Dublin Racing Festival 2023 day-by-day schedule and Leopardstown race times

Paddy can't wait for two days of rip-roaring racing!

By / Horse Racing News / 2 years ago

Leopardstown is set to stage two days of thrilling racing courtesy of the Dublin Racing Festival.

The meeting takes place on Saturday, February 4 and Sunday, February 5 and boasts eight Grade 1s on the 15-race schedule.

A whole host of stars are set to come out to play and there are big prize pots on the line including €130,000 to the winner of the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup. Woof!

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If that wasn’t enough to whet the appetite, it also acts a curtain-raiser ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, with a whole host of runners attempting to punch their tickets to the four-day fiesta in March.

Four horses – Facile Vega, Honeysuckle, Sir Gerhard and Vauban – won at last year’s Dublin Racing Festival before going on to score at Cheltenham, while a fifth – Delta Work – ran in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup before bouncing back to land the Cross Country Chase a month later.

The latest Dublin Racing Festival odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise the schedule and race times for Saturday and Sunday at Leopardstown are below.

DUBLIN RACING FESTIVAL 2023 RACE TIMES

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 4

The Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup tops the bill on the first day of the Dublin Racing Festival. Galopin Des Champs, the antepost favourite for the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, is set to have his second crack over the larger obstacles in open company.

Champion Bumper second American Mike faces Good Land, Quais De Paris, Sandor Clegane and Weveallbeencaught in the opening race of the meeting, the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors ‘€50,000 Cheltenham Bonus for Stable Staff’ Novice Hurdle, before Willie Mullins’ star juvenile Lossiemouth faces five stablemates in the Donohue Marquees Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

The fourth and final Grade 1 of the afternoon, the Goffs Arkle Novice Steeplechase, should offer a few clues over the minimum distance with Appreciate It, Dysart Dynamo and El Fabiolo set to run.

13:20: Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors ‘€50,000 Cheltenham Bonus for Stable Staff’ Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)
13:55: Donohue Marquees Spring Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1)
14:30: Goffs Arkle Novice Steeplechase (Grade 1)
15:05: Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup (Grade 1)
15:40: Race and Stay at Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle (Grade B)
16:10: Sandyford Handicap Steeplechase (Grade B)
16:40: I.N.H. (C&G) Flat Race (Grade 2)

Dublin Racing Festival Tips

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5

The Irish Champion Hurdle is the feature on day two of the Dublin Racing Festival and all eyes will be on dual Champion Hurdle heroine Honeysuckle, who bids to bounce back from the first defeat of her career last time out. A second-successive loss could see the superstar retired from the game but a return to winning ways would spark the eagerly-anticipated clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival.

A host of big guns including Gaillard Du Mesnil, James Du Berlais and Mighty Potter are in contention for the Ladbrokes Novice Chase before Blue Lord will bid to rubber-stamp his Champion Chase credentials in the Dublin Steeplechase.

The last Grade 1 of the meeting is set to feature Facile Vega but he could face his stiffest test to date over flights against High Definition and Inthepocket.

13:10: Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle (Grade B)
13:40: Ladbrokes Novice Steeplechase (Grade 1)
14:10: Ladbrokes Dublin Steeplechase (Grade 1)
14:40: Bulmers Handicap Steeplechase (Grade A)
15:10: Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
15:40: Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)
16:10: Liffey Handicap Hurdle (Grade B)
16:40: Coolmore N.H. Sires ‘Santiago’ Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race (Grade 2)

Read More on the Dublin Racing Festival

The latest racing odds are on PaddyPower.com now

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