The Big Days at Naas, A Guide to the Key Meetings

If there is one thing Naas is known for on the level, it is the trial. The course is one of the most important Flat trial venues in Ireland, the stepping-stone where two- and three-year-olds prove themselves before the Curragh Classics and Royal Ascot. The galloping shape of the track and the stamina-sapping uphill finish make it a genuine test, the sort of place where a horse has to be the real thing rather than simply quick away from the gate.

The centrepiece of the spring is Royal Ascot Trials Day in May, run alongside a Family Fun Day. The card carries the Group 3 Goffs Lacken Stakes over six furlongs for three-year-olds, the Group 3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes for juvenile fillies, and the Listed Woodlands, Owenstown Stud and Naas Oaks Trial races. It is a day that has produced a long line of subsequent Royal Ascot winners, among them River Tiber, Porta Fortuna, Fairy Godmother and Charles Darwin, and it has been shown live on terrestrial television on both ITV and TG4.

The Lacken Stakes and the sprint route to Ascot

The Goffs Lacken Stakes is the headline trial, a key pointer to the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. First run in 2014 as a Listed race and upgraded to Group 3 the following year, it carries prize money of around 70,000 euro. Aidan O'Brien is the leading trainer with five wins and Ryan Moore the leading jockey with four. The recent roll of honour shows the strength of the form: So Perfect (2019), Art Power (2020), A Case Of You (2021), Twilight Jet (2022), The Antarctic (2023), Bucanero Fuerte (2024), Babouche (2025) and Charles Darwin (2026), the last of those an O'Brien and Moore winner sent off at 4/5.

A nursery for top-class fillies

The Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes is one of the best juvenile fillies' races on the Irish calendar, run over six furlongs for two-year-olds. Its roll of honour reads like a who's who of future Group 1 mares: You'resothrilling (2007), Lillie Langtry (2009), Sky Lantern (2012), Alpha Centauri (2017), Mother Earth (2020), Meditate (2022), Porta Fortuna (2023), Fairy Godmother (2024) and Lady Iman (2025). Many of them went on to the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and to Classic and Group 1 honours.

The middle-distance and Oaks pointers

The trials are not all about speed. The Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes, now run in late June over a mile and a quarter for three-year-old fillies, is a recognised Oaks pointer named after the 1981 Epsom and Irish Oaks winner. Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning share the record with six wins apiece, and the race has launched fillies such as Pleascach, who took it in 2015 before winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Yorkshire Oaks. Recent winners include Tarnawa (2019), Caroline Street (2023), Sea The Boss (2024) and Barnavara (2025). Alongside it, the Listed Naas Oaks Trial over a mile and two and a half furlongs in June gives staying fillies their own audition for the Classics.

The Irish jumps season has plenty of grand stages, but the first Grade 1 of the year belongs to Naas. Early in January, on a card built around the course's only top-flight race, the best novice hurdlers in the country line up for the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle. It is the opening Grade 1 of the Irish National Hunt year and one of the most reliable Cheltenham trials on the calendar.

The race is registered as the Slaney Novice Hurdle and is run over about two miles four furlongs, with eleven flights of hurdles for horses aged four and up. Prize money stands at 100,000 euro with 60,000 to the winner. Its rise tells the story of the course's ambition: it was awarded Grade 3 status in 1993, raised to Grade 2 in 2005 and elevated to Grade 1 in 2015, making it Naas's first ever top-flight race. Lawlor's of Naas Hotel was title sponsor from 2015 to 2025, and Ballymore Properties took over from the 2026 running, when it was staged as the Ballymore Novice Hurdle.

A roll of honour full of stars

The list of winners is the best argument for the race's importance. It launched horses who went straight on to the biggest occasions.

Year	Winner	Trainer	Jockey
2026	I'll Sort That	Declan Queally	Mr D.L. Queally
2025	The Yellow Clay	Gordon Elliott	Sam Ewing
2024	Readin Tommy Wrong	Willie Mullins	Daryl Jacob
2023	Champ Kiely	Willie Mullins	Danny Mullins
2022	Ginto	Gordon Elliott	Jack Kennedy
2021	Bob Olinger	Henry de Bromhead	Rachael Blackmore
2020	Envoi Allen	Gordon Elliott	Davy Russell
2019	Battleoverdoyen	Gordon Elliott	Jack Kennedy
2018	Next Destination	Willie Mullins	Paul Townend
2017	Death Duty	Gordon Elliott	Jack Kennedy
2016	Bellshill	Willie Mullins	Ruby Walsh
2015	Mckinley	Willie Mullins	Paul Townend
2013	Rule The World	Mouse Morris	Davy Russell

