# Clonmel Oil Chase Day at Clonmel: The Complete Guide

_Clonmel Oil Chase Day at Powerstown Park: the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase, its roll of honour, Dorans Pride's four in a row, and how to follow the day._

*Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/irish-racecourses/clonmel/oil-chase-day-clonmel/](https://stablebet.co.uk/irish-racecourses/clonmel/oil-chase-day-clonmel/) · last updated 2026-07-13*

Clonmel Oil Chase Day is the highlight of the jumps year at Powerstown Park, the Co. Tipperary track more often known simply as Clonmel. It is built around the Clonmel Oil Chase, a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase run over about 2m4f for horses aged four and older. This is the most valuable race of Clonmel's calendar and the day the crowd comes out in numbers, and it runs each November on a Thursday in the early-to-mid part of the month. Always check the official calendar at clonmelraces.ie for the confirmed date before you plan around it.

The race is a mid-distance chasing test in early winter, and that slot has made it a recognised early-season pointer. Winners have gone on to Cheltenham Gold Cups, to Champion Chases and to a long list of Grade 1 prizes, which is why the day draws top yards and top horses to a provincial Tipperary track.

More than any statistic, the race is defined by one horse. Dorans Pride won the Clonmel Oil Chase four years running, from 1997 to 2000, a record that still stands and that made Powerstown Park his own. His trainer, Michael Hourigan, also won the race in 2002 with Beef Or Salmon, another chestnut gelding who had earlier cut his teeth at Clonmel. That Hourigan and Clonmel staying-chaser link runs right through the story of the day.

The supporting card is strong in its own right, headed by the Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase over the same course and trip, with competitive handicaps and a closing bumper.

This guide covers the following:

- [The race](#the-race): grade, distance, conditions and prize money.
- [History](#history): from the 1992 Morris Oil Chase to the Clonmel Oil Chase of today.
- [The roll of honour](#great-winners): the great winners and the leading connections.
- [Betting and form angles](#betting-angles): how the race tends to run, with the honest caveats.
- [Following the day](#watching): how to watch and what fills the card.
- [Frequently asked questions](#faq).

For the full profile of the track, see the [Clonmel Racecourse Complete Guide](/irish-racecourses/clonmel/clonmel-racecourse-complete-guide/).

## The Race

The Clonmel Oil Chase, run officially as the Clonmel Oil Steeplechase, is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase for horses aged four and older. It is run over about 2m4f in November and is the feature race of Clonmel's year.

The trip is best described as "about 2m4f" rather than a single fixed figure. Wikipedia records it as 2 miles 4 furlongs 51 yards (4,070 m), while the course itself has stated 4,023 m; recent racecards have listed distances from 2m4f96y to 2m4f171y, and some previews call it 2m5f. The variation reflects whether the inner or outer chase course is used. Around a circuit of the chase course there are seven fences on the outer track and six on the inner.

Prize money has grown over the years. The 2020 renewal was worth €50,000 in total, with €29,500 to the winner. By 2023, 2024 and 2025 the race carried €60,000 added, with €36,000 to the winner, €12,000 for second, €6,000 for third and €3,000 for fourth.

The table below sets out the race at a glance.

| Detail | Clonmel Oil Chase |
| --- | --- |
| Grade | Grade 2 |
| Code | National Hunt (steeplechase) |
| Distance | About 2m4f (2m4f51y / 4,070 m) |
| Age | Four years and older |
| Month | November |
| Fences per circuit | Seven (outer) / six (inner) |
| Prize money (2025) | €60,000 added, €36,000 to the winner |
| Sponsor | Clonmel Oil Company |
| First run | 1992 (as the Morris Oil Chase) |

The race sits at the sharp end of Clonmel's programme. The track is a right-handed, undulating oval of about 1¼ miles with a stiff uphill finish, a circuit that produces course specialists and tends to reward horses ridden prominently. As a staying-chase test in early winter, the Oil Chase gives leading yards a valuable early-season target, and its roll of honour of Gold Cup and Champion Chase horses reflects the standard it has drawn. The record of past winners is set out in the roll of honour below; it is history, not a betting guide.

