# Down Royal Champion Chase 2026 Preview: Entries, Ground and TV _Down Royal Champion Chase 2026 preview: Saturday's Grade 1 entries, Heart Wood and Affordale Fury, our trainer data, the going after Storm Boelo and TV._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase-2026-preview/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase-2026-preview/) · last updated 2026-10-27* Down Royal's Festival of Racing runs on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, and Saturday's [Champion Chase](/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase/) is the first Grade 1 jumps race of the Irish season. This year it is run as the Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase, over 3m, and the Racing Post card has it at 3:15pm on ITV. The horses named below are entries, not declared runners. 10 entries were on the card when we checked on 27 October. Irish declarations are usually made the day before, so expect the final field on Friday, and we will update this page when it is out. We have added our own results data on the trainers at Down Royal, and you can tap the star beside any horse, trainer or jockey named here to follow them in your [Horse Tracker](/horse-tracker/). Their runners are then picked out on our [Down Royal racecards](/racecards/down-royal/). ## The race and the entries The race has a new name for 2026. Envoi Allen won it three times for Henry de Bromhead, in 2022, 2024 and 2025, and collapsed and died after finishing ninth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, on what was to be his final start. Down Royal's chief executive, Emma Meehan, told the Racing Post the course wanted to mark him and what he did at the track. ### The entries All carry 11st 10lb, with a 7lb allowance for mares. There is €160,000 in prize money, €94,240 of it to the winner. | Horse | Age | Trainer | Official rating | |---|---|---|---| | Affordale Fury | 8 | Noel Meade | 167 | | Banbridge | 10 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 166 | | Heart Wood | 8 | Henry de Bromhead | 166 | | Fleur In The Park | 7 | Andrew Slattery | 157 | | Romeo Coolio | 7 | Gordon Elliott | 157 | | Stellar Story | 9 | Gordon Elliott | 155 | | Croke Park | 8 | Gordon Elliott | 148 | | Jacob's Ladder | 7 | Gordon Elliott | 148 | | O'Toole | 10 | S R B Crawford | 135 | | Haiti Couleurs | 9 | Rebecca Curtis | none shown | Entries from the Racing Post card on 27 October, before declarations. No jockeys are booked on the card yet. Gordon Elliott trains four of them: Romeo Coolio, Stellar Story, Croke Park and Jacob's Ladder, the last three for Gigginstown House Stud. Haiti Couleurs, for Rebecca Curtis, is the only British-trained entry. O'Toole, for S R B Crawford, is the lowest rated of those with a rating, on 135. ## The main contenders Four of the entries have won at the top level, and three of them meet on official ratings within a pound. ### Heart Wood Heart Wood won the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in March at 9/2, ten lengths clear of Jonbon, his first Grade 1 win. Darragh O'Keeffe rode him for Henry de Bromhead and Robcour. He was third at Aintree on his only run since. De Bromhead has won this race four times in the last ten runnings, three of them with Envoi Allen. ### Affordale Fury Affordale Fury is the top-rated entry on 167. He was second to Envoi Allen in this race last year, then won the Savills Chase at Christmas. He was pulled up in the Irish Gold Cup in February, and Noel Meade said afterwards he had pulled a small muscle in a hind leg. The Racing Post card shows no run since. ### Banbridge Banbridge won the 2024 King George and was beaten a whisker trying to win it again last Boxing Day. He was third behind Heart Wood in the Ryanair and unseated his rider at the Chair in the Grand National. He then won a Flat maiden at Gowran Park on 1 September at 4/1, and Joseph Patrick O'Brien named Down Royal as an option that evening. ### Romeo Coolio Romeo Coolio won the beginners' chase at this meeting a year ago at 4/6 and was unbeaten in three chases by January, including the Grade 1 Drinmore at Fairyhouse. He was pulled up on his last run, according to the card's form figures. The Racing Post says this could be his first start in open company. ### The others Two of the entries have already run over fences this autumn. In our results files, Fleur In The Park won the Grade 2 Danoli Chase at Gowran Park on 3 October at 11/10, ridden by Cian Quirke for Andrew Slattery, in a field of four. Croke Park was second at 7/2 in a four-runner Grade 3 over 2m7f at Punchestown on 14 October, ridden by Jack Kennedy. Haiti Couleurs won the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham and the Irish Grand National in spring 2025. He has no official