The William Hill Challenge Series has returned for the 2026/27 Irish National Hunt season. The action began at Punchestown yesterday afternoon.
Following last season’s success, William Hill is offering €135,000 in bonus prize money again. The total includes €100,000 for trainers, €17,500 for jockeys and €17,500 for stable staff.
Last year, trainer Philip Rothwell won the €50,000 top prize. His stable staff also secured €10,000. Meanwhile, Phillip Enright claimed the €10,000 prize for the leading jockey.
Capturing grassroots Irish racing
Head of marketing for William Hill, Andrew McCleave, said: “We’re delighted to bring back the William Hill Challenge Series for its second year after such a successful series last season.
“The support of the IRTA [Irish Racehorse Trainers Association], ISSA [Irish Stable Staff Association] and IJA [Irish Jockeys Association] has been crucial in the success of the series so far and we are delighted to be working with them again this season.
“We’ve kicked off with seven races at Punchestown, with the series once again culminating at Kilbeggan in mid-May.
“We saw real battles for all the bonus prizes last year and with €135,000 up for grabs again, we hope it’ll be a properly competitive series for trainers, jockeys and stable staff.
“The series really captured the grassroots Irish racing scene last year and we’re excited to see which stories come to the fore this time.”
See the full terms and conditions here: https://irta.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/William-Hill-Challenge-Series-TsCs.pdf
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