## History

The race was first run in 1992, over three miles in December, as the Morris Oil Chase. The "Morris" name came from the Morris Oil business run by T.A. Morris; the mares' chase on the same card, the T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase, still carries that family name today.

The race took its modern shape quickly. In 1994 it was cut by half a mile, to about 2m4f, and moved from December to November, the slot it has held ever since. Its status then climbed in two steps: Grade 3 in 1995 and Grade 2 in 1996. It has stayed at Grade 2 since.

The title changed in 2003, when the Clonmel Oil Company took over as sponsor and the race was first run as the Clonmel Oil Chase. The company has backed the feature ever since. In November 2020, when the racecourse marked what it called the "18th consecutive year" of Clonmel Oil sponsorship, a run that traces back to that 2003 start.

The defining chapter of the race's history belongs to Dorans Pride. Between 1997 and 2000 the Michael Hourigan-trained chestnut won the race four years in a row, a sequence no other horse has come close to matching. The opening win set the tone: in 1997, at 1/2, he beat the 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Call by nine lengths, stamping his class on a race he would go on to own. The wins made Clonmel synonymous with him, and the crowds came in numbers to see "the old fella."

Hourigan added a further layer two years after the sequence ended. In 2002 he sent the novice Beef Or Salmon straight over fences in what was then still the Morris Oil Chase, against seasoned chasers, and the horse won under Paul Carberry at 7/2 on heavy ground. Beef Or Salmon had already made his name at Clonmel, winning a bumper there by 15 lengths in November 2001, so his Oil Chase win tied the race even more tightly to the Hourigan yard.

Since 2013 the modern era has belonged to Willie Mullins, whose runners have won the race ten times. Along the way the roll of honour has gathered a remarkable depth of quality, from Gold Cup and Champion Chase winners of the past to the top Mullins chasers of recent seasons.

## The Roll of Honour

The full roll of honour, from the official clonmelraces.ie winners list, runs from the race's first running in 1992 to 2025.

| Year | Winner |
| --- | --- |
| 1992 | Fissure Seal |
| 1993 | King Of The Gales |
| 1994 | Belvederian |
| 1995 | Imperial Call |
| 1996 | Royal Mountbrowne |
| 1997 | Dorans Pride |
| 1998 | Dorans Pride |
| 1999 | Dorans Pride |
| 2000 | Dorans Pride |
| 2001 | Moscow Express |
| 2002 | Beef Or Salmon |
| 2003 | Edredon Bleu |
| 2004 | Rathgar Beau |
| 2005 | War Of Attrition |
| 2006 | Sir OJ |
| 2007 | Mossbank |
| 2008 | Glenfinn Captain |
| 2009 | Watson Lake |
| 2010 | Tranquil Sea |
| 2011 | Tranquil Sea |
| 2012 | Sizing Europe |
| 2013 | Arvika Ligeonniere |
| 2014 | Champagne Fever |
| 2015 | Road To Riches |
| 2016 | Alelchi Inois |
| 2017 | Alpha Des Obeaux |
| 2018 | Kemboy |
| 2019 | Douvan |
| 2020 | Bachasson |
| 2021 | Fakir D'Oudairies |
| 2022 | Blue Lord |
| 2023 | Allaho |
| 2024 | Saint Sam |
| 2025 | Il Etait Temps |

## Dorans Pride, the four in a row

The defining record of the race belongs to Dorans Pride, who won it four consecutive years for Michael Hourigan. He started odds-on for all four, and each win added to the legend. In 1997 he beat the reigning Gold Cup winner Imperial Call by nine lengths. In 1998 he won by a distance, recorded as 35 lengths or more, the most emphatic of the four. Ridden by Richard Dunwoody for the first two and by P.G. Hourigan for the last two, he built a sequence that no horse has matched.

| Year | Jockey | SP | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1997 | R Dunwoody | 1/2f | Won 9L from Imperial Call (3 ran) |
| 1998 | R Dunwoody | 1/5f | Won 35L+ from Merry People (4 ran) |
| 1999 | P G Hourigan | 4/5f | Won 3½L from His Song (6 ran) |
| 2000 | P G Hourigan | 4/6f | Won 2½L from Clash Of The Gales (8 ran) |

Away from Clonmel, Dorans Pride was one of Ireland's leading staying chasers of the late 1990s, a Cheltenham Stayers' Hurdle winner in 1995 and a Grade 1 winner over fences, twice placed third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He died on Gold Cup day in March 2003, aged 14, after a fall in the Foxhunter Chase. His name lives on in the Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle at Limerick, first run that same year in tribute.

