THERE have been some epic clashes at the Punchestown Festival in recent seasons.
Countless champions have locked horns at the County Kildare track, and we have picked out a few of our favourite head-to-heads.
The legendary Hurricane Fly confirmed himself a champion in the making when lowering the colours of some high-class rivals in a 2010 thriller.
Solwhit, defending his crown in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, was sent for home rounding the final bend under Davy Russell, but Paul Townend had barely moved a muscle as the Fly went off in pursuit.
Gutsy grey Thousand Stars was firmly in the mix until after the last, where Solwhit and Hurricane Fly settled down to slug it out on the run-in.
The 22-time Grade 1 winner edged clear in the final strides to win an epic encounter.
Big Zeb and Sizing Europe traded blows on plenty of occasions at the top level.
Two months before Punchestown, Sizing Europe had seen off Big Zeb to lift the Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
But Colm Murphy’s stable star turned the tables on his old rival in Punchestown’s equivalent, getting the better of a ding-dong battle up the home straight.
Sizing Europe refused to lie down but Barry Geraghty managed to lift Big Zeb across the line in front.
What a race the 2017 Champion Stayers Hurdle turned out to be.
Unowhatimeanharry, bidding to bounce back from defeat behind Nichols Canyon at the Cheltenham Festival, once again locked horns with his conqueror.
Noel Fehily was throwing the kitchen sink at Unowhatimeanharry approaching the last while Ruby Walsh appeared to be sitting pretty aboard Nichols Canyon in his rival’s slipstream.
But Harry Fry’s gutsy hurdler lifted magnificently under pressure to land an absolute thriller on the head bob.
One of the great Punchestown Gold Cups.
Sizing John, fresh from his brilliant victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, edged out Djakadam in a pulsating finish.
The 2015 Gold Cup hero Coneygree ran a huge race in third having had a torrid time with injuries since his victory in the Cheltenham feature.
I won’t go into too much detail, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the race replay below.
