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The Punchestown Festival 2025 day 1 card has an epic battle between Cheltenham winners Fact To File and Marine Nationale headlining it in the extended 2m Champion Chase, the third of three Grade 1s on Tuesday, 29 April. It starts hot with a Champion Novice Hurdle and Novice Chase acting as chief supporting races. Willie …

Sometimes, the Sandown Jump Finale is a coronation for the British champion trainer. Not in 2025, however, as Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton go at it hammer and tongs for the title. The Esher venue brings the curtain down on another National Hunt season this Saturday, 26 April. Highlights from this card include the Grade …

The Flat returns to Sandown races on Friday, 25 April as the Esher venue hosts the first of two very different card. Billed in the past as the Ultimate Celebration of horse racing, the action on the level comes before the Jump Finale the following day. A Group 2 in the bet365 Mile and two …

Fairyhouse races don’t come any bigger than the Irish Grand National of 2025 on the final day of the track’s Easter Festival on Monday, 21 April. The Emerald Isle’s equivalent of the Aintree and Ayr showpieces we’ve seen in recent weeks is as late as it can be. Traditionally a three-day meeting, this year’s Easter …

The Spring Classic Trials get underway at Newbury races on Saturday, 12 April with the Fred Darling and Greenham Stakes. It’s fair to say they have been easier to assess in terms of contenders down the years. As with any prep race for a major target, much of thinking punters must do is who needs …

The Western Meeting apart, Ayr races doesn’t have a more important fixture than its two-day Scottish Grand National Festival. After a rather humble opening on Friday, the action goes up several games on Saturday, 12 April. A race as important as the Scottish Grand National of 2025 is worth detailed analysis on its own. You …

Just like last year, Willie Mullins arrives at Ayr mob-handed in the Scottish Grand National of 2025 with six of the 23 declared runners. The master of Closutton again chases the British Trainers’ Championship after landing the Aintree equivalent last week. More than that, Mullins mounts filled five of the first seven spots on Merseyside. …

When you think of a valuable Group 1 handicap on the Flat in Australia, the Sydney Cup probably isn’t the first that pops into your head. Despite sharing the Melbourne Cup trip of 3,200m, the Royal Randwick staying feature doesn’t quite have the same global profile as its Flemington counterpart. Those who have followed Flat …

Saturday, 5 April is Grand National day in 2025 at Aintree with the world’s greatest steeplechasing taking place on Merseyside. It’s an earlier date than normal, because of how late Easter falls in the calendar this year. For many casual punters, “the National” is the one race they have a flutter on annually. The Liverpool …

The Grand National Festival of 2025 continues on Friday, 4 April with four more Grade 1s on the Mildmay Course. Jonbon is the headline act in the Melling Chase and looks to bounce back after suffering yet another Cheltenham Festival disappointment. Nicky Henderson’s solution to a mistake down the back straight in the Queen Mother …