Two of those names underline the Cheltenham connection. Envoi Allen (2020) and Bob Olinger (2021) both went on to win the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at the Festival, doing the Naas to Cheltenham double in successive years. Rule The World, the 2013 winner, took a very different route, going on to win the 2016 Aintree Grand National. Further back, Golden Cygnet won here in 1978 before taking the Cheltenham Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Mullins, Elliott and the favourites

Since the 2015 elevation, two trainers have carved the race up almost evenly. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer with at least nine wins, while Gordon Elliott has taken it with Death Duty, Battleoverdoyen, Envoi Allen, Ginto and The Yellow Clay. Ruby Walsh is the leading rider historically with four wins. Favourites have a strong record, with nine winning market leaders across the first twenty renewals, although the race throws up the occasional shock too: Mckinley landed the inaugural Grade 1 at 33/1 in 2015, and Readin Tommy Wrong won at 16/1 in 2024, the day Mullins trained the first three home.

The supporting card is strong in its own right, led by the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle over two miles, named after the great local stayer. The day also features a Best Dressed competition, a reminder that even a midwinter jumps fixture can be a proper day out. One word of warning for planners: January racing here can be at the mercy of the weather. The 2025 fixture was abandoned for frost on 5 January and rescheduled to 10 January, where The Yellow Clay duly won by eight lengths.

If the Lawlor's card is the quality day, the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes day in August is the richest. This is the busiest single fixture in the Naas calendar, a 300,000 euro two-year-old race day held on the August Bank Holiday Monday, and it draws the largest crowds of the year.

The Ballyhane Stakes itself is not a Pattern race, but the prize fund puts it in rare company. It is a sales-type contest, a median-auction race for juveniles, founded in 2020 by Joe Foley of Ballyhane Stud. The racecourse describes it as one of Europe's most lucrative juvenile races, having already offered well in excess of one million euro in total prize money since its launch. Horse Racing Ireland's Director of Racing, Jason Morris, has called it the most valuable two-year-old race run in Ireland in its year. For an unexposed youngster and connections who bought in at the right level, it is a life-changing pot to aim at.

A family day built around the racing

The money draws the runners, but the day is sold as a family occasion. The card is built around entertainment, with activities laid on for children alongside the racing. In 2025 Naas added a dedicated Neurodiverse Day to the fixture, introducing a wheelchair-accessible Sensory Express Bus, a mobile sensory room fitted with bubble tubes, colour-changing ball pools, water walls and tactile elements, plus designated quiet-zone suites equipped with ear defenders, sensory toys and relaxing aids. It is a genuine effort to make a big, busy day accessible to racegoers who might otherwise find the crowds difficult.

The crowd numbers reflect the appeal. When Ballyhane sponsored the gate at Naas on the August Bank Holiday Monday in 2023, the course reported a near 100 per cent increase in attendance and what it described as a vibrant atmosphere, enough that the sponsor said he was inclined to repeat the free-admission offer. In 2025 the fixture was held on Monday 4 August.

What to expect on the day

This is high-summer Flat racing on good ground, a contrast to the testing winter conditions the jumps crowd knows. The two-year-olds are the stars, and with a field chasing a six-figure first prize the betting is competitive and the form often hard to weigh, since many of the runners are lightly raced. As with any race, the short-priced favourite wins its share but is no banker. Backing market leaders blindly loses money to starting price over the long run, and a big-field juvenile sprint is exactly the sort of puzzle that catches out the unwary. Go for the spectacle, the prize money and the day out, and treat any bet as part of the entertainment rather than a plan to come home in front.

The four marquee occasions are only part of the picture. Naas spreads quality across its roughly 20 fixtures a year, and several of the supporting dates are well worth a racegoer's time. The dual-code calendar means there is always something different to look forward to, whether it is graded jumps action in the depths of winter or a Listed Flat sprint in the spring sunshine.

February, the Cheltenham pointers

A few weeks after the Lawlor's Grade 1, Naas hosts a strong February jumps card that doubles as a set of Cheltenham Festival pointers. The Grade 2 Johnstown Novice Hurdle over two miles is the highlight, a race Willie Mullins has won several times, including with Annie Power in 2013 before she went on to become a Champion Hurdle heroine. Alongside it runs the Grade 3 Newlands Chase over two miles, where Henry de Bromhead is the leading trainer with five wins, and the Nas Na Riogh Novice Handicap Chase. Recent Newlands winners include Cadmium (2019), Any Second Now (2020), Cilaos Emery (2021), Captain Guinness (2022), Rebel Gold (2023) and Ferny Hollow (2024); the 2025 running was lost to a waterlogged track, a reminder of how testing midwinter ground can get here.

