Racecourse Guide

Clonmel
National Hunt

Powerstown Park, Clonmel, County Tipperary · between the Comeraghs and Slievenamon

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Right-Handed
Undulating

Shape

Oval ~1¼ miles

Track Type

Undulating up, down, up again

Fences

7 per circuit

Hurdles

6 per circuit

Home Straight

2f+ climbing to the line

Run-in

~150yds notably short

Direction

Right-handed

Course Highlight

Clonmel Oil Chase Gr.2 · November

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Powerstown Park sits in a 160-acre bowl between the Comeragh Mountains and Slievenamon, a couple of kilometres from Clonmel town — and of County Tipperary’s three racecourses it is the busy one: the only track in the county racing year-round and under both codes, twelve fixtures spread across the calendar. Its story resists a single founding date — racing on the unenclosed park goes back to the early 1800s, the course’s own site says 1856, and 1913 is when owner Villiers Morton Jackson built the first grandstand, enclosed the ground and charged two shillings at the gate (hiring detectives to keep the pickpockets out).

The track is a right-handed oval of about a mile and a quarter whose defining feature is its profile: a stiff climb through the far side, a long downhill run to the home turn, then up again to the line — a finish every source calls genuinely testing. The home straight is just over two furlongs, the run-in a notably short 150 yards. Chasers meet seven fences a circuit on the majority read, hurdlers six flights, and the second-last fence — jumped off the downhill run — is the one with the reputation.

November’s Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase is the feature of the year, first run in 1992 as the Morris Oil Chase and renamed in 2003. Dorans Pride won it four straight times, its wider roll of honour carries names like War Of Attrition, Sizing Europe and Beef Or Salmon, and the modern race belongs to Closutton: Willie Mullins has ten wins, Paul Townend seven, the latest with Il Etait Temps in 2025. The same card stages the Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase — Grade 3 between 2009 and 2017, Listed again since, whatever older guides still print.

I always found Clonmel to be a tricky track to ride. It is difficult to come from off the pace unless they go a particularly strong pace. You simply have to get a breather into your horse going up that hill on the far side. If you see a rider asking for effort up that hill, you’ll rarely see them get home in the race. In general, it is quite a good track for front runners and I found that it did produce course specialists. In terms of the fences, the second-last is particularly tricky. You’re running downhill to it and some horses that are feeling the pinch are going to be going faster than they are comfortable at and it can catch plenty of them out.
Charlie Swan, former champion Irish jump jockey — At The Races

Swan’s reading is the whole track in one paragraph: breathe them up the far-side hill, be positioned before the descent, and respect the second-last — the fence horses meet travelling faster than they want to be. The in-running application writes itself: a rider pushing on the far-side climb is advertising a horse that won’t finish, and a clear leader attacking the downhill run is one mistake from handing the race away.

The numbers say front-runners anyway: +212.63 to following them blind across all Clonmel jumps races since 2009 (Geegeez course study). But the same study carries the sharpest exception published for any Irish track — in three-mile handicap hurdles with eight or more runners, front-runners have won just 3 of 53 attempts, with winners coming predominantly from mid-division or further back. The stiff finish at the end of three miles reverses the house bias entirely. One track, two rules: speed holds at the shorter trips, stamina hunts down the leaders at the marathon one.

Mullins dominates every measure here — the course study has him profitable to follow outright (39.92% on one extraction, 45% across 2015–20 on another; the figures conflict, the direction doesn’t) — with Townend, Patrick Mullins and Jody Townend the stable riders to note. Gordon Elliott’s overall record is much weaker (16.9%), but narrows to a profit in handicaps. In February 2026 the course showed its one weakness: 52.5mm of rain waterlogged it out of its Grade 3 card entirely — IHRB clerk Paul Moloney’s call — with the Surehaul Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdle rescheduled and won by Lord Rouge later in the year.

