Willie Mullins is responsible for six of the remaining 11 runners for the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, the Grade 1 feature on Sunday, 24th November. Two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs is among them having won the race two years ago, though he is not the defending champion after only finishing third a year ago.
He was beaten in 2023 by Fastorslow, who has been his nemesis at Punchestown. Though he has defeated Martin Brassil’s charge in their two meetings away from the County Kildare course, it is 3-1 to Fastorslow at this venue after the eight-year-old won this a year ago, as well as the last two runnings of the Punchestown Gold Cup.
This seventh meeting between the pair will be hugely anticipated if it is to go ahead on Sunday, though Mullins has plenty in reserve to attempt to wrestle the prize back. His battalions include Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase winner Fact To File, the current second favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and who would be making his first start in open company here.
The remaining quartet are headlined firstly by Blue Lord,, who is a Grade 1 winner over shorter, as is Capodanno over further. Meanwhile Grangeclare West missed the second half of last season after winning his first two chase starts, including a Grade 1 novice event at Leopardstown last Christmas. Minella Cocooner has not quite scaled those heights, but did win Sandown’s bet365 Gold Cup to conclude last term; the race is one of the biggest staying handicap chases in Britain and Ireland.
Fact To File and Capodanno are just two of five potential representatives bearing JP McManus’s green and gold silks. Gavin Cromwell is responsible for two of the remaining trio, as he could saddle Inothewayurthinkin, a wide margin winner of the Kim Muir at last season’s Cheltenham Festival, and Limerick Lace, the Mares’ Chase heroine who went off as a joint favourite for the Grand National. The other is Spillane’s Tower, who concluded his novice chase campaign with back-to-back Grade 1 successes and is readily progressive.
The final entry among the 11 is Journey With Me for Henry De Bromhead in Robcour’s colours. The race is all set to see some early festive fireworks.
John Durkan Memorial Chase Runners 2024
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Blue Lord | Willie Mullins |
| 2 | Capodanno | Willie Mullins |
| 3 | Fact To File | Willie Mullins |
| 4 | Fastorslow | Martin Brassil |
| 5 | Galopin Des Champs | Willie Mullins |
| 6 | Grangeclare West | Willie Mullins |
| 7 | Inothewayurthinkin | Gavin Cromwell |
| 8 | Jounrey With Me | Henry De Bromhead |
| 9 | Minella Cocooner | Willie Mullins |
| 10 | Spillane’s Tower | James Joseph Mangan |
| 11 | Limerick Lace | Gavin Cromwell |