Autumn jumps, the Poplar Square Chase

The National Hunt season reopens at Naas in late October or early November with the Grade 3 Poplar Square Chase over two miles, recently titled the Barberstown Castle Chase. Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead share the record with four wins apiece. Recent winners include Cilaos Emery (2019), Notebook (2020, run as a one-off Grade 2), Captain Guinness (2021), Jeremys Flame (2022), Dinoblue (2023), Quilixios (2024) and Only By Night (2025). A new weekend festival also began at Naas in October 2023, adding to the autumn programme.

The wider Listed and Group Flat programme

Beyond the headline trials, the Flat calendar is dotted with black-type. The Listed races that appear on Naas cards through the spring and summer include the Woodlands Stakes over five furlongs in late April, the Owenstown Stud Stakes over seven furlongs in May, the Rochestown Stakes for juveniles in late May or early June, and the Sweet Mimosa Stakes for fillies and mares over six furlongs in July. The pattern of the season is clear: spring and early summer for the Classic and Royal Ascot trials, high summer for the Ballyhane riches, autumn and deep winter for the graded jumps. Across all of it runs the same theme, which is quality over scale.

A note on the track itself

Whatever the fixture, the course shapes the racing. Naas is left-handed and galloping, with that long uphill home straight of around four furlongs that tests stamina under both codes. It generally pays to race handy, and out-and-out hold-up horses have a poor record, particularly over jumps. The fences are stiff but fair, and Naas typically records one of the lowest faller rates in Irish racing. Through the winter the track can ride soft to heavy, with the back section from the winning post to the seven-furlong start draining more slowly than the rest.

Naas is an easy day out, and a friendly one. The intimate scale that stops it staging a Galway-sized festival is the same thing that makes it a pleasure to attend. You can see the whole circuit from the stands, the walk from car park to parade ring to rail is short, and the country atmosphere is a world away from the crush of the biggest meetings.

Getting there

The course sits just off the M7 motorway linking Dublin with Cork, Limerick and Waterford, around 30km south-west of the capital. By road from Dublin, take the N7 and leave at exit 9, a journey of roughly 35 to 40 minutes; the racecourse is about five minutes from the exit and clearly signposted. Free car parking is provided on every race day, first come, first served. The Eircode for the sat-nav is W91 ED00.

If you would rather not drive, the train is straightforward. Iarnród Éireann services run from Dublin Heuston to Sallins, the nearest station, just outside Naas, and the racecourse runs a shuttle bus from Sallins to the course before and after racing on weekend race days. By coach, JJ Kavanagh & Sons run 24 services a day from Dublin city centre and Dublin Airport to Naas town, while Dublin Coach offers a direct race-day service from the airport via the Red Cow. Dublin Airport, around 46km away, is the closest airport, and helicopter landing can be arranged in advance.

On the day

The racecourse opens an hour and a half before the first race, so arrive in good time. There is no formal dress code; the sensible advice is to dress for the weather, with a Best Dressed competition adding a bit of glamour on Grade 1 day. Naas runs principally a single main enclosure, which keeps things simple. The ground floor of the grandstand has a cafe, a Tote bar and both Paddy Power and Tote betting outlets, while the first floor holds the Members Lounge and Panoramic Restaurant. The Circle, a striking cylindrical building opened in January 2019, houses a public bar downstairs and the Goffs Owners and Trainers Lounge upstairs, with 180-degree views. Race cards are sold for a few euro, there is no cashpoint on course though cashback is available on card at the race day office, and binoculars can be hired or bought from a stall opposite the parade ring.

For racegoers needing extra support, accessible parking can be arranged by phoning ahead on 045 897391, there are accessible bathrooms in every building, and guide dogs are welcome in the enclosure. For detail on step-free routes or companion tickets it is worth contacting the course directly before you travel.

Watching from home

Like all 26 Irish racecourses, Naas is a Racing TV course, with its racing shown on the subscription channel under the deal that runs through to the end of 2029. It is not a Sky Sports Racing track. Dedicated single-meeting feeds are available via Racing TV Extra, and the biggest days reach a wider audience: Royal Ascot Trials Day has been broadcast live on ITV in Britain and TG4 in Ireland, while RTÉ covers major Irish racing days. Live results are easy to follow on the Racing Post, Sporting Life, At The Races and HRI's own goracing.ie.

Making a trip of it

Naas is the county town of Kildare, in the heart of Thoroughbred County, which makes it an ideal base for a racing break. The Curragh is around 20 minutes away and Punchestown is close too, so stringing two or three courses together is easy. Local hotels include Lawlor's of Naas in the town centre, the Osprey, Naas Court, Killashee and Barberstown Castle, and the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens at Tully are a popular non-racing day out nearby.