Banbridge robs Captain Guinness in broad daylight as opening day feature proves to be a thriller

Okay, it wasn't quite Edredon Bleu, Direct Route and Flagship Uberalles in tandem over the last in that epic Champion Chase in 2000, but the 2024 Punchestown version was still a timely reminder there is no finer spectacle than our top two-mile chases, especially when three horses are flung at the final fence, leaving every ounce out on the track. 

Shame on us. We never gave Captain Guinness the credit he deserved for winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase last month, constantly finding flaws in the performance and pointing out who wasn't there and who didn't finish. We allowed him to go off at 6-1 for the William Hill Champion Chase, and he was only a few yards shy of slapping egg on all our faces. 

His jumping was joyous. You could sit down with a cup of tea on the couch and just watch the replay over and over again – ping, ping, ping. It was almost as if Rachael Blackmore was pressing a button before every fence. Glorious.