William Hill has signed up as the new sponsor of the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown, giving the bookmaker a second Grade 1 race at the Irish course.

The William Hill Morgiana Hurdle will be run on Saturday 21 November 2026. The bookmaker already sponsors the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival, so it will now have its name on races at two of the track’s flagship fixtures. It also backs the William Hill Challenge Series at the course.

A race for champions

The Morgiana is one of the leading two-mile hurdles of the jumps season and is often where established and emerging champions make their seasonal debut. Last year’s winner, Lossiemouth, went on to land the Champion Hurdle at both Cheltenham and Punchestown. Previous winners include State Man and Hurricane Fly, who won the race three years running from 2012 to 2014.

The race opens Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend on 21 and 22 November, with the John Durkan Memorial Chase on the Sunday. According to the course, runners from the 2025 Premiere Weekend went on to win 11 Grade 1 races, including the Cheltenham and Punchestown Gold Cups and the Champion Hurdle.

Andrew McCleave, Head of Marketing at William Hill Ireland, said:

“The William Hill Morgiana Hurdle is always a big race in the Jumps calendar, and we look forward to kicking off as sponsors for the first time this season. We’re delighted to be sponsoring a race which features the likes of Lossiemouth, Faugheen and Hurricane Fly on the roll of honour, and we’re excited to see who follows in their hoofprints this year.

“Sponsorship of the Morgiana further adds to our visibility at the track via the William Hill Challenge Series and the William Hill Champion Chase, so we’re really looking forward to the season ahead at Punchestown. From the grassroots to Grade 1s, we’re excited to see what this campaign will bring.”

Janet Creighton, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager at Punchestown Racecourse, added:

“The William Hill team have doubled down on their commitment to Irish Jumps racing with this sponsorship. They now top and tail the Punchestown season at Grade 1 level on our biggest days which really shows how much they value and support Irish National Hunt racing.

“The Premiere Weekend has gone from strength to strength, as has William Hill’s support at Punchestown. We look forward to continuing to grow this partnership and deliver more brilliant racing.”

Racing remains a busy area for sports betting suppliers too, with Pythia’s managed racing product recently added to the NYCE marketplace.