AFTER the whirlwind excitement of the Grand National the National Hunt racing world turns its attention to the Punchestown Festival which gets underway on Tuesday.

As it was last year, the overriding theme of the week will be the battle between Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins for the Irish National Hunt trainers’ championship.

Elliott holds a lead of just short of €540,000 (total prize money earned) and so is a hot favourite with bookmakers to land a first ever championship, something the Meath trainer has always dreamed of. Yet Mullins, going for a 12th title, will believe he can claw the deficit back, especially considering he went into Punchestown last year trailing by €400,000 and ended up winning the championship by just short of €200,000.

Runners

Each trainer has an ample amount of ammunition to fight for a series of races that hold a collective worth of over €3 million. Mullins will look to the likes of Douvan, Getabird, Melon, Laurina and Penhill while Elliott is also stacked with quality through Samcro, Farclas, Apple’s Jade, Pallasator and Delta Work.

The Punchestown Gold Cup, the feature race on Wednesday, is one of only two Grade 1 races (11 in all) during the week in which Elliott or Mullins do not hold the current favourite. That title goes to Noel Meade’s Road To Respect, a 3/1 chance, after his good run to finish fourth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.