The Track’s Profile

Shape Right-handed ~1¼-mile oval: up the far side, down to the home turn, up again to the line
The hill Breathers on the far-side climb are compulsory — “you’ll rarely see them get home” otherwise (Swan)
Finish A 2f+ climbing straight and a short ~150-yard run-in — races are decided on the hill, not after the last
Note One source describes separate inner (6-fence) and outer (7-fence) chase circuits — uncorroborated, reported as found

The Second-Last

Why tricky Jumped off the downhill run — tiring horses arrive travelling faster than they’re comfortable at (Swan)
The trap Clear leaders who go too hard “risk being caught at the second-last”
Craft The winners are positioned, not pushed, off the descent

November’s Big Day

Feature Clonmel Oil Chase, Gr.2, ~2m4f — first run 1992 as the Morris Oil Chase, renamed 2003
Legends Dorans Pride won four straight (1997–2000); War Of Attrition, Sizing Europe and Beef Or Salmon feature among past winners
Modern era Mullins ×10 and Townend ×7 — Il Etait Temps the 2025 winner
Same card The Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase — Mullins ×10 there too

Track & History

Founded Three answers: early-1800s racing on the open park, 1856 per the course’s own site, 1913 for the first grandstand and enclosure
Setting 160 acres between the Comeragh Mountains and Slievenamon; grandstand ~3,500 after the 2009 rebuild
Coursing The Irish Coursing Club acquired Powerstown Park by 1947; the National Coursing Meeting still runs inside the horse track each winter, and racecourse manager D.J. Histon is also the ICC’s CEO

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Grade 2 · November

Clonmel Oil Chase

Two and a half miles on the undulating bowl — the feature of Clonmel’s year. Dorans Pride owns its history with four straight wins; Willie Mullins owns its present with ten, seven of them under Paul Townend.

Listed · November

T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase

The Oil Chase’s same-day companion over the same ~2m4f trip, first run 2004. Held Grade 3 status 2009–17 before reverting to Listed — older guides still print the stale grade. Mullins has ten wins; Walsh and Townend five each.

Grade 3 · February

Surehaul Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdle

Three miles for staying novices — Grade 3 since 2013. Mullins has seven wins. The 2026 running was waterlogged off in February and rescheduled, Lord Rouge taking it later in the year.

Reallocated fixture · April 2026

Tipperary’s displaced NH card

With Tipperary dark for its all-weather build, Clonmel hosts exactly one of its displaced fixtures — a National Hunt card on 14 April 2026. The rest went elsewhere; Clonmel’s dual-code programme is its own, not borrowed.

Pace Bias

One Track, Two Rules

Clonmel’s jumps pace data (Geegeez course study) tells a split story. Rule one: front-runners pay — +212.63 to following them blind across all jumps races since 2009, with Swan’s rider view (“quite a good track for front runners”) explaining the shape: hard to make ground on the climbs, a short run-in, no time to organise a late challenge. Rule two: at three miles in handicap hurdles with 8+ runners, the bias flat-out reverses — front-runners are 3-from-53, and winners come from mid-division or deeper. The stiff uphill finish at the end of a marathon trip is where the front end goes to die.

Run Style — jumps (Geegeez, since 2009; 3m handicap hurdles excepted)

Front-runners — most trips

▲ +212.63 followed blind

Prominent

▲ Positioned off the descent

Held up — most trips

▼ Needs a strong pace

Front-runners — 3m hcp hurdles

▼ 3 wins from 53 — the reversal

The going moderates rule one: on soft ground the prominent group “can sometimes do too much out in front” and the closers pick them up on the climb. Quick ground locks the front-runner edge in; deep winter ground — and Clonmel can waterlog badly — hands the race back to the stayers regardless of trip.