rating shown on the card. ## Down Royal in our results database Our results database starts in October 2023 and holds 154 jumps races at Down Royal over 24 race days, to 28 August this year. That takes in three autumn festivals, 37 races between them. These are records of what happened, not betting angles, and some of the samples are small. ### The trainers at Down Royal Gordon Elliott is the course's leading jumps trainer in that record by a distance, with 41 winners from 174 runners (23.6%). At the three autumn festivals he has 21 winners from 70 runners, 30%. Henry de Bromhead has 14 winners from 56 runners at the course's jumps fixtures, and 5 from 24 at the autumn meetings. Willie Mullins has no entry this year. He has had one winner from 21 jumps runners at Down Royal in our record, and none from 8 at the autumn meetings. ### The last 14 days Across Irish and Northern Irish jumps races from 13 to 26 October, our results files give Henry de Bromhead 6 winners from 21 runners and Gordon Elliott 4 from 27. Joseph Patrick O'Brien had 1 from 6, Noel Meade none from 5 and Andrew Slattery none from 3. Rebecca Curtis, whose runners have been in Britain, had 3 winners from 9. ### The race itself The Champion Chase is in our database three times. Gerri Colombe won for Elliott in 2023 with four running, and Envoi Allen won with five running in 2024 and again in 2025. The longer race record shows the same small fields: five to nine ran in each of the eight runnings from 2017 to 2025 with a Sporting Life result page. Three favourites won in the ten runnings from 2016 to 2025, and De Bromhead and Elliott trained seven of those ten winners between them. ## The ground after Storm Boelo Storm Boelo came through over the weekend, and the Racing Post reported on Monday that Down Royal was among the tracks to take the worst of it, after significant rain over the previous few days. Emma Meehan said the course would go back to watering if it was needed. Robbie Power and Emmet McNamara walked the track on Friday and were happy with the grass cover. On 27 October, Down Royal's fixtures page gave the going as Yielding, good to yielding in places, after 10mm of rain. That is the latest reading we have, and it can change before Saturday, so check it again on the day. Gates open at 11am on both days, with the first race at 12.30pm. Our race record describes the test as three miles in small fields on ground from good to yielding to soft, so this week's reading is well within the usual range. Friday's card has no Grade 1. Its feature hurdles are the bottlegreen Hurdle and a Grade 3 mares' novice hurdle, and both days' cards are on our [Down Royal racecards](/racecards/down-royal/). ## How to watch from the UK and Ireland The Racing Post card lists ITV for the Champion Chase, at 3:15pm on Saturday. Racing TV shows every meeting at all 26 Irish racecourses, Down Royal included, under a rights deal that runs to at least 2029, so subscribers in Britain and Ireland can watch both days of the festival there. Wetherby's [Charlie Hall Chase](/racing-news/charlie-hall-chase/) is on the same Saturday, so check both cards if you follow the staying chasers. Our [Down Royal racecards](/racecards/down-royal/) carry the final field once it is declared, and the [racing results](/racing-results/) page has every result the same evening. For the track itself, see the [Down Royal course guide](/uk-racecourses/down-royal/) and the [Festival of Racing guide](/uk-racecourses/down-royal/down-royal-festival-guide/). The [day out guide](/uk-racecourses/down-royal/down-royal-day-out-guide/) covers getting there and the enclosures. ## Betting notes Small fields change how the race bets. With so few runners, each-way terms are thinner than in a big handicap, so read the place terms before you take a price, and our [each-way calculator](/betting/calculators/each-way/) shows what a bet returns either way. Prices can move a long way once the declarations are out. A bookmaker offering best odds guaranteed pays the starting price if it is bigger than the one you took, and our [best BOG bookmakers](/bookmakers/best-bog-bookmakers/) page lists them. ### What our model makes of it Our [AI race predictor](/ai-race-predictor/) rates the day's races, Irish meetings included. It publishes provisional ratings at 14:10 the day before and a final run at 05:00 on race morning. On Saturday our [Champion Chase guide](/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase/) shows the model's top-rated runner in the race and its fair price, then how that runner finished. Treat it as a test of the model, not a tip. Every earlier pick is listed with its result, losers included, and the [track record](/ai-race-predictor/track-record/) covers every race it prices.
