Stellar entries for flagship races at Dublin Racing Festival

Christmas winners Galopin Des Champs, Brighterdaysahead, Banbridge and Romeo Coolio are among the entries for the ticket-only Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown in February.

There are eight Grade 1 races across the two days of the festival on Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2, with Solness, The Yellow Clay, East India Dock and Majborough also featuring prominently in the initial entries.

Willie Mullins' Galopin Des Champs is set to return to Leopardstown on the back of yet another spectacular success at the racecourse’s Christmas meeting. Racing’s outstanding chaser tops the 14 entries for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup. He raced clear from the final fence to beat Fact To File in last month’s Savills Chase, readily reversing November’s John Durkan Punchestown Chase result when Fact To File had him back in third place, and the stablemates are on course to clash once again.

Mullins has also entered the recent Tramore scorer Embassy Gardens, the Irish Grand National and Aintree Grand National hero I Am Maximus, Grangeclare West and Minella Cocooner, while Gentlemansgame has been entered by trainer Mouse Morris.

Gordon Elliott has made two entries for the race, Gerri Colombe, runner-up to Galopin Des Champs in the 2023 Savills Chase and in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year, and Conflated, winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup in 2022, with the Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin, Tara Lee Cogan’s Hewick and Henry de Bromhead’s Monty’s Star also included.

The Dublin Racing Festival begins with the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle and among an entry of 18 is The Yellow Clay, winner of the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle last weekend. He is among six Elliott entries, while Mullins has six of his own, headed by Final Demand, Supersundae and Jasmin De Vaux. Other entries include Des Kenneally’s Cork Grade 3 winner Pray Tell and the de Bromhead-trained Sommesky.

Unbeaten in two starts for Newmarket trainer James Owen, East India Dock leads the way in the Grade 1 Gannon’s City Recovery And Recycling Services Juvenile Hurdle. He could be joined at Leopardstown by the Warren Greatrex-trained Quantock Hills who dead-heated for first place, also at Cheltenham, as he too won for the second time over hurdles last month. Hello Neighbour and Lady Vega Allen, first and second in the Grade 2 O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle for trainers Cromwell and Mullins respectively at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day, lead the home defence along with Mullins’ more recent Punchestown winner Sainte Lucie and Elliott’s Wendrock, another on the mark at Leopardstown last time.

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. He has entered both his impressive Fairyhouse beginners’ chase winner Majborough and Ile Atlantique, who added to his initial win over fences at Navan with a comprehensive Grade 2 success at Naas. Ile Atlantique beat Gordon Elliott’s Firefox and the Henry de Bromhead-trained Inthepocket to win on his most recent outing and all three could clash again here. Elliott has also entered Down Memory Lane and Touch Me Not while Gearoid O’Loughlin’s Leopardstown Christmas Festival winner Jeannot Lapin, Joseph O'Brien’s Limerick Grade 1 runner-up Jordans and the Patrick Neville-trained Here Comes Georgie also feature.

On day two of the Dublin Racing Festival, the ever-improving Brighterdaysahead tops the 12 entries for the Grade 1 Irish Champion Hurdle on the back of her remarkable success in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown last month. Her trainer, Elliott, has also entered King Of Kingsfield and Fils D’oudairies while Mullins’ squad of six includes Winter Fog and State Man, a distant second and third behind Brighterdaysahead last time, Lossiemouth, runner-up to Constitution Hill at Kempton on St Stephen's Day, and Anzadam who made a winning debut for the champion trainer at Fairyhouse last November. Fergal O’Brien has given Dysart Enos an entry in the race.

There are 14 entries for the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase with Mullins’ recent Kempton runner-up Ballyburn and the Limerick Grade 1 winner Impaire Et Passe leading the way. As backup, Mullins could also call upon a quartet of thoroughly exciting sorts, Ile Atlantique, Champ Kiely, Dancing City and Lecky Watson. Elliott has made five entries with Croke Park and Better Days Ahead, first and second in the Grade 1 Racing Post Long Distance Novice Chase at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day, and Dee Capo, the winner of a beginners’ chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival, among them. Jordans and Prairie Dancer have been entered by O'Brien.

The Elliott-trained Romeo Coolio found winning form again in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival and could now bid to follow up in the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle. Elliott’s entry includes The Yellow Clay, Bleu De Vassy and Casheldale Lad but, numerically, his team of eight is bettered by Mullins who has entered 10, headed by Salvator Mundi and the Leopardstown maiden hurdle winners Kopek Des Bordes and Kaid D’authie.

O'Brien has entered both Banbridge and Solness for the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Dublin Chase. Banbridge was the last-gasp winner of the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton while Solness scored a more emphatic win in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival. The latter came out of the fog to beat Mullins’ Gaelic Warrior and the Barry Connell-trained Marine Nationale and all three could take each other on again here. Mullins has also entered Energumene and last year’s winner El Fabiolo, while de Bromhead has Captain Guinness and Quilixios with the Harry Fry-trained Boothill a possible British visitor.

Tim Husbands, CEO of Leopardstown, said: “We are delighted to receive such a stellar set of entries for the eight Grade 1 races at the Dublin Racing Festival, entries which represent the ever-increasing importance of the festival within the National Hunt calendar. It promises to be a brilliant weekend of the highest quality of racing.”