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Mullins, W P	358	143	39.94%	224	62.57%	1.03	+43.82
2 Elliott, Gordon	479	93	19.42%	204	42.59%	0.95	-21.86
3 Bromhead, Henry De	387	73	18.86%	165	42.64%	0.89	+32.64
4 Cromwell, Gavin Patrick	193	25	12.95%	60	31.09%	0.91	-39.44
5 Ryan, John Patrick	252	23	9.13%	58	23.02%	1.11	+49.99
6 O’Grady, E J	178	22	12.36%	53	29.78%	0.86	-68.65
7 Tyner, Robert	191	21	10.99%	55	28.80%	0.95	-61.87
8 O’Brien, Terence	108	19	17.59%	40	37.04%	1.48	+49.84
9 O’Brien, Joseph Patrick	117	18	15.38%	42	35.90%	0.80	-34.72
10 Rothwell, P J	328	17	5.18%	63	19.21%	0.66	-126.00
11 Hogan, Denis Gerard	164	16	9.76%	47	28.66%	0.95	-36.10
12 Queally, Declan	117	16	13.68%	39	33.33%	0.90	-44.34
13 Byrnes, C	133	15	11.28%	35	26.32%	0.87	-71.07
14 Winters, Michael	194	14	7.22%	50	25.77%	0.75	-92.49
15 Doyle, Eoin	144	13	9.03%	36	25.00%	0.99	-11.75
16 Meade, Noel	81	13	16.05%	38	46.91%	0.83	-28.63
17 Doyle, Miss Elizabeth	141	12	8.51%	40	28.37%	0.83	-7.75
18 Fahy, P A	108	12	11.11%	35	32.41%	1.07	-33.54
19 Hanlon, John Joseph	214	11	5.14%	40	18.69%	0.67	-66.00
20 Walsh, John J	188	11	5.85%	37	19.68%	0.80	-102.75

Clonmel NH, since 2010. W P Mullins leads the page on volume (143 wins from 358, 39.9% SR, A/E 1.03). The real value signals are Terence O’Brien (A/E 1.48, +£49.84). Oppose the over-bet P J Rothwell (A/E 0.66), John Joseph Hanlon (A/E 0.67) and Michael Winters (A/E 0.75).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Townend, P	233	56	24.03%	115	49.36%	0.93	-62.60
2 Walsh, R	136	47	34.56%	72	52.94%	1.02	+14.31
3 Russell, D N	236	43	18.22%	105	44.49%	0.84	-59.08
4 Mullins, Mr P W	115	41	35.65%	75	65.22%	0.90	-11.65
5 Enright, P T	460	40	8.70%	113	24.57%	0.94	-158.12
6 Blackmore, Rachael	185	33	17.84%	79	42.70%	0.93	-14.30
7 Cooper, Bryan J	189	32	16.93%	68	35.98%	0.99	-30.73
8 Walsh, M P	215	27	12.56%	71	33.02%	0.74	-90.32
9 Mullins, D E	288	26	9.03%	67	23.26%	0.84	-93.61
10 Kennedy, J W	134	25	18.66%	54	40.30%	0.89	-21.32
11 O’Keeffe, Darragh	200	23	11.50%	74	37.00%	0.77	-9.48
12 Flanagan, S W	289	21	7.27%	71	24.57%	0.75	-157.54
13 Power, R M	99	21	21.21%	31	31.31%	1.22	+14.61
14 Lynch, A E	220	19	8.64%	67	30.45%	0.73	-80.37
15 Donoghue, K M	156	19	12.18%	47	30.13%	0.86	-66.30
16 Hayes, Brian	243	16	6.58%	59	24.28%	0.81	-76.59
17 Meyler, D	152	16	10.53%	44	28.95%	0.87	-57.33
18 Slevin, J J	178	14	7.87%	49	27.53%	0.78	-59.89
19 McNamara, Andrew J	127	13	10.24%	31	24.41%	0.78	-67.68
20 Geraghty, B J	74	13	17.57%	27	36.49%	0.82	-24.77

