Fact To File and Marine Nationale, both impressive winners at the latest Cheltenham Festival, will clash in the William Hill Champion Chase on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday.
Fact To File and Marine Nationale are among six runners declared for the Champion Chase (18:00), which is one of three Grade 1s on the opening-day card.
The Willie Mullins-trained Fact To File had been placed behind stablemate Galopin des Champs in the Savills Chase and the Irish Gold Cup but raised his game when dropped in trip at Cheltenham where he ran out an emphatic nine-length winner of the Ryanair Chase over an extended two and a half miles (replay below). He takes a further drop in distance here and tackles two miles over jumps for the first time.
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Marine Nationale, winner of the 2023 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, registered a first top-level win over fences when landing the Queen Mother Champion Chase by 18 lengths. That margin doesn't tell the whole story as Quilixios was still in with a chance when falling at the final fence, though Marine Nationale looked the likely winner after impressing with how he travelled.
The field is completed by Captain Guinness, El Fabiolo, Senecia and Solness.
The first Grade 1 on the card is the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle (16:15) in which Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Kopek des Bordes is likely to be a strong favourite. He faces five rivals, including stablemate Salvator Mundi who was only fifth in the Supreme but stepped up on that to register a smooth success in the Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree.
Mullins also runs Irancy and Karbau, while the six-runner field is completed by Fleetfoot for Jim Bolger and Whinney Hill for Gordon Elliott.
Mullins is responsible for five of the nine runners in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Chase (16:50), including Ballyburn who is bidding to get back on track after disappointing in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham.
Ballyburn was sent off an odds-on favourite after winning the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival but finished only fifth behind stablemate Lecky Watson who reopposes here. The others from the Mullins quintet are Impaire et Passe - winner of the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices' Chase at Aintree recently - Champ Kiely and Ile Atlantique.
Gorgeous Tom, Slade Steel, Stellar Story and Don't Rightly Know are the others in contention.
And three potential clashes later in the week
Galopin des Champs v Spillane's Tower v Banbridge (Gold Cup, Wednesday)
Galopin des Champs has an outstanding CV featuring two Cheltenham Gold Cups, two Savills Chases and three Irish Gold Cups, but one of the major prizes that has eluded him has been the Punchestown Gold Cup.
Galopin des Champs has won 10 of his 11 completed starts over fences away from Punchestown, with the one defeat coming when runner-up to Inothewayurthinkin in the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup. In stark contrast, he has won only one of his five starts over fences at Punchestown, with that success coming in the 2022 John Durkan Memorial Chase.
Galopin des Champs has been beaten by Fastorslow in the last two editions of the Punchestown Gold Cup, but he doesn't have that rival to worry about this time, nor will he be taking on stablemate Fact To File who drops in trip to contest the Champion Chase on Tuesday. He's unlikely to have many rivals at Punchestown but among the small but select field could be Grade 1-winning chasers Spillane's Tower and Banbridge.
Banbridge was nowhere near his best when seventh in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, labouring before the longer trip came into play, but he had won the King George VI Chase prior to that and it's worth remembering that he quickly put a poor effort at Cheltenham behind him when winning the Champion Chase at Punchestown last season.
Spillane's Tower is also on a recovery mission after failing to fire when only fifth in the King George, but he had been runner-up to Fact To File in the John Durkan prior to that, finishing two and a quarter lengths in advance of Galopin des Champs, and had won his three previous starts over fences at Punchestown, including a Grade 1 novice at last season's Festival.
Teahupoo v Bob Olinger (Stayers' Hurdle, Thursday)
The first two home from the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham could renew rivalry in the Punchestown version on Thursday.
Teahupoo was sent off favourite at Cheltenham to retain the crown he had won last season, but he had to settle for second this time around as, on quicker ground, he was unable to match Bob Olinger's turn of foot.
Bob Olinger has suffered his issues since running out such an impressive winner of the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle in 2021, with weak finishing efforts hampering him times, but he looked back to his best at Cheltenham.
Bob Olinger seems to come alive at Cheltenham, where he also registered an impressive victory in the 2024 Relkeel Hurdle, so he will be tasked with proving he can be as effective at Punchestown to wrest another crown from Teahupoo who was a six-and-a-half-length winner of the Champion Stayers Hurdle last season.
Constitution Hill v State Man v Lossiemouth (Champion Hurdle, Friday)
The clash everyone had hoped for in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham failed to materialise as, firstly, Lossiemouth was rerouted to the Mares' Hurdle, while the race itself fell apart when Constitution Hill departed four out and then State Man came down at the final flight with the contest at his mercy.
The expected duel between Lossiemouth and Constitution Hill in the Aintree Hurdle also proved anti-climatic as Constitution Hill again fell, this time at the second last when at a tactical disadvantage after he was short of room on the home turn.
Willie Mullins has yet to decide whether Aintree Hurdle winner Lossiemouth will take her chance in the Champion Hurdle or instead wait for the Mares' Hurdle, but even if it's just a State Man v Constitution Hill rematch hopefully we'll finally get conclusive proof about whether Nicky Henderson's star retains all the ability that saw him reach extraordinary heights.
No novice hurdler in Timeform's experience has earned a higher rating than the 177 Constitution Hill achieved in the 2022 Supreme, and only five hurdlers have achieved a higher rating.
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