Gaelic Warrior beats Fact To File in John Durkan thriller

A late charge from stablemate Fact To File was halted by Gaelic Warrior at Punchestown, winning the John Durkan Chase.

By the halfway point, the 13-8 winner had a huge lead under Paul Townend, but Mark Walsh’s strong surge on the favorite Fact To File (11-8) forced him to take the lead.

The top two were both Willie Mullins’ trained, and Fastorslow, a 2023 John Durkan winner and Inothewayurthinkin, a 2024 Grand National winner, and the top two were also from the same year.

Winner jockey Townend told RTE Sport, “That was a proper horse race.”

He took a little breather when he needed it, which allowed him to fill up and try to get Mark anyway.

When it was all on the line, he made a good jump at the last, putting his head down and rallying against it. His jumping was greatly improved by how well it held together.

Townend and Gaelic Warrior, the second favorite, put a lot of pressure on themselves by halfway, with the chasing pack having to do a lot of work.

However, the leader’s quick start proved challenging to maintain, and Fact To File appeared to have regained the momentum after closing the gap and coming out ahead in the final flight.