Clonmel NH, since 2010. P Townend leads the riders on volume (56 wins from 233, 24.0% SR, A/E 0.93). The real value signals are R M Power (A/E 1.22, +£14.61). Oppose the over-bet A E Lynch (A/E 0.73), M P Walsh (A/E 0.74) and S W Flanagan (A/E 0.75).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Flemensfirth (USA)	388	38	9.79%	117	30.15%	0.79	-115.07
2 Westerner	309	37	11.97%	99	32.04%	0.98	-95.64
3 Beneficial	447	35	7.83%	110	24.61%	0.77	-182.80
4 Milan	382	34	8.90%	91	23.82%	0.80	-178.34
5 Oscar (IRE)	355	32	9.01%	90	25.35%	0.93	-109.76
6 Yeats (IRE)	201	24	11.94%	64	31.84%	0.94	-3.92
7 Presenting	331	23	6.95%	81	24.47%	0.61	-208.24
8 Walk In The Park (IRE)	158	22	13.92%	54	34.18%	0.91	-54.85
9 Mahler	221	20	9.05%	54	24.43%	1.01	-12.79
10 Shantou (USA)	190	20	10.53%	57	30.00%	0.84	-76.54
11 Stowaway	191	18	9.42%	54	28.27%	0.73	-96.37
12 Gold Well	145	17	11.72%	41	28.28%	1.12	-3.37
13 King’s Theatre (IRE)	185	16	8.65%	50	27.03%	0.61	-96.34
14 Shirocco (GER)	148	16	10.81%	39	26.35%	1.08	-22.04
15 Getaway (GER)	214	15	7.01%	51	23.83%	0.68	-84.22
16 Jeremy (USA)	123	15	12.20%	33	26.83%	1.17	-11.59
17 Fame And Glory	154	14	9.09%	44	28.57%	0.75	-94.03
18 Definite Article	124	13	10.48%	32	25.81%	1.02	-12.68
19 Kayf Tara	85	13	15.29%	30	35.29%	0.83	+7.58
20 Kalanisi (IRE)	125	12	9.60%	33	26.40%	0.99	-33.21

Clonmel NH, since 2010. Flemensfirth (USA) tops the sire list (38 wins from 388, 9.8% SR, A/E 0.79), though the market prices that in. Oppose the over-bet Presenting (A/E 0.61), King’s Theatre (IRE) (A/E 0.61) and Getaway (GER) (A/E 0.68).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

📍

Front-runners — except at three miles in handicap hurdles

Blind-following Clonmel front-runners has returned +212.63 since 2009, but the marathon handicap hurdles reverse the rule entirely: 3 wins from 53 attempts. Check the race type before you apply the course bias — it is two different tracks depending on the trip.

⛰

Watch the far-side hill, not the finish

Swan’s tell is the most reliable in-running signal Clonmel offers: a rider asking for effort up the far-side climb almost never gets home. The winners are the ones still breathing easily at the top of the hill with position already banked.

⚠

Lay the over-eager leader before the second-last

The downhill approach means tiring front-runners meet the second-last going faster than they can jump it — “it can catch plenty of them out.” A clear lead into the descent is not a won race; it is the setup for the course’s signature late mugging.

🏆

Closutton owns the graded races

Mullins: ten Oil Chases, ten Mares Chases, seven Surehauls, and a course record that shows a blind-follow profit on both published extractions. Townend, Patrick Mullins and Jody Townend are the stable riders to track. Elliott is only worth following here in handicaps.

🌧

Respect the waterlogging risk in deep winter

Clonmel’s bowl can flood out entirely — February 2026’s card was abandoned after 52.5mm of rain since entries. When a wet fortnight precedes a winter fixture, check the inspection news before pricing anything, and expect soft-ground renewals to favour the closers.

