has ridden winners for both trainers among his record five Punchestown Champion Novice Chase victories. His winners were Quito De La Roque (2011), Sir Des Champs (2012), Zabana (2016), The Storyteller (2018) and Delta Work (2019).
Betting on the Punchestown Champion Novice Chase
The Punchestown Champion Novice Chase usually features the winner of either the Brown Advisory or the Turners Novices’ Chase from the Cheltenham Festival.
This can lead to a very short-priced favourite, although the race does not always follow the script.
Monkfish was a surprise beaten favourite behind stable companion Colreevy here in 2021. A great race to watch for noting possible Cheltenham Gold Cup and Irish Gold Cup contenders.
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James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur who founded British Racecourses because of his love for horse racing. James owns 14 racehorses through Dooley Thoroughbreds, so he understands all aspects of horse racing, from wagering bets, and booking jockeys to sourcing the best horse racing trainers. James Dooley’s connections give him inside information on horse racing tips and best chances of a winner.
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Betfred have an amazing sign up offer for Punchestown Festival punters who are betting on the 5 day Irish event.
BetVictor is a very popular bookmaker providing many offers and deals during the Punchestown Festival, home of the National Hunt.
The world’s biggest online betting exchange is offering specials for the Punchestown Festival with competitive welcome offers for the races in Ireland.
BetUK is providing new customers with excellent offers on the five-day Punchestown festival in what is expected to be a corker in Irish racing!
The BoyleSports Punchestown Festival betting offers £30 free bets to new customers for upcoming meeting in Ireland.
Take advantage of Coral’s Punchestown betting offer where racegoers will be treated to five fabulous days of quality National Hunt racing.
Claim competitive free bets and Punchestown offers with leading bookmaker Ladbrokes and gets one step ahead at the upcoming Festival.
The Livescore bet 10 get 20 in free bets bonus is a great betting promotion for Punchestown punters with a qualifying bet for the Irish Festival.
Sky Bet Punchestown offers are available for new and existing customers at the Punchestown Festival this year.
If you are looking to earn some extra winnings from the National Hunt races at Punchestown, Unibet have some fantastic offers.
If you are a new Member of Virgin Bet, you will be eligible for a free bet offer for the 5 day Punchestown Festival.
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