Punchestown Champion Chase Predictions - Betting Odds & Tips
| Timetable | Tuesday, 29th April at 18:00 GMT |
| Prediction | Marine Nationale TO WIN! |
| Odds | |
| Bookmaker | Lunubet Sports |
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The Punchestown Festival bursts into life on Tuesday, April 29th, with the first of five stunning days of jumps racing from the Co Kildare venue. There are three Grade 1 contests on the opening day, culminating in the Champion Chase as Cheltenham Festival winner Marine Nationale gets the star billing.
Read on for our Punchestown Champion Chase prediction and more as Ireland's end-of-season meeting begins and the best betting sites offer markets on all the big races at the Punchestown Festival. You can also find tips for the Punchestown Champion Chase here.
🏆 Punchestown Champion Chase Prediction
This race is a showdown between Marine Nationale and Fact To File, two of the most impressive winners at last month's Cheltenham Festival . Marine Nationale scooped an emotional Queen Mother Champion Chase win for Barry Connell as memories of Michael O'Sullivan dominated in the Cotswolds. At the same time, Fact To File obliterated the field in the Ryanair Chase.
Connell has been very bullish that we'll see an even better version of Marine Nationale now and, being the two-mile specialist, he holds the aces and looks the likeliest Punchestown Champion chase winner. Punchestown boasts an incredible array of top-class action, so be sure to check out our bookmaker reviews to find the best place for your punting needs during the meeting.
OUR PREDICTION: 🏆 MARINE NATIONAL TO WIN 🏆
🏇 Champion Chase Betting Preview
The list of possible Punchestown Champion Chase runners makes it entirely possible that this day one contest could be the best race of the entire meeting. Cheltenham scorers Marine Nationale and Fact To File get the headlines, but they could be joined by King George hero Banbridge, dual Grade 1 winner this season Solness and former Queen Mother Champion Chase winners Energumene and Captain Guinness.
It's set to be one of the biggest betting weeks of the year for Irish racing, so what better time than now to check out some of the free bets available to punters before Punchestown 2025 begins.
1️⃣ Marine Nationale / Barry Connell
Marine Nationale stormed up the Cheltenham hill last month to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase by a whopping 19 lengths for trainer Barry Connell, a hugely emotional success coming so soon after the tragic passing of jockey Michael O'Sullivan. He headlines our Punchestown Champion Chase betting tips, and Connell has issued positive dispatches since on his stable star, suggesting that after a slow start to the season, he promises to be even better come Punchestown. This two-mile trip favours him more than Fact To File, and, surprisingly, he isn't the favourite ahead of the Mullins inmate. Currently trading at 2.75 at William Hill, his Punchestown Champion chase odds make him the one to be with.
2️⃣ Fact To File / Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins, horse racing royalty, has won this race a record eight times, with the likes of Un de Sceaux (2018,2019), Chacun Pour Soi (2021), Energumene (2022,2023) dominating for the Closutton chief in recent times. Now he's set to drop Ryanair Chase winner Fact To File back down in trip to two miles for the first time since the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham two years ago. He's a supremely talented horse, and his trainer won't be doing it lightly. Fact To File is 2.20 at LeoVegas to turn over the Cheltenham Champion Chaser.
3️⃣ Solness / Joseph O'Brien
What about the front-running dynamo that is Solness for Joseph O'Brien? He has already won two Grade 1 races over this trip in Ireland this season, and he had Marine Nationale behind in second at the Dublin Racing Festival in February. Things didn't go his way at Cheltenham, but he's very dangerous if getting his way in front, and his Punchestown Champion Chase odds could be generous at 11.00 at Paripesa. He's slightly longer odds but given his record this season, Solness will feature amongst the Punchestown Champion Chase favourites in 2025.
📊 Punchestown Champion Chase Winners
Enda McElhinney
Enda McElhinney is an Irish-based sportswriter, specialising in written content on the GAA, horse racing and football. He has more than a decade of experience across many publications, bringing a wealth of knowledge and betting nous to his craft. You'll find his content featured on many websites, including The Telegraph and Planet Sport. When he isn't at this desk or the racecourse, he loves to unwind on the golf course – though sometimes that can be more stressful than working!