Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Punchestown Grand National Trial Preview
Scheduled to take place in February of each year at the Punchestown racecourse is the Punchestown Grand National Trial, as a trial for the Grand National this can be a stamina-testing experience, it is run over a trip of three miles and four furlongs and because of the time of the year, the ground can be very testing.
Punchestown Grand National Trial Information:
- Punchestown Grand National Trial Past Winners
- Punchestown Grand National Trial Trainer Statistics
- Punchestown Grand National Trial Jockey Statistics
We also have a dedicated Punchestown tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Punchestown Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Punchestown Grand National Trial market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2016 when the race had an over-round of 114%. The race in 2010 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 158%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Punchestown Grand National Trial, the over-round has been 134%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £134 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Punchestown Grand National Trial Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Punchestown Grand National Trial Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Punchestown Grand National Trial over the last 20 renewals:
- Some Target (7:24.50) in 2011
- Inoma James (7:31.10) in 2010
- Fortunedefortunata (7:32.40) in 2025
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Punchestown Grand National Trial next time out then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -12.75. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Punchestown Grand National Trial see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2013 renewal when Spot The Boss from Oliver McKiernan under the guidance of Robbie Colgan, won in a time of 8:18.40, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Some Target, trained by W P Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend set the quickest time of 7:24.50 in the 2011 renewal.
Punchestown Grand National Trial Past Winners
Here are the Punchestown Grand National Trial past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Punchestown Grand National Trial are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 7:32.40 | Fortunedefortunata (IRE) 8yo 9-11 14/1 | Jake Coen (3lbs) Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2024 7:44.90 | Where It All Began (IRE) 8yo 10-5 10/1 | Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2023 7:56.50 | Coko Beach (FR) 8yo 11-4 7/1 | Ben Harvey (5lbs) Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2022 8:16.10 | Death Duty (IRE) 11yo 11-4 6/1 | Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2021 8:09.40 | The Big Dog (IRE) 8yo 10-11 5/2F | Mr J J Codd Peter Fahey (IRE) |
| 2020 8:08.30 | Ifyoucatchmenow (IRE) 7yo 9-9 14/1 | Conor McNamara (5lbs) W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2019 7:35.60 | Dounikos (FR) 8yo 11-0 12/1 | Davy Russell Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2018 8:08.10 | Folsom Blue (IRE) 11yo 10-11 5/1F | Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott (IRE) |
| 2017 7:42.40 | Baie Des Iles (FR) 6yo 10-11 8/1 | Ms K Walsh Ross O'Sullivan (IRE) |
| 2016 7:50.50 | Bonny Kate (IRE) 6yo 10-1 4/1 | Sean Flanagan Noel Meade (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Punchestown Grand National Trial have been based:
- IRE: 20 winners with an additional 52 placings from 308 runners
- GB: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Punchestown Grand National Trial Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Punchestown Grand National Trial over the last 20 renewals is Gordon Elliott who has won the race six times with those six winners coming from Folsom Blue (2018), Dounikos (2019), Death Duty (2022), Coko Beach (2023), Where It All Began (2024) and Fortunedefortunata (2025). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Punchestown Grand National Trial is W P Mullins (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Punchestown Grand National Trial trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Elliott | 43-6-16 | +17.00 | +19.96 |
| W P Mullins | 23-2-10 | -2.50 | +1.40 |
| Noel Meade | 9-1-2 | -4.00 | -4.73 |
| E J O'Grady | 5-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.25 |
| Thomas Mullins | 3-1-1 | +8.00 | +4.25 |
| Ross O'Sullivan | 3-1-3 | +6.00 | +5.80 |
| Robert Tyner | 3-1-1 | +1.50 | +0.10 |
| D J Barry | 2-1-1 | +15.00 | +9.00 |
| Oliver McKiernan | 2-1-1 | +7.00 | +3.80 |
| Conor O'Dwyer | 2-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.38 |