### Bet responsibly A Grade 1 with a small field is easy to over-bet, so set a budget for the two days before Friday and keep to it. Over time the odds favour the bookmaker. If gambling stops being fun, free confidential support is available from [BeGambleAware](https://www.begambleaware.org/) on 0808 8020 133. 18+.
## Frequently asked questions ### What time is the Down Royal Champion Chase on Saturday? The Racing Post card has it at 3:15pm on Saturday 31 October, and lists ITV for the race. The first race on both days of the festival is at 12.30pm. ### Who is running in the Champion Chase? The final field is declared the day before. As of 27 October there were 10 entries, led on ratings by Affordale Fury, Banbridge and Heart Wood. Gordon Elliott trains four of them. ### Why is it called the Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase? Envoi Allen won the race three times, a record, and died after the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. Down Royal has named this year's running after him. ### What is the ground like after Storm Boelo? On 27 October the course gave it as Yielding, good to yielding in places, after 10mm of rain. The course has said it will water if it needs to, so check the going on the day. ### Can I watch it in the UK? Yes. The Racing Post card lists ITV for the race, and Racing TV shows all Irish racing, Down Royal included. ### Which trainers do well at Down Royal? In our results database since October 2023, Gordon Elliott has trained 41 jumps winners there from 174 runners, and 21 from 70 at the autumn festivals. Henry de Bromhead has trained the race's winner four times in the last ten runnings. ## Sources and verification Checked on 27 October 2026 against: - [Racing Post: the Champion Chase entries card](https://www.racingpost.com/racecards/180/down-royal/2026-10-31/930869) (entries, ratings, prize money, off time, TV) - [Racing Post: Down Royal on the rain and Storm Boelo, 26 October](https://www.racingpost.com/news/jump-racing/theres-been-significant-rainfall-but-well-go-back-to-watering-if-required-down-royal-to-ensure-perfect-ground-for-flagship-meeting-ajSBi1T4AD3z/) - [Down Royal fixtures and going](https://downroyal.com/fixtures/) - [The42: Envoi Allen dies after the Gold Cup](https://www.the42.ie/envoi-allen-dies-dies-after-collapsing-following-cheltenham-gold-cup-6984674-Mar2026/) - [The Irish Field: Heart Wood wins the Ryanair Chase](https://www.theirishfield.ie/amp/racing/news/cheltenham-2026-heart-wood-puts-on-a-show-in-fact-to-files-absence-907992) - [The Irish Field: Affordale Fury's pulled muscle](https://www.theirishfield.ie/pulled-muscle-blamed-for-affordale-fury-no-show-905042) - [Racing Post: Banbridge wins at Gowran Park](https://www.racingpost.com/news/reports/we-could-have-another-look-at-the-king-george-banbridge-rolls-back-the-years-with-winning-flat-debut-at-gowran-aHRFc5N89RVi/) - [Sporting Life: Ryanair Chase entries, January](https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/ryanair-chase-entries-fact-to-file-and-romeo-coolio-among-star-names/229634) - [Sky Sports: Haiti Couleurs wins the Irish Grand National](https://www.skysports.com/racing/news/12426/13353343/irish-grand-national-haiti-couleurs-collects-brilliant-fairyhouse-victory-for-sean-bowen-and-rebecca-curtis) - [Racing Post: Irish racing stays on Racing TV](https://racingpost.com/news/ireland/all-irish-racing-to-be-shown-on-racing-tv-until-at-least-2029-after-rebel-tracks-perform-u-turn-on-new-deal-akxhr6K1fmqt) Our own figures come from our results database (from October 2023) and the daily results files, and the race's history from our [Champion Chase guide](/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase/). The horses named are entries, not declared runners, until the declarations on Friday.