Racecourse Guide

Leopardstown
National Hunt

Foxrock, south Dublin · six miles south of the city centre

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Left-Handed
Galloping

Shape

Oval ~1m6f

Track Type

Galloping

Fences

10 per circuit

Hurdles

7 per circuit

Home Straight

Rising deceptively stiff

Run-in

~2½f from the home turn

Direction

Left-handed

Course Highlight

Dublin Racing Festival

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Leopardstown is Irish racing’s great all-rounder — a wide, left-handed, galloping oval of about a mile and six furlongs in the Foxrock suburbs of south Dublin, staging around 22 meetings a year across both codes. Captain George Quin opened it in August 1888, having modelled it on Sandown Park, and its National Hunt programme now carries more championship weight than any other Irish track: the four-day Christmas Festival and February’s Dublin Racing Festival between them stage the bulk of Ireland’s winter Grade 1s.

Over jumps it is really two tracks. The chase course is the outer circuit — ten fences to a circuit, stiff but famously fair, with three of them coming close together in the back straight and a relatively short finishing straight once you turn in. The hurdles track is the inner circuit and a notably sharper test: seven flights to a circuit, tighter turns, and a premium on tactical speed, especially in the big festival fields.

The ground is fairly level by jumps standards — a gentle descent from around the ten-furlong pole — but the defining feature is the long, gradual rise through the home straight. It reads flat on paper and rides anything but. Races here are run at a genuine gallop from a long way out, and that combination of sustained pace and a climbing finish makes Leopardstown form a strong stamina reference for the spring festivals.

A brilliant galloping track. There are rarely hard-luck stories around Leopardstown unless you find yourself tight for room approaching the second-last hurdle. The inside hurdle track is quite different in character to the outside track and it can pay to be that bit handier, particularly when the field sizes are big. It’s a track that takes a lot more getting than many people give it credit for, as it’s deceptively stiff all the way up the straight. The fences are quite stiff, but they are fair and always rode well.
Charlie Swan, former champion Irish jump jockey — At The Races

Swan’s reading is the essential one. This is one of the fairest galloping tracks in these islands — hard-luck stories are rare — but the deceptive stiffness of the straight catches out horses ridden as if the finish were flat, and his point about being handier on the inner hurdles track in big fields is borne out by the running-style numbers further down this page.

The other thing to understand is the ground. Leopardstown drains exceptionally well and is known for providing a quicker winter surface than most Irish tracks — extremes of going are comparatively rare here, and the course waters selectively (with turf consultancy input on the chase track) to keep cushion in the ground through its busy December–February block. A mud-lover with form built in deep Irish winter ground is not guaranteed its conditions at Leopardstown, even at Christmas.

One misconception is worth killing at source: “modelled on Sandown” does not mean “rides like Sandown.” The two courses run opposite ways — Leopardstown left-handed, Sandown right — and Sandown is markedly more undulating. What they share is scale: long straights, sweeping bends, and a bias towards long-striding gallopers who can sustain a strong pace.

The Chase Course

Circuit Outer oval, ~1m6f, left-handed, galloping — long run to the first bend, strong sustained gallops
Fences 10 per circuit — stiff but fair and consistently ride well; three come close together in the back straight
Finish Short finishing straight off the final turn — position at the home bend matters in chases
Run Style 57.8% of chase winners since 2009 raced front or prominent (Geegeez Irish course study)

The Hurdles Course

Circuit Inner track — notably sharper in character than the chase course, tighter into the turns
Hurdles 7 flights per circuit; the second-last is where traffic problems tend to happen in big fields
Run Style 62.1% of all hurdle winners since 2009 raced front or prominent — rising to 73% in non-handicaps
Handicaps The pace edge fades to 47.7% in handicap hurdles — a genuinely different puzzle

Track & History

Founded Opened 27 August 1888 by Captain George Quin, modelled on Sandown Park
The name From the Irish Baile na Lobhar, “town of the lepers” — nothing to do with leopards
Ownership Acquired by the Irish Racing Board in the late 1960s; promoted today under Horse Racing Ireland
Redeveloped €3m makeover in 2013, then a further €12m rebuild across 2016–17
Wartime RAF pilot Hugh Verity force-landed on the course in 1941, was interned, and escaped to England

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Grade 1 · Early February

Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup

The feature of Dublin Racing Festival day one, worth €250,000. A proven Cheltenham Gold Cup trial: Jodami, Imperial Call, Sizing John and Galopin Des Champs (twice) all completed the Leopardstown–Cheltenham double in the same season.

Grade 1 · Early February

Irish Champion Hurdle

Day two’s €200,000 feature and the defining Irish two-mile hurdle form of the winter. Honeysuckle won it three years running (2020–22); State Man followed up in 2023 and 2024. Eight Grade 1s run across the festival’s two days.

