THE final festival of the jumps season kicks off at Punchestown on Tuesday, and the logical expectation is that Willie Mullins dominates the week.

Mullins failed to break double figures over the five days just once in last 10 Punchestown festivals, and the average in that time has been 14.1 winners per year.

Even in 2025, when the UK trainers’ championship was on the line, he had 15 winners at the meeting from a smaller team than usual but that will not be the case this year as he has played relatively little part in the British spring festivals, the Grand National apart.

His best horses generally bypassed Aintree, and none of his eight Cheltenham winners this year have run since while only three of the 11 other placed horses at Cheltenham have been seen either; most, if not all, can be expected to be seen at Punchestown.

Many of the Mullins horses will arrive here fresh, but that is not the case with other yards, some of which may not even arrive at all, and that is another advantage.

For instance, it could be argued that the two best non-Closutton novices of the season, Romeo Coolio and Talk The Talk, will not be at the meeting having finished up for the summer.

Back Mullins?

The most obvious punting approach next week is to back the Mullins runners with Cheltenham form and that simple angle has been useful.

Mullins has run 255 horses at the last 10 Punchestown Festivals that were coming directly from Cheltenham with 66 of them winning and 125 of them placing, healthy win and place strike-rates of 25.9% and 49% with a small level-stakes profit of 18.6 points.

It will be no surprise to readers than Cheltenham has produced far more Punchestown winners than any other meeting in the last 10 meetings, but the Fairyhouse Easter meeting has been second best, and three horses from that fixture would be interesting if taking their chance.

Vitorio Piel looked an ideal type for the final of the Connolly’s Red Mills Auction Novice Hurdle when winning at Leopardstown in March, and his second in the valuable staying novice handicap hurdle over Easter only added to his claims.

Having initially been down the rail, Donagh Meyler switched his mount outside and he finished up racing wide yet still came there going best two out, hitting the front soon enough on a day when a gale was blowing, only caught by a late closer sweeping from rear. The drop back in trip looks for the Red Mills race looks a plus and decent ground suits him too.

Competitive race

The final of the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series might be the most competitive race of the five days but Powerful looks the right type for it after a promising effort over an insufficient trip at Fairyhouse.

He qualified for the final with a win at Punchestown in January, his second success at the track this season, and shaped well off a break at Easter, meeting some trouble after two out and not knocked about late, giving the impression he has more to give.

The Irish mares’ bumpers have been weak this season as some of the best ones have gone other routes, Oldschool Outlaw over hurdles and Nan’s Choice moving to England, and that could see an opening at the top.

Wonderful Everyday was an impressive winner of the Goffs Defender Bumper at the meeting last year but hasn’t seemed the same mare since, though that may have been down to racing on soft ground. She showed up much better on a faster surface last time at Fairyhouse when second in a listed race, given a bit much to do, and would be interesting back at Punchestown.

Trainers showing hot flat form

PUNCHESTOWN means a brief pause for the Irish flat season, but we are already nearly 100 races deep into the turf campaign as of close of racing at the Curragh last Sunday, and thus a good time to consider the yards that are going well.

Joseph O’Brien has started best of all with 12 winners so far in March and April in Irish turf races, a number that leads all trainers.

Not only is he doing well relative to the rest but also when compared with himself in previous season; 12 is his best total in March and April so far in his training career, only once having broken double figures in this period before, and there are still more meetings to come even with the Punchestown Pause.

There has been depth and diversity to those winners as well. He has won a listed race and two Group 3s, including a one-two in the Alleged Stakes last Sunday. Older handicappers like Sindria and Light Up The Dark have been successful, along with newer ones like Arctic Assassin, while Star Prospect was a good example of nominative determinism as the yard’s first juvenile runner. He got a confident ride to win with plenty in hand.

Perhaps most pleasing for the trainer will be the way promising maiden runners have built on their initial promise to win next time, something that has been an issue in years past.

In recent weeks, the likes of Sinmara and Mixed Feelings have stepped up markedly on their initial efforts to win by margin, both looking set for blacktype races next time.

Slattery success

The other hot trainer in the early flat season has been Andy Slattery with eight winners, six of those coming in handicaps. It will be difficult to sustain that level of success as those winners rise in the weights though a couple of their runners from the Curragh on Sunday shaped like they will be winning again soon.

Bint Majestic Roi was a cheap buy at 6,000 guineas last July and Slattery figured out that she was faster than her form or breeding suggested, dropping her back to sprint trips with good effect this spring. She was suited by a well-run race to win on Sunday and should be able to do so again off her revised mark of 80.

Red Charlie won on stable debut in March and was unfortunate not to follow up in the seven-furlong handicap on Sunday, looking just about the unluckiest loser of the young season. Having initially tracked the pace, he lost position around halfway and was then jammed behind a wall of horses, near last entering the final furlong.

Switched up the rail, he powered home to be beaten a neck and is worth rating many lengths better than the result.

Harrington highs

One yard that may be about to hit form is Jessica Harrington. She had a poor 2025, 43 flat winners in the calendar year her lowest since 2017 when totals in the 60s and 70s have been the norm in between times, but after a quiet March with relatively few runners, she has done well in April.

There have been two winners, but more so the horses are running well, basically everything that turned up at the two recent Leopardstown meetings showing something, most notably Cromac Quay and Pierre Grosse.

It was a similar story at the Curragh on Sunday, Thenandnow winning while looking at much sharper type than last year, while Green Impact shaped well after a sizeable break in the Alleged.