Il Etait Temps tops a brilliant treble for Team Mullins at Punchestown
Paul Townend on Il Etait Temps celebrates winning The William Hill Champion Chase. Photo: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Champion Chase winner Il Etait Temps topped a fantastic treble for Carlow trainer Willie Mullins on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival under an ultra-cool ride from Paul Townend as he cruised to a five-length success over Marine Nationale.
The big race began in embarrassing fashion as the five-runner field arrived at the two-mile start in front of a 17,923 crowd ten minutes before the scheduled off time, with starter Joe Banahan informing jockeys of the mix-up.
After the five jockeys dismounted their rides, the race did eventually get underway seconds after the 6.05pm start-time, where the winner was held back behind Marine Nationale and stablemate Majborough after a mistake at the first open ditch.
Bidding his time back in third for a long majority of the contest, the son of Jukebox Jury cruised alongside Marine Nationale entering the home straight, but despite getting close to the second-last, he lengthened his stride down to the last before powering home by five lengths.
The veteran Energumene, on his final race on the track after retirement, was a further 23 lengths back in third, where he gave his all on ground that would be way too quick for the twice Champion Chase winner at Cheltenham in the past.
Commenting on the win, Willie Mullins said: “He’s a hell of a horse. When you look at him, he doesn’t exactly scream big chaser to you. He’s not a big horse, but he’s a strong horse. And the reserves he has, because he made a huge mistake at that fence going down the hill there, and then Paul just settled him in there.
“And when I saw him coming up beside Marine Nationale going to the third-last, I said, ‘Wow, hopefully he just keeps jumping from here on home.’ And that’s what he did. Marine Nationale is a fair horse to beat.”
Following his brilliant win at Fairyhouse over the Easter bank holiday weekend, Kalix Delabarriere made it back-to-back wins under Sean Cleary-Farrell to come from off the pace to land the Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle to give Mullins his first win of the 2026 festival.
After landing a €100,000 handicap at Fairyhouse, the six-year-old creeped into the race from off the pace to strike after the final flight of hurdles to run home a four-length winner under Cleary-Farrell head of I’m Slippy and Messerschmitt. The winner returned at odds of 10/1 for the Slaneyville Syndicate.
Commenting on the win, Mullins said: "It was fantastic for Sean Cleary-Farrell and the owners to win a big handicap hurdle at the Fairyhouse festival and come back to do that at Punchestown, in that sort of style.
“We might have to put him up in class, although I think we will put him away now and come back chasing next season. He disappointed me two years ago when I thought he would make a really good bumper horse, but it has taken us another 18 months to get him right.
“He is by Galiway, and he's probably not what the breeders had in mind for him, but he is a lovely big type and has that 'kick' at the end of his races."
After finishing second on Altesse Du Luy in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper, Patrick Mullins delivered a masterclass ride on 7/2 joint favourite Delamotte in the concluding Willie Coonan Memorial bumper to come from another parish to win.
Turning for home, the well-supported joint market leader still had a lot to do running out wide, but he came with a wet sail under strong driving from Mullins to hit the front inside the final 100 yards to score by three lengths ahead of Teofil with a neck back to the other joint favourite Bunker Buster.
It was a brilliant ride from Mullins, who admitted afterwards that ‘I was getting stick for the route I took in the Goffs Defender Bumper earlier, so I had to double-down!’ “He will improve a lot for this, as he was green and is better than his pedigree suggests. He won snug in the end with ears pricked, and I see him more as a good-ground horse.”
