It’s the Dublin Racing Festival this weekend as Leopardstown hosts two breathtaking afternoons of top-class National Hunt racing.
There are no fewer than eight Grade 1 races across Saturday and Sunday, with the Irish Gold Cup (3.30) the feature contest on day one.
We’ve picked out a trio of horses to follow at Leopardstown on Saturday afternoon.
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Dublin Racing Festival Day 1 tips
- 1.15 Leopardstown: Wingmen – 25/1
- 3.30 Leopardstown: Galopin Des Champs to win by three lengths or more – 6/5
- 4.05 Leopardstown: Gaelic Arc – 25/1
1.15 Leopardstown – Wingmen – 25/1
Willie Mullins won all eight Grade 1s at this meeting a year ago, and the champion trainer will be fancied to bag the lion’s share again.
The opening Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle over 2m6f sees the Closutton chief saddling five of the 12-strong field, with Paul Townend on Final Demand at the head of the market. He won as he pleased on debut under Rules at Limerick in December, form that has substance, and could be anything.
That said, he’s going from maiden to Grade 1 company in a sharp curve and this is a race with depth.
Gordon Elliott has sidestepped this meeting with some of his big names, but WINGMEN is an interesting outsider for the Cullentra handler.
He won his maiden hurdle at Navan (2m4f, good to yielding) in November and then got done for speed when second to Country Mile at Cheltenham over shorter in December.
Last month, he was third in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas Novices’ Hurdle over 2m4f, perhaps playing his cards sooner than ideal. He split Saturday’s rivals Supersundae (second) and Jasmin De Vaux (fourth) in that contest.
If Danny Gilligan can hold onto him for longer amid the posse of Mullins runners, they could pick up some prize money, or better, in a race that has produced a few shocks in recent times.
3.30 Leopardstown – Galopin Des Champs to win by three lengths or more – 6/5
Dual winner GALOPIN DES CHAMPS is going for a third successive Irish Gold Cup crown ahead of next month’s bid to complete the same feat at Cheltenham.
The Mullins star is a perfect 6-6 over fences at Leopardstown in his career. He was only third on his comeback in the John Durkan behind stablemate Fact To File at Punchestown, but that was over an inadequate trip, and Galopin Des Champs has often proved vulnerable at the Kildare venue.
Here, he’s the master, as he showed in the Savills Chase at Christmas when seven-and-a-half-lengths too strong for Fact To File.
He made the running there, but Paul Townend’s partner is versatile tactically, so whatever way Mark Walsh seeks to turn it around, it could be in vain.
Galopin Des Champs is already as short as 1/2 for the win, there’s some value in siding with him to score by three lengths or more.
4.05 Leopardstown – Gaelic Arc – 25/1
The Ryanair Handicap Chase has attracted a field of 14 runners and it might be worth giving a chance to outsider GAELIC ARC for trainer John Ryan, so long as ground conditions don’t end up soft.
He’s likely to go out in front and he’s proved a tough nut to crack when getting into a rhythm on the front end.
He made short work of some useful horses at Killarney in July over this sort of trip. He was mostly consistent afterwards without winning and his most recent start at Punchestown in a Grade 2 novice contest is overlooked as he was 80/1 amongst some strong company and the soft ground was never going to be to his liking.
This mark of 132 is within reach and he has a nice weight of 10st 10lb here, while the booking of JJ Slevin is a positive for his hopes as he has proved a good judge on the front end many times. Yielding ground, or better, will be just fine and they could be overpriced.
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