Wexford jockey J.J. Slevin shines with brace of wins at Punchestown Festival

Slevin was in the saddle as Fastorslow’s love affair with the racecourse saw him get the better of dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs at the venue for the third time as he landed a repeat success in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday.

In a near identical outcome to last year’s feature race, the Martin Brassil-trained 7/2 chance got the better of Willie Mullins’ star chaser, the 1/2 favourite, by a length and a quarter, another huge success for both jockey and trainer.

The Shark Hanlon-trained Hewick, a 12/1 shot, was two and a quarter lengths away in third place.

At the Festival on Tuesday, Slevin had added the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase to his growing list of big-race wins when landing the highlight of the opening day on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge.

The Ronnie Bartlett-owned eight-year-old came with a late challenge under the Kiltrea jockey and got up in the final stride to deny his fellow 6/1 chance and Cheltenham’s Champion Chase winner, Captain Guinness, by a neck, with the Willie Mullins-trained 11/10 favourite, Dinoblue, a length and a quarter away in third place.

Earlier in April, Slevin had won the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on the Tom Gibney-trained Intense Raffles, adding to his earlier Cheltenham Festival success on Lark In The Mornin, another trained by his cousin, Joseph O’Brien.

Seán Flanagan was an early winner on day two of the Punchestown festival as the Gavin Cromwell-trained Backtonormal took the auction hurdle final in convincing fashion.

Owned in partnership by Darren Cahill, Mary Furlong and Michael Byrne, the six-year-old led before the final hurdle and raced clear to win by two and three-parts of a length from the Terence O’Brien-trained Answer To Kayf at odds of 7/1.

Gorey’s Barry Walsh landed his first winner as a trainer when Singing Banjo belied his age to score a repeat success in the La Touche Cup Cross Country Chase before a crowd of 18,289, an increase of 506 on the same day in 2023, at Punchestown on Thursday.

As an eleven-year-old, when trained by Philip Rothwell, he scored a historic Ladies Cup/La Touche double with Walsh in the saddle at the festival in 2021.

His latest win saw him join both Spot Thedifference in 2007 and Uncle Junior in 2015 as 14-year-old winners of the race. At odds of 28/1, he battled well at the end of the marathon four mile and one furlong spectacle to beat the Denis Murphy-trained Three By Two by three-parts of a length.

Ballyboker Bridge remains the oldest winner of the race since the turn of the century. He was 15 when beating Singing Banjo to the line in the 2022 renewal.

A point-to-point winner at Punchestown in February of this year, the Seán Doyle-trained Private Ryan made a triumphant return to the track on day four of the festival to win the Bishopscourt Cup Hunters’ Chase on Friday where the attendance peaked at 36,620.

Ridden by Tomhaggard amateur rider Jamie Scallan, the 9/4 shot, owned by Henry Chamney, got the better of Sam Curling’s 2/1 favourite De Nordener after the final fence and pulled away to win by two and three-parts of a length.

Seán Flanagan recorded his second winner of the week as the Gavin Cromwell-trained Brides Hill became romped to a 21-length victory in the Grade 2 Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares’ Chase.

The 15/8 chance headed Willie Mullins’ front-runner, the 11/8 favourite Allegorie De Vassy, at the second-last fence and she raced away to for the easiest of wins, with the favourite’s stable companion Instit coming through to finish a remote runner-up.

Stumptown rounded off a remarkable week’s work for Seán Flanagan and Gavin Cromwell as he led home a 1-2 for the stable in the three-mile banks’ race over the cross-country course as the festival concluded on Saturday.

Owned by the Furze Bush Syndicate, the 100/30 chance held a definite advantage after the second-last fence and raced clear to beat his own stable companion, Fameaftertheglory, by five and a half lengths.