Gaelic Warrior once again proved why he is the premier staying chaser of the season, adding the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup to his Cheltenham triumph with a flawless performance that left spectators in awe. The eight‑year‑old, trained by the legendary Willie Mullins, was the 5/6 favourite and lived up to expectations, cruising around the track with effortless grace. After clearing the field, he was asked by jockey Paul Townend to make his move with two fences remaining. The response was immediate: Gaelic Warrior surged ahead, pulling clear of the competition and cruising home with a massive 26‑length margin over his stablemate Fact To File, who had tried to challenge him from the front.

Mullins could not hide his excitement after the race, saying, "It was a huge performance. My heart was in my mouth when Paul joined him (Fact To File) between the fourth‑last and the third‑last. I was thinking ‘would they knock one another’ or what would they do. They were going some lick.

Both jockeys just let fly. Over that trip Gaelic Warrior seemed to have the measure of Fact To File.

Over a shorter trip it might be different. It was a hell of a horse race.

It takes two horses to do it. It was great that JP (McManus) allowed Fact To File to take him on. It made for a memorable day.

Both horses got the run of the race the way they wanted to. Fact To File got a nice time in front and Paul was able to settle his fella in. Both jockeys got to ride their horse the way they wanted to. There were no excuses." The win capped a whirlwind campaign for Gaelic Warrior.

Mullins explained the logic behind the busy schedule: "He started off here in November and then on to Kempton (King George), Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham and here. It's always my philosophy that if you have the horses and the sponsors put up nice money you should go for it. I try to run them as much as I can when we have nice opportunities." The horse and Fact To File had already met twice this season, first clashing in the John Durkan at Punchestown and later meeting again in the Irish Gold Cup, where Fact To File turned the tables. Mullins hinted that the two may meet once more next season in the John Durkan, saying, "That would look the right plan to do." Owner Rich Ricci was equally thrilled, noting the historic nature of the victory: "We've never won this race before.

It was very sporting of JP to run his horse, the ground probably didn't suit him, but he's a fantastic horse. I'm so pleased to win it.

I've not been here since Ruby (Walsh) retired in 2019. I've been busy and we had covid and those kind of things. The people here are brilliant and I'm thrilled to win the race. I couldn't be more delighted." The evening also featured other notable performances.

Le Frimeur, trained by Harry Derham, maintained an unbeaten record by winning the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle. Starting from 18/1, the horse surged to the front under jockey J J Slevin and held off the favourite Zanoosh, finishing six and a half lengths clear.

Derham, who secured his first Grade One victory, reflected on the achievement: "It's a cliché, but I genuinely dream about training Grade One winners. It's absolutely unreal. Obviously it makes it an awful lot easier with very good horses. Simon actually grabbed me on the arm at this meeting last year and said he was going to send me this horse.

To have the access to horses like this is something unbelievable. He got a little setback in the autumn and he's just improved and improved all spring. We had no idea how good he was coming here and I'm still not sure we do to be honest.

JJ said he did plenty wrong in the race and he's beaten a quality field well. It's absolutely unreal.

We obviously believed in the horse a lot or else we wouldn't have brought him here. JJ thought three miles was the right thing to do and it's absolutely unreal." Slevin praised Derham's ambition, noting the young trainer's upward trajectory: "Harry is a young trainer, very ambitious. He's only going one way and that's up.

It was a big shout from Harry coming here, to run him in that race. Rated 129, you would think a handicap would be a logical way to go, but I've been over there a few times riding out, great facilities, great schooling grounds, great gallop, so fair play to him, it's great." In the flat division, Josh Halford timed his ride perfectly on With Nolimit to claim victory in the Race & Stay At Punchestown Champion I.N.H. Flat Race. The five‑year‑old, trained by Gordon Elliott, had finished ninth in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham but turned the tables at Punchestown, holding off a late challenge from Festival hero The Mourne Rambler and winning by a length and three‑quarters over Noel Meade's 11/8 favourite.

Elliott praised his jockey: "To be fair he ran a good race in Cheltenham, he might have just done a little bit much. I probably gave Harry (Swan) the wrong instructions.

We took our time with him a bit more today. All credit to Josh, he gave him a great ride. I'm delighted for Josh, he works in the yard and he works very hard. He's a lovely fella, he's from good stock.

He's with me now for a couple of years and got us a good few winners. He comes in every day and doesn't say too much and doesn't give out.

He's patient and I'm absolutely thrilled for him, to win a Grade One. It's hard to get them." The day also saw Henry de Bromhead's Nouvotic (7/1) dominate the Colm Quinn BMW Handicap Chase, pulling clear three fences out under jockey Darragh O'Keeffe. De Bromhead expressed his delight: "It's lovely to get one, especially for Roger (Brookhouse) who is a brilliant supporter of Punchestown.

He loves coming over, he comes over every year. He's a great supporter of ours as well and that's the second time we've won this, we won it with Lets Go Champ a couple of years ago. I couldn't believe the easy lead Darragh got and I'm just delighted." When asked about the possibility of Nouvotic contesting the Galway Plate, de Bromhead replied, "He could, I was just thinking that but he may not be rated high enough. He was 130 there so he may not be rated high enough to get in, but he could be a horse for the Blazers or something like that.

He loves that ground." Overall, Punchestown delivered a spectacular showcase of top‑class talent across disciplines, with Gaelic Warrior's dominant Gold Cup victory standing out as the headline act. The race not only cemented his status as the season's leading staying chaser but also set the stage for future clashes with rivals like Fact To File, promising more thrilling encounters in the months ahead.