Punchestown Grand National Trial Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Punchestown Grand National Trial over the last 20 renewals is Jack Kennedy who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Folsom Blue (2018), Death Duty (2022) and Where It All Began (2024). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Punchestown Grand National Trial, Mark Walsh has ridden 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Punchestown Grand National Trial jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Kennedy | 7-3-4 | +17.00 | +10.88 |
| Paul Townend | 10-1-3 | -4.50 | -4.15 |
| Phillip Enright | 9-1-1 | -4.50 | -5.90 |
| Sean Flanagan | 7-1-4 | -2.00 | +0.77 |
| Robbie Colgan | 5-1-1 | +4.00 | +0.80 |
| Conor Maxwell | 2-1-1 | +15.00 | +9.00 |
| Conor McNamara | 2-1-1 | +13.00 | +7.75 |
| Jake Coen | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.75 |
| Ben Harvey | 1-1-1 | +7.00 | +4.38 |
| Mark Walsh | 10-0-4 | -10.00 | -2.37 |
2026 Punchestown Grand National Trial Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 7, 4, 2, 8, UR, 9, 6, 3, 7, 1, 2, 3, 1, 6, (3, 5), 1, 5, UR, 2, PU
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (70%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 20 / 20 (74%) - Achieved an RPR of 80+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - Not in a G2/Cl2/Cl5 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (Season)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved a TS of 96+ (Career)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Achieved an RPR of 106+ (Season)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Fewer than 7 placings (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Had 4 - 15 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran in 2 - 6 races (90 Days)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 25/1 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Furthest Placed 2m5½f - 3m5f
- 20 / 20 (86%) - In a field of 9 - 25 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 2 - 7 races (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Achieved a TS of 60+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - In a field of 6 - 25 (LTO)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Punchestown racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Punchestown Grand National Trial. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Punchestown Grand National Trial by adding a tip on the race here.
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Punchestown Grand National Trial Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor that produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +10.50 is when runners had 1 career place in the class.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners finished in PU last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-46.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Punchestown Grand National Trial is Gowran Park, there has been a total number of 5 winners of this race who ran at Gowran Park last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Fairyhouse, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Fairyhouse last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 275 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 34 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Punchestown Grand National Trial, that stallion Old Vic has produced 3 winners (2018,2014,2008).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Punchestown Grand National Trial despite multiple attempts:
- Flemensfirth (0 Wins from 16 runners)
- Milan (0 Wins from 12 runners)
- Oscar (0 Wins from 12 runners)
- Saddlers Hall (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Stowaway (0 Wins from 7 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Kings Glen in 2006, winning for Thomas Carberry at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of P A Carberry. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Punchestown Grand National Trial remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the Punchestown Grand National Trial
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Punchestown Grand National Trial, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Fortunedefortunata Leopardstown - 11th of 25 (41/1) | Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle |
| 2024 - Where It All Began Fairyhouse - 2nd of 6 (10/1) | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Rated Novice Chase |
| 2023 - Coko Beach Gowran Park - 4th of 18 (12/1) | Thyestes Chase |
| 2022 - Death Duty Gowran Park - 7th of 18 (12/1) | Thyestes Chase |
| 2021 - The Big Dog Navan - 3rd of 9 (11/8) | Wilkinstown Beginners Chase |
| 2020 - Ifyoucatchmenow Navan - 8th of 12 (20/1) | Eco Friendly Cups Beginners Chase |
| 2019 - Dounikos Gowran Park - F of 18 (12/1) | Thyestes Chase |
| 2018 - Folsom Blue Sandown - 4th of 17 (14/1) | Betfred Heroes Handicap Hurdle |
| 2017 - Baie Des Iles Chepstow - 5th of 20 (25/1) | Welsh Grand National |
| 2016 - Bonny Kate Fairyhouse - 1st of 18 (5/1) | Auld Stand Ratoath/Kellys Pub Ashbourne Beginners Chase |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Punchestown Grand National Trial Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
