Horse Racing’s recent positive roll in terms of sponsorship continued yesterday with the announcement that leading bookmaker Coral are to be the new sponsors of the Punchestown Gold Cup in a deal that will see the prize fund increasing by €50,000 to a total of €250,000.
The newly titled Coral Punchestown Gold Cup is one of the most prestigious races on the Irish racing calendar and the centre-piece of the annual five day Punchestown Festival.
The feature race on day two of the seasonal grand finale dates back to the 1960’s but has been run in its current format since 1999. A star-studded winners’ list includes subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Imperial Call, Kicking King and, more recently, Don Cossack in 2015.
“We were lucky enough to win what is now the Coral Punchestown Gold Cup in 2015 with Don Cossack and it certainly rates up there as a career highlight so far,” said leading trainer Gordon Elliot.
“The race is always a target for us and hopefully we will have another shot at it this year.”
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“The Coral Punchestown Gold Cup has been a lucky race for me with five wins on five different horses for five different trainers and I’d be more than happy to make that six this year,” added jockey Barry Geraghty who won the race last year.
“Last year was particularly special as it was for my boss J.P. McManus and obviously we will try our best to hang on to the trophy for another year.”
“A special mention to Coral who have made a big impact on the Irish racing scene and this sponsorship increasing the value back up to €250,000 ensuring that the Coral Punchestown Gold Cup remains a season highlight”.
Coral is currently completing a merger with long time sponsors at punchestown Ladbrokes. The new combined entity released a trading statement last month indicating that its profits for 2016 across all operations were likely to be in excess of €300 million.
It sponsored under the Coral name for the first time at Punchestown in a smaller race last year and has also upped its visibility in Irish racing through sponsorship of the Coral Hurdle at leopardstown in January.
“We are both proud and excited to be able to associate the Coral name with such a prestigious Irish jump race,” said Coral PR Director Simon Clare.
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“We are looking forward to working with the Punchestown team to promote this year’s contest, and those in years to come. The Punchestown Festival is one of the biggest betting weeks of the year and we are thrilled to be involved in it.”
“Coral first sampled the sponsorship experience at Punchestown on the final day of the 2016 festival and have returned this year as title sponsors at one of the most prestigious fixtures on the Irish sporting calendar,” added Punchestown Sponsorship Manager Janet Creighton.
“I certainly think that shows their commitment to Punchestown and indeed to Irish racing. We look forward to working alongside the Coral team to ensure delivery of a very rewarding sponsorship experience for them”.
The 2017 Punchestown Festival takes place from Tuesday 25th to Saturday 29th April. Hosting no less than 11 grade 1 contests the festival is considered the most prestigious national hunt fixture on the irish sporting calendar.
Crowds of over 120,000 are expected to attend this year’s event.
