Perth Festival 2025 Day 1 Preview

ALL roads lead to Britain’s most northerly racecourse for the opening card of the 2025 Perth Festival, which boasts prize money of £310,000 over the three days.

As well as two cracking Listed contests and the attraction of soon-to be-crowned champion jockey Sean Bowen, the latest twist in the champion trainer saga between Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins will also be played out in the grounds of Scone Palace Parklands. 

Mullins may have three runners to Skelton’s one in the £40,000 British EBF Gold Castle “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle, but the horse they might all have to go to beat is Mister Meggit, a close fourth in Grade 1 company at Aintree’s Grand National fixture and jointly trained by Jonjo O’Neill and his son AJ. 

Another of the Mullins runners, Ballygunner Castle, is ridden by Rachael Blackmore, who was second on her only previous ride at Perth in May, 2022.

Skelton is also outnumbered by two to one by Mullins in the £32,500 Quilter Cheviot Fair Maid Of Perth Mares’ Chase. This time the Irish maestro could take the spoils with Fun Fun Fun, a an easy Grade 2 winner for Mullins and his No 1 jockey Paul Townend at Limerick last month.

Fresh from landing the Irish Grand National on Monday, Bowen has four booked rides and his best chance of a winner appears to be on Vocito for Olly Murphy’s in the Phil Nelson Capercaillie Handicap Chase, a race the combination won twelve months ago with Gunsight Ridge.

Warwickshire raider Vocito has won four of his last six starts nad his rivals include Netywell, trained just down the M90 by Lucinda Russell.

Welshman Bowen, whose career Perth tally of 68 winners is the third highest he has achieved on any British course, will be officially acclaimed as champion at Sandown on Saturday when the curtain comes down on the 2024-25 campaign.

The bumper eight-race fixture also sees current champion Harry Cobden in action along with previous champions Harry Skelton (20/21) and Brian Hughes (19/20, 21/22 & 22/23).