📑

Date-check the Mares Chase grade

The T.A. Morris Memorial is Listed now — its Grade 3 years ran 2009–17, and stale labels persist in older guides. Same race, same November card as the Oil Chase; just read the status off a dated result, not an evergreen page.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applying the front-runner bias to the three-mile handicap hurdles — the one measured race type where it reverses (3-from-53). Trip and race type decide which Clonmel you are betting into.
Confusing the county’s three tracks: Clonmel (south, dual-code, year-round), Thurles (north, jumps-only) and Tipperary (west, closed until late 2027). And the Tipperary closure sent Clonmel exactly one NH fixture — not a Flat programme.
Placing Istabraq or Dawn Run at Clonmel — no source documents either horse racing here; their famous milestones happened elsewhere. Sizing Europe won an Oil Chase, but his Arkle and Champion Chase were Cheltenham prizes.
Quoting a single founding date — early-1800s racing, an official 1856 claim and the 1913 enclosure are three different milestones sources compress into one.

Common Questions

Clonmel Racecourse FAQs

What is the biggest race at Clonmel?

The Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase, run over about two and a half miles each November — first staged in 1992 as the Morris Oil Chase and carrying its current name since 2003. Dorans Pride won it four years running, its honour roll includes War Of Attrition, Sizing Europe and Beef Or Salmon, and Willie Mullins has won it ten times, seven with Paul Townend riding — Il Etait Temps the latest in 2025. The same November card stages the Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase.

Is there a pace bias at Clonmel?

Yes — with the sharpest exception in Irish course data. Front-runners have returned +212.63 followed blind across all jumps races since 2009 (Geegeez), and Charlie Swan calls it “quite a good track for front runners.” But in three-mile handicap hurdles with 8+ runners the bias reverses completely: front-runners are 3-from-53, with winners coming from mid-division or further back — the stiff uphill finish after a marathon trip does the damage. Soft ground also swings things back toward the closers at any trip.

What kind of track is Clonmel?

A right-handed, undulating oval of about a mile and a quarter at Powerstown Park: a stiff climb through the far side, a long downhill run to the home turn, and a rising two-furlong-plus straight to the line with a short ~150-yard run-in. Chasers jump seven fences a circuit, hurdlers six flights, and the downhill second-last fence is the acknowledged trouble spot. It is a track for positioned, well-ridden horses — and it produces course specialists.

Which trainers dominate Clonmel?

Willie Mullins, comprehensively: ten Clonmel Oil Chases, ten T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chases, seven Surehaul Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdles, and whole-course figures (39.92% on one published extraction, 45% across 2015–20 on another) that make him profitable to follow blind here. Paul Townend, Patrick Mullins and Jody Townend are the stable riders to note. Gordon Elliott’s overall Clonmel record is far weaker, though it turns a profit narrowed to handicaps.

Does Clonmel race on the Flat as well as over jumps?

Yes — Clonmel is genuinely dual-code, the only one of County Tipperary’s three courses racing year-round under both rules across its ~12 annual fixtures. The graded prestige is all National Hunt (the Flat programme is handicap-led, with summer evening fixtures like the Bulmers BBQ evening), but Flat racing is live and long-standing — Mick Kinane’s draw advice for the course’s mile-and-a-quarter and mile-and-a-half starts sits on At The Races to this day. It did not inherit Flat racing from closed Tipperary, whose displaced Flat cards went elsewhere.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Thurles

The county’s jumps-only winter track, up north.

Tipperary

The Junction track — dark until late 2027.

Gowran Park

Kilkenny’s Thyestes stage, over the county line.

Want the thinking behind National Hunt bets?

FormDial posts every selection before the off with its full reasoning: the angle, the price, the logic. See how course analysis feeds into real selections.

Today’s Dial →

From the Formdial Shop

Going racing here?

The Trackside Companion is your day at the races, written to order — every race on your meeting’s card broken down, plus this track’s draw, angles and people distilled from the guide you’ve just read. Order at least a week before your raceday.

Plan your raceday →

ClonmelNational Hunt