Puntal (foaled 1996) is a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who won the Betfred Gold Cup in 2004 and ran in five consecutive

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

s from 2003 to 2007 with limited success. He was formally trained in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

before moving to

Martin Pipe Martin Charles Pipe (born 29 May 1945), is an English former racehorse trainer credited with professionalising the British racehorse training industry, and as of 2021 the most successful trainer in British jump racing. The son of a West-Count ...

in 2002. After Martin retired his son

David Pipe David Ronald Pipe (born 5 November 1983) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or full-back. Club career Born in Caerphilly, Wales, Pipe began his career in the youth system at Coventry City. He made his senior ...

trained him. In the

2006 Grand National The 2006 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Brewery, John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 159th official annual running of the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which took place a ...

Puntal overcame a 484-day absence to finish 6th, his best finish in the historic race to date. He finished in 8th place in the

2007 Grand National The 2007 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 160th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, ...

, where his high odds of 100/1 fell to 50/1 just before the race started. After a poor run at the 2009

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

, his owner decided to retire Puntal from racing.

External links

pedigreequery.com

racingpost.co.uk
1996 racehorse births National Hunt racehorses Thoroughbred family 19-c Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom {{racehorse-stub