PAUL Townend, Mark Walsh, Jack Kennedy and Darragh O’Keeffe all rode winners at Punchestown’s rescheduled meeting on Thursday afternoon before heading to the Emerald Equestrian Centre where Townend completed an across-the-disciplines double in the HRI Treo Eile Thoroughbred Classic.

Ten teams of four took on the 12-fence track designed and built by Gueorgui ‘George’ Gueorguiev. The two-stride double at 11 caused very few problems but all of the verticals were lowered at one stage or another as were most of the oxers but not with such regularity. The fences were sponsored by key stakeholders in the thoroughbred industry – and one by Horse Sport Ireland.

Six teams went through to the second round carrying four faults but the only squad to complete on that score was Team Randox whose speed round duo of Paul Townend and Emily Flavin-Redmond recorded their double clear in the fastest time (62.52 seconds).

The seven-time and reigning champion National Hunt jockey Townend was on board Amy Lambert’s 11-year-old Alkaadhem gelding Murphs Legend, who pulled up in his sole point-to-point start in April 2018 but has since evented at EI115 level. Eleven-year-old Emily, who competed in the 138cms Junior Equitation final at the Dublin Horse Show in August and won the season-long Foran Equine Junior eventing league as a member of the Carlow Branch of the Irish Pony Club, was on board the very inexperienced Galtee Honeysuckle, a four-year-old Connemara mare by Kinvara Boy.

Also on the Randox team were professional event rider Lucca Stubington with the unraced September Storm gelding Quingenti, who has a CCI2*-L victory to his credit and has competed at 3* level, and Connolly’s Red Mills Head of Marketing Jane Davis with the seven-year-old French-bred Tiffany’s Gold who ran once as a juvenile and was fourth in the inaugural Treo Eile thoroughbred 3-day challenge at Ballindenisk in September.

Louise Duffy (Al Boum Photo) and Corrie Auchterlonie (Our Father) recorded the clear rounds which saw the Gavin Cromwell Racing team make the jump-off on four faults. However, they had to watch on as the very speedy Mark Walsh left all the poles intact in the second round on Duffy’s French-bred veteran Arvika Ligeonniere as did Emma Jo Carolan on Clooncan Clover but they had to settle for second on their combined opening salvo total of 12 faults in 64.64.

Third place in the Classic went to Leopardstown Racecourse quartet of Kevin Manning, Kilkenny-based Welsh event rider and young horse producer John Tilley on board Remembergenteljack, Hannah Gayer with Advena and Georgia Kehoe who had posted a combined first round total of 12. In the jump-off, the retired former champion Flat jockey Manning got a much better tune out of the unraced eight-year-old Sepoy gelding Where’s Walter as he went clear as did Kehoe on the 14-year-old mare IHRP Bella to complete on 12 faults in 67.18.

In-form

Other team captains on the night were in-form apprentice jockey Nicola Burns (Horse Country), Jody Townend (TRI Equestrian), Patrick Mullins (Willie Mullins), Jack Kennedy (Gordon Elliott Racing), Colin Keane (Glenburnie Stables), Darragh O’Keeffe (Navan and Fairyhouse Racecourses) and Robert Power (Henry de Bromhead Racing).

Brendan McArdle, who shared the commentary duties with Tim Corballis, could have been accused of coaching his 11-year-old son Jack but, to be fair, he coached all riders in the second round! At one stage, he lowered a fence to assist one of the young competitors whose pony had stopped but even Brendan was surprised (as, no doubt, was judge Denise Prendergast) when the jockey on the team gave the pony combination a lead!

Prior to the Classic, Brendan and Kevin O’Ryan, at times assisted by last year’s winning captain Davy Russell, conducted interviews with, among others, Andrea Ryan, John Osborne and Joseph Murphy. They also interviewed Robert Hall who spoke passionately about the positive impact of the equine programme at Castlerea Prison where some former track performers are among their pool of horses.

Director of Welfare at Horse Racing Ireland, John Osborne, commented: “2025 has been another great year for Treo Eile. Andrea Ryan has joined the team and the wide industry support gives great confidence for the future. The growth of the thoroughbred classes across the summer months and the number of Irish participants is the obvious fruit of the work of Anne, Melanie and the wider Treo Eile community.

“The Christmas Show is now a calendar highlight and we thank everybody for their help in making it such a success in such a short period. The horses remain the focus and we have so many great stories to tell.”