Horse Racing Tips
Punchestown Festival 2026: Superstar Mare Heads Best Bets On Saturday
William Hill News tipster Steve Mullington casts his expert eye over Saturday’s action at the 2026 Punchestown Festival.
Punchestown Tips Saturday:
- 2.30 – Fountain House (WIN)
- 3.05 – Uncle Pat (E/W)
- 3.40 – Your Darling (E/W)
- 4.15 – Wodhooh (WIN)
- 4.50 – Saratoga (E/W)
- 5.25 – Jump Allen (E/W)
- 6.05 – Crystasia (E/W)
- 6.35 – Mordor (WIN)
The final day of Punchestown is a fitting finale to the jump racing season in Ireland. Saturday’s feature races include the Grade 1 Mares’ Champion Hurdle, plus the Grade 1 Champion Four-Year-old Hurdle.
Our horse racing expert Steve Mullington will be guiding you through the Graded and Listed events on this closing day of the Festival, plus suggesting a WIN or EACH-WAY selection in all of the other supporting races.
3.45 – 3m½f Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase (Listed Race)
Eleven-year-old YOUR DARLING has had a remarkable season thus far, most recently defeating market rival Beachcomber by 14 lengths at Ludlow.
The Ben Pauling-trained veteran is clearly in good heart and this is an audacious raid by the yard, but the horse is well equipped to put up a good show.
Lightly raced for his age, Your Darling has won 7 of his 21 career starts to date, which is a highly impressive strike rate to say the least.
4.15 – 2m4½f Mares Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
Gordon Elliott’s skipped Aintree in favour of running his wonder mare WODHOOH (NAP) here at Punchestown instead.
The six-year-old has now secured two consecutive Cheltenham Festival wins, taking the Martin Pipe in 2025 before stepping up to Grade 1 glory in the Mares’ Hurdle in March.
Wodhooh is currently the red hot favourite in our horse racing betting, and should have enough in her armoury to fend off her three rivals in this Saturday afternoon feature.
4.55 – 2m Champion Four Year Old Hurdle (Grade 1)
The Padraig Roche-trained SARATOGA (NB) has become a significant name this season following his landmark victory at the Cheltenham Festival.
Owned by JP McManus, the four-year-old showed battling qualities to lift the Fred Winter Trophy at Prestbury Park, and off a hurdles rating of 140, can be competitive again in this Grade 1.
Trading around the 11/2 mark in our sports betting for this race, Saratoga is a strong each-way selection for this four-year-old hurdle.
5.30 – 2m4½f Handicap Hurdle (Listed Race)
A consistent performer in competitive handicaps, JUMP ALLEN ticks plenty of the boxes needed to be the potential winner of this competitive handicap hurdle.
The seven-year-old is very much a spring horse having run well at last year’s Scottish National meeting, then following up with a victory at Sandown’s Jumps Finale.
We last saw this Mullins-trained horse finishing third in the Martin Pipe in March, and I suspect this race has been on his itinerary ever since.
*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*
