PUNCHESTOWN. In one word it is possible to conjure up the finest images of National Hunt racing, something that has been a feature at the Co Kildare track for more than a century and a half.

Home to the five-day National Hunt Festival in late April, it stages many of the best jump races competed for each season. Most of the greatest hurdlers and steeplechasers in Irish racing history have galloped over the undulating track, and the venue is also home to Ireland’s only cross-country banks course.