Grade 1 · 28 December

Savills Chase

The blue-riband of the four-day Christmas Festival, run over 3m100y on day three. Another recognised Gold Cup trial — the winter route of Ireland’s top staying chasers runs straight through this race.

Grade 1 · 29 December

Matheson Hurdle

The December Festival Hurdle under its current sponsor, a two-mile Champion Hurdle trial with a record book of its own: Istabraq, Hurricane Fly and Sharjah each won it four times.

Grade 1 · 26 December

Racing Post Novice Chase

2m1f and eleven fences on St Stephen’s Day — reinstated as the opening-day Grade 1 for 2025–26 in place of the discontinued Fort Leney. Douvan, Min, Footpad and Moscow Flyer are on the roll; Willie Mullins has won it nine times.

Premier Handicap · 27 December

Paddy Power Chase

A €200,000-guaranteed handicap chase over an extended three miles — the most valuable handicap chase of the Irish Christmas and one of its biggest betting heats. Two further Grade 1s share the day-two card.

Pace Bias

The Number That Matters

Leopardstown’s running-style numbers are unusually well documented for an Irish track. Geegeez’s Irish course study, covering races since 2009, found that 57.8% of chase winners and 62.1% of all hurdle winners raced front or prominent. The standout figure is in non-handicap hurdles — the graded and maiden races that dominate the festival cards — where 73% of winners (101 of 137 qualifying races of eight-plus runners) came from the front end.

The equally important number is the one that breaks the pattern: in handicap hurdles the front/prominent share drops to 47.7%. Big, deep handicap fields at the festivals run to a different shape — strong early gallops set races up for closers in a way the smaller graded fields here do not.

Winners racing front or prominent — since 2009 (Geegeez Irish course study)

Non-handicap hurdles

▲ 73% of winners

Hurdles — all races

▲ 62.1% of winners

Chases — all races

▲ 57.8% of winners

Handicap hurdles

─ 47.7% — edge fades

Read the bias with the track’s character in mind. This is a fair, galloping course — the numbers describe an edge, not a Chester-style geometry trap — and the long rise to the line punishes anything that gets to the front too soon without staying. On the sharper inner hurdles track, Charlie Swan’s advice to ride handier in big fields is the practical application: track position into the second-last is worth more there than on the wide chase course.

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Mullins, W P	1300	257	19.77%	506	38.92%	0.88	-341.14
2 Elliott, Gordon	974	114	11.70%	305	31.31%	0.85	-181.88
3 Bromhead, Henry De	524	46	8.78%	138	26.34%	0.73	-217.37
4 Harrington, Mrs John	402	36	8.96%	105	26.12%	0.84	-140.97
5 Meade, Noel	352	32	9.09%	87	24.72%	0.81	-120.15
6 O’Brien, Joseph Patrick	276	32	11.59%	91	32.97%	0.99	+31.74
7 Martin, A J	324	21	6.48%	94	29.01%	0.72	-117.75
8 Cromwell, Gavin Patrick	267	18	6.74%	63	23.60%	0.73	-117.62
9 Weld, D K	82	17	20.73%	36	43.90%	0.93	+14.70
10 Nolan, Paul	214	16	7.48%	53	24.77%	0.86	-54.25
11 Byrnes, C	79	14	17.72%	32	40.51%	1.07	-13.12
12 Mullins, Thomas	165	13	7.88%	34	20.61%	1.12	-40.00
13 Walsh, T M	70	11	15.71%	29	41.43%	1.04	-6.10
14 Hughes, D T	150	10	6.67%	42	28.00%	0.64	-92.29
15 O’Grady, E J	114	10	8.77%	31	27.19%	0.84	-60.73
16 Murphy, C A	101	8	7.92%	17	16.83%	0.80	-65.51
17 Hanlon, John Joseph	83	8	9.64%	14	16.87%	1.12	-34.25
18 Mullins, Emmet	71	8	11.27%	20	28.17%	0.85	-18.69
19 Fenton, Philip	31	8	25.81%	16	51.61%	1.49	+7.78
20 Doyle, Miss Elizabeth	80	7	8.75%	20	25.00%	1.04	-23.00

