Punchestown gets underway with focus on trainer's title
The Punchestown Racing Festival, gets underway tomorrow, Tuesday 24th and runs until Saturday 28th April. Over 125,000 people are expected to enjoy the top class racing, buzzing social scene and recently refurbished facilities at the famous Kildare venue.
The centre piece of the five day spectacular is the top quality racing with 38 contests including 12 Grade 1 races for a record breaking €3,047,500 prize fund. All eyes will be on the champion trainer title battle between 11 time champion Willie Mullins and Grand National winning trainer Gordon Elliott who was so narrowly defeated at the final hour last season. The championship title is based on the prize money won by the trainer throughout the season and Elliott will kick off the week with a lead of just over €520,000. The Gold Cup winning Colin Tizzard team will spearhead the British raiding party.
The Punchestown Festival is one of the country’s leading corporate events with over 17,000 hospitality guests booked into the tracks six restaurant, three pavilion and 18 private suite venues. Over 725 companies are directly involved as sponsors, suppliers, contractors and customers. Of this number there are over 43 commercial sponsors and eighteen of those are county Kildare based companies. Based on findings of independent research carried out by the National University of Maynooth, the Punchestown festival contributes over €60 million to the local economy.
Punchestown prides itself on being ‘more than a one horse town’ with a full programme of live entertainment on offer throughout the enclosures. New for 2018 is the €4 million Hunt Stand which will be the centre piece of the reserved enclosure, the social hub of the festival.
With ladies accounting for almost 50% of the festival attendance style plays a major role across the week. This years Bollinger Best Dressed Lady competition will take place over the first four days with a finalist selected each day to go forward to the grand final on Friday 27th April. The winner will receive a trip of a lifetime to France where they will visit the home of Bollinger in the champagne region, enjoy Michelin star dining, private transfers and luxury accommodation.
Another new addition at Punchestown 2018 is The Street festival shopping experience. Over 50 exhibitors will showcase handmade jewellery, millinery, sculpture and art shown alongside fashion, homewares, garden pieces and much more. Junior racegoers can enjoy free entertainment on Saturday 28th April with over 60,000 square feet of indoor activity space with bouncy castles, face painting, pony rides and interactive entertainment throughout the day. All children under 14 years of age race for free at Punchestown.
General Manager Dick O’Sullivan said: “Going by the buzz ahead of this year’s festival we think it is going to be something very special indeed. We’ve had a long, tough winter and everyone is ready to get out and enjoy themselves. With the Irish racing scene better than it has ever been, fantastic new facilities and great crowds we reckon this Punchestown Festival is an event not to be missed!”
New Hunt Stand
Today, Tuesday 24th April, marks an historic occasion for Punchestown racecourse as the new €4 million Hunt Stand is officially unveiled to coincide with the opening of the 2018 Punchestown Festival. Minister Michael Creed will officiate at today’s event.
The three story structure is located in a prime trackside position overlooking the final furlong of the famous Kildare venue. It will be the centre piece of the reserved enclosure which is the social hub of the five day sporting feature that expects to attract over 125,000 people.
Designed by Seamus McCluskey of Hamilton Architects and manged by John J. Casey Quantity Surveying, the Hunt Stand spans over 13,000 square feet of useable public hospitality and entertainment space. Over 81,000 man hours have been clocked up over the ten month construction period by project builders The Elliott Group. The completion of the Hunt Stand is the main element of a three phase plan that has been 40% funded by the Horse Racing Ireland Capital Development Scheme. Phase one, the refurbishment of existing buildings and launch of the La Touche restaurant, concluded prior to the 2017 Punchestown festival. The third and final phase will see the general enclosure area surrounding the parade ring undergo a major landscape overhaul. The total development spend is €6 million.
Throughout the entire design and build process particular attention was paid to maximising the views of the action whilst ensuring customers service expectations were met and exceeded where possible. Replacing the original open air stand are increased capacity viewing terraces, where reserved enclosure patrons can enjoy views of some of the feature race starts and the thrilling action of all finishing stages. The ground floor level will be entirely dedicated to the general public and will be the new permanent home for the stylish Festival Bar, the Fox Den Café and the elegant Bollinger Lounge.
The first floor has been dedicated to the new 160 diner Corinthian Restaurant and the exclusive Goffs Owners and Trainers Lounge. Both venues share exceptional panoramic views of the course and the Dublin/Wicklow mountains beyond. Design features such as split level floor plan and vaulted ceilings have optimised these views. The main structure is book ended by two three story tower features where the private Vantage Room is located. With capacity for over 50 guests this venue offers show stopping views of the entire racecourse.
The interiors of the new venue have been carefully selected in accordance with the detailed brief which outlined the requirement that each individual space should reflect the character, heritage and personality of Punchestown. This task was handed to local Kildare based interiors specialist Number 10 Design.
Punchestown is credited as being one of the first racecourses in Ireland to cater for spectators. Back in the 1860’s the first permanent stand was erected and enclosures were laid out. A more modern stand was built in 1960 with various additional buildings erected on an ad hoc basis. It wasn’t until 1998 when the £7 million development of the grandstand and enclosure area took place. The following year a further £6 million was invested in the stable yard, entrance building and event centre.
Dick O’Sullivan, Punchestown General Manager, commented of the momentous event: “This project started out as little more than a pipe dream. It was the top of a wish list at a time when, like so many businesses, we were focusing all resources on keeping the ship afloat. We have so many people to thank for making our dream become a reality. Punchestown is owned, in trust, by the Kildare Hunt who backed our management team all the way, the progressive mind of Kildare County Manager Peter Carey and county planner Peter Minnock. O’Sullivan continued “With a tight timeline and even tighter budget we needed a dynamic design and build team and we got just that in John Casey, Seamus McCluskey of Hamilton Architects and Noel Elliott and his team in the Elliott Group. This building will elevate the customer experience at Punchestown for generations to come”.
The Punchestown Festival will run from Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th April. For full event information please visit www.punchestown.com