Coral Back The Future Of The Punchestown Gold Cup

Nostalgia casino mobile phone games are perhaps just the latest sign the modern world is getting a little too intrusive. When even fond memories of happy days at the tables are thought replaceable with a five inch glowing screen you know its time to get back to basics and entering into the sponsorship of the Punchestown Gold Cup that’s precisely what Coral have done, linking up with a history of horse racing at the site dating back over 150 years.

Punchestown Gold Cup

• First Ran – 1960
• Distance – 3 Miles
• Type – Steeplechase
• Surface – Turf
• Class – 1
• Sponsor – Coral

The first meeting of the Kildare Hunt Club took place, perhaps tempting fate a little, on April 1st 1850 and was a bit of a disaster. The course was heavy going due to even heavier rain, there were no facilities for spectators and the journey to and from Dublin a total chore. The attending press were quite scathing, but fortunately for those that like to bet on sports in Ireland the meeting refused to die and was four years later immortalized in Michael Angelo Hayes’ famous watercolor The Corinthian Cup.

The wild romance of the location, the huge spirit into which the locality as a whole entered, and some proper facilities, brought a charming character to the event and by 1864 there were viscounts, lords, barons and earls amongst the stewards for the races and massive crowds with the Prince of Wales visiting a year later, albeit against his mother’s wishes, and he was just the first of numerous royals to spend time at the races that have spawned a rich heritage now bound up in the Punchestown Gold Cup.

Snow, Terrorism & The Royal Family

Of course members of the Royal family weren’t the only notable visitors with Sinn Fein turning up in 1919 to disrupt the course of events on the course, and out of concern the Kildare Hunt Club abandoned the Punchestown meeting despite widespread eagerness from the local community that the races continue. It would be two years until they were run again, but unfortunately in 1922 two men stole the car of Lord FitzAlan in a crime that led to questions in the house and embarrassment all round.

After that it was only World War II that interrupted the National Hunt races at Punchestown and this year will be no different with the Punchestown Gold Cup a modern cornerstone of the festival and one that has now gained a new sponsor ensuring that if you take advantage of Irish gambling laws this April you can be sure of a superb three-mile steeplechase for five year olds and up with a prize total in excess of 250,000 EUR. Coral have taken over from Bibby Financial Services and they’re very pleased.

Bet On The Punchestown Gold Cup With Coral

“We are both proud and excited,” said Simon Clare, Coral’s PR director as they took over sponsorship of the Punchestown Gold Cup, “to be able to associate the Coral name with such a prestigious Irish jump race, and we are looking forward to working with the Punchestown team to promote this year’s contest, and those in years to come.” With Janet Creighton, head of sponsorship, ecstatic to bring Coral back “as title sponsors at one of the most prestigious fixtures on the Irish sporting calendar.”

Last year it was Barry Geraghty, the Irish Jump racing champion back in 1999/2000 who rode John Kiely’s “Carlingford Lough” to victory ahead of “Djakadam” and “Don Poli” and you can expect just as fierce and fiery a contest this year as the newly Coral sponsored Punchestown Gold Cup draws some of the biggest names in the racing world and the Irish gambling news on the day won’t be of the same inclement conditions they had back in 1850……although it has been known to snow some years…..