## Beef Or Salmon and the Hourigan link

The other horse bound up with the race is Beef Or Salmon, also a chestnut gelding trained by Hourigan. He announced himself at Clonmel with a 15-length bumper win in November 2001, then took the 2002 Morris Oil Chase on his chasing debut, under Paul Carberry at 7/2 on heavy ground, against a field of hardened chasers that included Moscow Express. He went on to win ten Grade 1 races, among them three Irish Gold Cups and a record three Lexus Chases, though he never won at the Cheltenham Festival despite five runs in the Gold Cup.

## The leading connections

The record can be read three ways. The most successful horse is Dorans Pride, with four wins. The most successful trainer is Willie Mullins, with ten wins, all since 2013. The most successful jockey is Paul Townend, with seven wins between 2014 and 2025. Recent verified renewals underline the Mullins and Townend grip: Allaho won at 1/4 in 2023, Saint Sam at 6/4 in 2024, and Il Etait Temps by 18 lengths at 2/9 in 2025, all for Mullins and Townend. Mouse Morris interrupted the modern run when Alpha Des Obeaux won at 7/1 in 2017.

## Betting and Form Angles

A few patterns describe how the Clonmel Oil Chase has tended to run. They are context for reading the race, not a system for beating it. Over time, backing favourites loses money to starting price, and there is no angle here or anywhere else that turns a horse race into a profit.

**The track shapes the race.** Clonmel is a right-handed, undulating oval of about 1¼ miles with a stiff uphill finish. Former riders describe it as a front-runners' track that produces course specialists, where it is hard to win from off the pace unless the tempo is strong and horses have to be given a breather up the far hill. Over about 2m4f with fences to jump, that favours proven, prominently ridden stayers rather than hold-up horses looking for a turn of foot.

**Short-priced winners are the norm.** Because a Grade 2 with a modest field size often draws one or two standout chasers from the top yards, the race has tended to go to well-fancied runners. The verified recent results bear that out: Sizing Europe won at 1/7 in 2012, Allaho at 1/4 in 2023, Saint Sam at 6/4 in 2024 and Il Etait Temps at 2/9 in 2025. Alpha Des Obeaux at 7/1 in 2017 stands out precisely because he beat the pattern. None of this makes short-priced favourites a route to profit; it simply describes how the race has often played out.

**One yard dominates the modern race.** Willie Mullins has won the race ten times since 2013, and Paul Townend has ridden seven winners. That is a historical record of strength at the track, not a tip. A short-priced Mullins favourite is still a short-priced favourite, and the market has already taken that dominance into account.

| Pattern | What the record shows |
| --- | --- |
| Track type | Front-runners' course, rewards prominent racers and course specialists |
| Field size | Typically small for a Grade 2 |
| Favourites | Have won most recent renewals, but lose to SP over time |
| Modern yard | Willie Mullins, ten wins since 2013 |

Treat all of the above as background reading. The figures are historical and describe what has happened, not what will happen, and none of them shortens the house's edge.

If betting is part of your day out, set a budget you are happy to lose before you start and stick to it. When it stops being fun, stop. Free help is available in Ireland from Gambling Awareness Trust and in the UK from BeGambleAware at begambleaware.org, and GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. Anyone under 18 must not bet.

## Following the Day

The Clonmel Oil Chase runs on a Thursday in early-to-mid November. The exact date moves from year to year, so check clonmelraces.ie before you plan; in 2025 the meeting was held on Thursday 6 November and in 2024 on Thursday 7 November.

## On television

Clonmel racing is covered in Ireland and the UK by Racing TV, which holds the Irish media rights. The Oil Chase has also reached a wider free-to-air audience through ITV4, which covered the fixture for the first time in 2020, alongside the usual Racing TV coverage.