Leopardstown NH, since 2010. W P Mullins leads the page on volume (257 wins from 1300, 19.8% SR, A/E 0.88), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Philip Fenton (A/E 1.49, +£7.78). Oppose the over-bet D T Hughes (A/E 0.64), A J Martin (A/E 0.72) and Henry De Bromhead (A/E 0.73).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Townend, P	409	101	24.69%	186	45.48%	0.88	-107.64
2 Walsh, R	213	61	28.64%	125	58.69%	0.86	-33.54
3 Russell, D N	355	52	14.65%	138	38.87%	0.88	-45.88
4 Kennedy, J W	270	48	17.78%	112	41.48%	1.00	-48.77
5 Mullins, Mr P W	153	47	30.72%	82	53.59%	0.96	-9.80
6 Walsh, M P	363	46	12.67%	118	32.51%	0.89	-82.51
7 Power, R M	265	29	10.94%	80	30.19%	0.97	-22.34
8 Cooper, Bryan J	285	28	9.82%	82	28.77%	0.87	-54.93
9 Geraghty, B J	183	26	14.21%	57	31.15%	0.99	-31.39
10 Mullins, D E	263	24	9.13%	73	27.76%	0.85	-84.73
11 Blackmore, Rachael	244	22	9.02%	68	27.87%	0.66	-118.90
12 Slevin, J J	177	15	8.47%	44	24.86%	0.90	-9.82
13 Flanagan, S W	206	13	6.31%	49	23.79%	0.71	-68.59
14 Carberry, P	138	12	8.70%	36	26.09%	0.73	-76.32
15 McCoy, A P	79	12	15.19%	31	39.24%	0.78	-18.92
16 Mullins, David	112	11	9.82%	28	25.00%	0.90	-25.49
17 Ewing, Sam	84	11	13.10%	19	22.62%	1.37	+44.69
18 McNamara, Mr R P	43	11	25.58%	18	41.86%	1.02	+13.92
19 Lynch, A E	170	10	5.88%	37	21.76%	0.53	-122.30
20 Meyler, D	140	10	7.14%	27	19.29%	0.87	-64.09

Leopardstown NH, since 2010. P Townend leads the riders on volume (101 wins from 409, 24.7% SR, A/E 0.88), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Sam Ewing (A/E 1.37, +£44.69). Oppose the over-bet A E Lynch (A/E 0.53), Rachael Blackmore (A/E 0.66) and S W Flanagan (A/E 0.71).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Flemensfirth (USA)	295	37	12.54%	90	30.51%	0.96	-2.19
2 Stowaway	154	28	18.18%	60	38.96%	1.29	+14.11
3 Presenting	323	26	8.05%	78	24.15%	0.71	-108.74
4 Oscar (IRE)	274	24	8.76%	67	24.45%	0.79	-157.08
5 Beneficial	275	22	8.00%	68	24.73%	0.87	-16.85
6 Walk In The Park (IRE)	187	21	11.23%	48	25.67%	0.73	-101.70
7 King’s Theatre (IRE)	186	20	10.75%	50	26.88%	0.94	-32.07
8 Doctor Dino (FR)	58	19	32.76%	27	46.55%	1.28	+145.53
9 Milan	244	16	6.56%	58	23.77%	0.61	-130.16
10 Westerner	165	14	8.48%	42	25.45%	0.79	-59.11
11 Kayf Tara	114	14	12.28%	31	27.19%	0.96	-26.15
12 Jeremy (USA)	100	14	14.00%	32	32.00%	1.12	-21.48
13 Montjeu (IRE)	71	14	19.72%	27	38.03%	1.12	-33.73
14 Getaway (GER)	123	12	9.76%	28	22.76%	0.99	-15.70
15 Saint Des Saints (FR)	79	12	15.19%	31	39.24%	0.81	-31.90
16 Martaline	90	11	12.22%	25	27.78%	0.88	-43.75
17 Yeats (IRE)	126	10	7.94%	32	25.40%	0.87	+2.25
18 Fame And Glory	116	10	8.62%	29	25.00%	0.87	-64.62
19 Shirocco (GER)	98	10	10.20%	25	25.51%	1.20	+35.63
20 Kalanisi (IRE)	81	10	12.35%	23	28.40%	1.49	+14.33

Leopardstown NH, since 2010. Flemensfirth (USA) tops the sire list (37 wins from 295, 12.5% SR, A/E 0.96). The real value signals are Doctor Dino (FR) (A/E 1.28, +£145.53), Shirocco (GER) (A/E 1.20, +£35.63) and Kalanisi (IRE) (A/E 1.49, +£14.33). Oppose the over-bet Milan (A/E 0.61), Presenting (A/E 0.71) and Walk In The Park (IRE) (A/E 0.73).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

📍

Front-runners are underrated in graded novice races

The 73% front/prominent figure in non-handicap hurdles since 2009 is one of the strongest documented pace reads in Irish racing. In small graded fields — exactly the races the Dublin Racing Festival and Christmas cards are built from — the horse controlling the gallop is the one to beat. Check the likely leader before you check the market.

