Il Etait Temps headlines Mullins treble on Punchestown Festival Day One

Willie Mullins strikes early with treble as Grade 1 shocks and emotional farewell headline opening day.

The 2026 Punchestown Festival burst into life in dramatic fashion on day one, with domination from the yard of Willie Mullins, surprise Grade 1 results, and an emotional retirement bringing a poignant close to a compelling opening card in County Kildare.

Mullins sets the tone with early treble

It did not take long for Mullins to stamp authority on the week, as his team landed a treble spearheaded by a brilliant performance from Il Etait Temps in the William Hill Champion Chase. Under a polished ride from Paul Townend, the 8-11 favourite travelled strongly throughout before asserting on the home turn to complete the prestigious Cheltenham–Punchestown double.

The win underlined Mullins’ extraordinary record in the race, securing a sixth success in the last eight renewals.

Emotional farewell as Energumene bows out

There was also an emotional subplot to the Champion Chase, as veteran chaser Energumene brought the curtain down on a glittering career. The 14-time winner ran gallantly to finish third before being officially retired afterwards.

Mullins paid tribute to the dual Champion Chase winner, reflecting on a horse who had been “a joy to train” and leaves the yard with his reputation firmly intact.

Grade 1 shocks light up the card

If the feature race followed the script, the novice events did anything but.

In the Champion Novice Hurdle, outsider Eachtotheirown produced one of the shocks of the week at 16-1, making all under a superb front-running ride from Sean Flanagan for trainer Barry Connell. The gelding bounced back dramatically from a heavy Cheltenham Festival defeat, where he had finished second-last, to dominate from the front.

At 18-1, Western Fold delivered another surprise in the Champion Novice Chase for trainer Gordon Elliott. Ridden by Jack Kennedy, he emerged from a dramatic finish to edge out his rivals, while hot favourite Kitzbuhel was pulled up late on following a disappointing display.

The victory also secured a milestone moment for Elliott, whose season prize-money tally reached a career-best total of €4,798,570, surpassing his previous benchmark.

Festival gets underway with winners across the card

Earlier in the day, Fountain House made it back-to-back Punchestown Festival wins with a dominant display in the Cross Country Chase, continuing the strong start for connections and giving a notable early success to the betting market’s well-supported favourite.

JP McManus also got on the board when Powerful landed the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final Handicap Hurdle for trainer Jessica Harrington, holding off a late challenge from Daylatedollarshort under Sean Bowen.

In the Listed Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle, 10-1 shot Kalix Delabarriere provided another winner for Mullins’ stable, guided to success by 7lb claimer Sean Cleary-Farrell, marking just the 15th win of his career.

There was also a promising debut success for Abbeyglen, trained by Martin Brassil, who struck at 11-2 under John Gleeson in the Willie Coonan Memorial INH Flat Race.

Mullins’ stable continues to win

The final race of the day went once again to Mullins, as Delamotte justified strong support to win the bumper under Patrick Mullins, completing another treble for the dominant trainer.

Assistant trainer David Casey later hinted at more to come, particularly ahead of the eagerly anticipated Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday, where stable stars Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File are set to clash.

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