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All eyes will be on Galopin Des Champs as he bids to maintain his perfect record over fences at Leopardstown in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup on the opening day of the all-ticket Dublin Racing Festival on Saturday.
Willie Mullins’ superstar is unbeaten in six starts over the Leopardstown fences and he is set to face nine rivals as he bids for a third straight win in the race. Heading the opposition is his own stable companion Fact To File, runner-up to Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.
The champion trainer also runs Embassy Gardens, Grangeclare West, I Am Maximus and Minella Cocooner, while the Henry de Bromhead-trained Monty’s Star, Gavin Cromwell’s Inothewayurthinkin, the Tara Lee Cogan-trained Hewick, and Gordon Elliott’s Conflated, winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup in 2022, also take their chance.
The Dublin Racing Festival begins with the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle and among the 12 runners are the Willie Mullins-trained Final Demand, Supersundae, Sounds Victorius and Jasmin De Vaux with Des Kenneally’s Cork Grade 3 winner Pray Tell, the Henry de Bromhead-trained Sommesky and Declan Queally’s Mozzies Sister among the opposition.
The Mullins-trained Sainte Lucie heads the eight runners for the Grade 1 Gannon’s City Recovery And Recycling Services Juvenile Hurdle. Hello Neighbour and Lady Vega Allen, first and second in the Grade 2 O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle for trainers Gavin Cromwell and Mullins respectively at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day, are notable runners along with the Declan Queally-trained Bacchanalian and the Joseph O'Brien-trained Galileo Dame.
The first Grade 1 over fences at the Dublin Racing Festival is the Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase and Mullins certainly holds the strongest hand in a field of six runners. He has both Majborough and Ile Atlantique while Gordon Elliott goes with two of his own in Touch Me Not and Firefox. The Leopardstown Christmas Festival winner Jeannot Lapin, trained by Gearoid O’Loughlin, and the Patrick Neville-trained Here Comes Georgie complete the field.
The Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle has attracted a full field of 26 runners with Meetingofthewaters, a clear favourite for Willie Mullins, getting in at the bottom of the weights. At the opposite end of the handicap, the Henry Daly-trained Supreme Gift is the new top-weight with the Gavin Cromwell-trained Perceval Legallois, Mark Fahey’s Flicker Of Hope, the Emmet Mullins-trained Backmersackme and Ted Walsh’s Gaoth Chuil other notable runners.
There are 14 declared contenders for the Ryanair Handicap Chase with Gavin Cromwell-trained Midnight It Is and My Mate Mozzie, Paul Nolan’s An Peann Dearg and Willie Mullins’ Shanbally Kid leading the way. The Grade 2 Paddy Power Play Card INH Flat Race has attracted 10 runners with the Elliott-trained Classical Creek and Koktail Brut, Charles Byrnes’ I Started A Joke and the Willie Mullins-trained Green Splendour sure to figure.
For further insight into a great weekend of racing, don't miss our Dublin Racing Festival preview in Dublin on Friday evening. Danny Mullins and Jamie Codd, along with The Irish Field's Mark Boylan and Amy Lynam form an expert panel. Learn more here.
This weekend's edition will also be packed full of tips and previews.
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