## The card on the day

The Oil Chase is the centrepiece of a seven-race card. In 2025 the headline race went off at 2.55pm, with the day built around it. The supporting programme was:

- INH Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle
- Connollys Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle
- Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle
- T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Steeplechase (Listed)
- Clonmel Oil Steeplechase (Grade 2), the feature
- Prior Park Service Station Clonmel Handicap Steeplechase
- A closing flat race (bumper)

The strongest supporting race is the Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase, run over the same course and distance as the Oil Chase, which routinely draws quality staying mares. The competitive handicap hurdle and chase and the concluding bumper round out a full afternoon.

## Attending

Clonmel is at Powerstown Park, Davis Road, about 2km from Clonmel town centre in Co. Tipperary. Badges and tickets are sold through the Buy Badge and Buy Tickets links on clonmelraces.ie, and Masterchefs Hospitality runs the raceday catering. The 160-acre wooded setting in the Suir Valley gives excellent viewing from around the enclosures, which suits a big feature day.

Beyond the racing, the Oil Chase functions as a recognised early-season staying-chase pointer. Past winners have gone on to Cheltenham Gold Cups and Champion Chases, so the day is worth following for what it can tell you about the winter ahead as much as for the afternoon itself. For tickets, travel and enclosure detail, see the [Clonmel Racecourse Complete Guide](/irish-racecourses/clonmel/clonmel-racecourse-complete-guide/).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the Clonmel Oil Chase?

It is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase run over about 2m4f for horses aged four and older. It is the feature race of Clonmel's year and gives Clonmel Oil Chase Day its name, run each November at Powerstown Park in Co. Tipperary.

### When is the Clonmel Oil Chase run?

In November, on a Thursday in the early-to-mid part of the month. The date moves each year, so check the official calendar at clonmelraces.ie. In 2025 it was held on Thursday 6 November and in 2024 on Thursday 7 November.

### What grade and distance is the race?

Grade 2, over about 2m4f. The exact trip has been recorded variously as 2m4f51y (4,070 m) and up to 2m4f171y on recent racecards, depending on whether the inner or outer chase course is used.

### How much is the Clonmel Oil Chase worth?

It carried €60,000 added in 2023, 2024 and 2025, with €36,000 to the winner. In 2020 it was worth €50,000 in total.

### Who has won the most Clonmel Oil Chases?

Dorans Pride is the most successful horse, with four consecutive wins from 1997 to 2000. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer, with ten wins since 2013, and Paul Townend the most successful jockey, with seven wins between 2014 and 2025.

### Why is Dorans Pride so associated with the race?

He won it four years in a row for Michael Hourigan, starting odds-on each time, a record no other horse has matched. His 1997 win, at 1/2, saw him beat the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Call by nine lengths, and the sequence made Clonmel his own.

### What was Beef Or Salmon's connection to Clonmel?

Beef Or Salmon, also trained by Michael Hourigan, won a Clonmel bumper by 15 lengths in November 2001 and then took the 2002 Morris Oil Chase on his chasing debut, under Paul Carberry at 7/2. He went on to win ten Grade 1 races.

### When did the race get its current name?

It was first run in 1992 as the Morris Oil Chase, over three miles in December. It was cut to about 2m4f and moved to November in 1994, made Grade 3 in 1995 and Grade 2 in 1996, and first run as the Clonmel Oil Chase in 2003 when the Clonmel Oil Company took over as sponsor.

### How can I watch the Clonmel Oil Chase?

Clonmel racing is shown by Racing TV in Ireland and the UK. The Oil Chase has also been carried on ITV4, which covered the fixture for the first time in 2020.

### What else is on the card?

The Oil Chase heads a seven-race card. The strongest support is the Listed T.A. Morris Memorial Mares Chase over the same course and distance, alongside competitive handicap hurdles and chases and a closing bumper.

### Can the race be backed for a profit?

No. The past-winner patterns here are historical context, not a system. Over time backing favourites loses money to starting price, and there is no reliable way to bet the race for profit. If you do bet, set a budget you are happy to lose and stop when it stops being fun.