⚖

Handicap hurdles are a different game

The same study puts front/prominent winners at just 47.7% in handicap hurdles. The big December and February betting handicaps are run at a proper gallop and regularly set up for closers. Do not carry the graded-race pace rule into a 20-runner Leopardstown handicap — the shape of the race changes completely.

⛰

Respect the hill in the straight

The long gradual rise to the line is the most under-priced feature of the track. Horses that travel sweetly into the straight and then empty are a Leopardstown speciality — favour proven stayers at the trip, and treat a strong-travelling non-stayer with suspicion however good it looks at the second-last.

🔍

Chase form and hurdles form are different tracks

The outer chase course is a wide galloping test; the inner hurdles track is sharper and more tactical. Course form here is only fully reliable when it comes from the same circuit — a horse that handles the chase track’s rhythm has proven nothing about the inner track’s tighter turns, and vice versa.

🌧

Winter ground rides quicker than the calendar suggests

Leopardstown drains fast and is managed to keep the surface safe rather than deep — extremes of going are rarer here than at most Irish winter tracks. Deep-ground grinders with form earned in heavy elsewhere often find conditions a shade too lively, while sound-surface horses keep their form through the winter festivals.

🏆

The Mullins factor at the festivals

Willie Mullins has won the Racing Post Novice Chase nine times, sent out his 2,000th career winner here on Boxing Day 2013, and has recorded a six-timer at a single Leopardstown meeting. His festival runners are priced accordingly — the value question is rarely “will Mullins win?” but “which of the stable’s runners is the right one?”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Treating Leopardstown NH form as one form line. The outer chase course and the sharper inner hurdles track are genuinely different tests — check which circuit the form was earned on.
Assuming December means deep ground. The track drains famously well and is watered to protect cushion, so it regularly rides quicker in winter than other Irish venues — mud form elsewhere does not guarantee conditions here.
Reading Irish “yielding” as British “good to soft.” The terms are close but not interchangeable — yielding often rides a shade slower, and cross-jurisdiction form lines need that adjustment.
Backing front-runners blind in handicaps. The strong pace edge here is a graded-race and non-handicap phenomenon — in handicap hurdles the front/prominent share drops below half.

Common Questions

Leopardstown Racecourse FAQs

Is there a pace or front-running bias at Leopardstown over jumps?

Yes, and it is quantified: since 2009, 57.8% of chase winners and 62.1% of hurdle winners raced front or prominent, rising to 73% in non-handicap hurdles of eight or more runners (Geegeez Irish course study). The crucial caveat is handicap hurdles, where the figure falls to 47.7% — the big festival handicaps are run at a strong gallop and set up for closers far more often. It is a fair, galloping track, so treat these numbers as a real edge rather than a geometry trap.

Which way does Leopardstown race and what kind of jumps track is it?

Left-handed, around a wide galloping oval of roughly a mile and six furlongs — but it is really two tracks. Chases run on the outer course over ten stiff-but-fair fences a circuit, three of them close together in the back straight, with a short finishing straight. Hurdles run on the notably sharper inner track over seven flights, where tactical speed and track position matter more, especially in big fields. The long gradual rise through the straight makes the whole course ride stiffer than it looks.

What are the big National Hunt meetings at Leopardstown?

Two festivals carry the programme. The four-day Christmas Festival (26–29 December) stages a Grade 1 on every day, headed by the Savills Chase and the Matheson Hurdle, plus the €200,000 Paddy Power Chase handicap. The two-day Dublin Racing Festival in early February concentrates eight Grade 1s into one weekend, with the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup and the Irish Champion Hurdle as the twin features — both meetings are primary Cheltenham trials.

How does the going behave at Leopardstown in winter?

Quicker than you would expect. The course is renowned for its drainage and rarely produces the extremes of going common at other Irish winter tracks; management waters selectively — with specialist turf consultancy on the chase course — to keep cushion in the surface through the December–February block. Note also that Irish going terms differ from British ones: “yielding” has no exact GB equivalent and usually rides a shade slower than “good to soft.”

Which trainers and jockeys have the best Leopardstown jumps records?

Willie Mullins dominates the festival cards — nine wins in the Racing Post Novice Chase alone, plus his 2,000th career winner and a single-day six-timer at this track. In the saddle, the now-retired Ruby Walsh rode at a 28% strike rate here over a ten-year window, and Charles Byrnes has been the standout value trainer at around 24% (Geegeez course study).

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Punchestown

Ireland’s jumps HQ — the five-day festival finale.

Fairyhouse

Home of the Irish Grand National on Easter Monday.

Naas

Stiff left-hander — January’s Grade 1 novice form starts here.

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 →

LeopardstownNational Hunt