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The Dublin Racing Festival starts on Saturday 30 January 2027 at Leopardstown: two days and eight Grade 1 races, with the Irish Gold Cup on the Saturday and the Irish Champion Hurdle on the Sunday. This page is where our tips for the weekend live: what has won the two championship races, which Grade 1 falls on which day, and where to bet once the runners are known.
In this guide
- The eight Grade 1s
- What wins the Irish Gold Cup
- What wins the Irish Champion Hurdle
- How to bet the weekend, and where
- Frequently asked questions
For the running order, off times, TV and the raceday guide, see the Dublin Racing Festival race guide. The festival hub gathers all our coverage, and our Dublin Racing Festival guide covers tickets and getting there.
A word on what this page is and is not. This far out there are no declared runners, so there are no named selections here. Our model prices each day's card once its runners are declared, never days ahead, so the AI Lab's daily card carries its estimated chance beside every Leopardstown runner on the day itself, and the track record shows how those estimates have done, losers included. The trends below narrow a field. They are not a forecast.
Where to Bet
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Eight Grade 1s over two days
The festival puts four Grade 1 races on each card. Leopardstown names the days after their championship races:
| Day | Feature | The other Grade 1s |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Irish Gold Cup | Irish Arkle Novice Chase, Spring Juvenile Hurdle, Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle |
| Sunday | Irish Champion Hurdle | Dublin Chase, Dr P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase, Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle |
Sponsors' names change from year to year, so the racecard may show some of these under a different title.
What the weekend asks
- It is a trial for Cheltenham. The festival was created in 2018 by putting the Irish Gold Cup and Irish Champion Hurdle cards into one weekend, and its Grade 1s are the last big Irish tests before March. A horse can win here and still have a bigger target in six weeks' time.
- One stable sets the standard. Willie Mullins won all eight Grade 1s at the 2024 festival and six of the eight in 2025. That shapes the prices: a Mullins runner will often be short, and a horse from another yard can be bigger than its form suggests.
- The weather can move the cards. In 2026 heavy rain left the course unraceable on the Saturday, and that card, the Irish Gold Cup included, was run on the Monday instead. Check the going, and the fixture itself, in the days before.
What wins the Irish Gold Cup
The Irish Gold Cup is a Grade 1 chase over 3m and seventeen fences, for horses aged five and over, first run in 1987. It is the leading Irish trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The trends
Winning age
- 9yo
- 50%
- 7yo
- 30%
- 8yo
- 20%
Age known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)
Market
- Started favourite
- 30%
- Won at 10/1 or bigger
- 20%
- Won at 5/1 or shorter
- 80%
Starting price known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)
Trainers & jockeys
- Most successful trainer
- Willie Mullins (6)
- Most successful jockey
- Paul Townend (3)
10 runnings (2017–2026)
The profile to look for
- Age seven to nine. Every winner from 2017 to 2026 was seven, eight or nine.
- Form at Leopardstown. In one long-running trends set, all twelve winners had run at Leopardstown before, nine of them had won there, and seven came via the Savills Chase at Christmas. Course form is the first thing to check.
- The Mullins stable. Willie Mullins trained six of the ten winners from 2017 to 2026.
- Not always the favourite. The favourite won three of the ten, all of them Galopin Des Champs. Edwulf won at 33/1 in 2018 and Conflated at 18/1 in 2022.
The 2026 running
Galopin Des Champs was the 15/8 favourite for a fourth win in a row in 2026 and finished third, behind his stablemate Fact To File. A champion's record in the race is a reason to respect him, not a guarantee.
Irish Gold Cup: Recent Winners
Grade 1 · 3m · 5yo+ · Leopardstown · Late January or early February
| Year | Winner | Age | SP | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fact To File | 9 | 9/2 | Mark Walsh | Willie Mullins |
| 2025 | Galopin Des Champs | 9 | 1/2f | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2024 | Galopin Des Champs | 8 | 1/3f | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2023 | Galopin Des Champs | 7 | 30/100f | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2022 | Conflated | 8 | 18/1 | Davy Russell | Gordon Elliott |
| 2021 | Kemboy | 9 | 11/4 | Danny Mullins | Willie Mullins |
| 2020 | Delta Work | 7 | 5/2 | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
| 2019 | Bellshill | 9 | 2/1 | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
| 2018 | Edwulf | 9 | 33/1 | Mr Derek O'Connor | Joseph O'Brien |
| 2017 | Sizing John | 7 | 10/3 | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington |
Trends
- The returned favourite won 3 of the 10 runnings from 2017 to 2026, all three by Galopin Des Champs (2023, 2024 and 2025).
- Willie Mullins trained six of the ten winners from 2017 to 2026 and Gordon Elliott two.
- Galopin Des Champs won three runnings in a row from 2023 to 2025; sent off the 15/8 favourite for a fourth in 2026, he finished third behind his stablemate Fact To File.
- Edwulf won at 33/1 in 2018 and Conflated at 18/1 in 2022.
- Field sizes ran from 4 to 12 runners in 2017 to 2026.
Source-verified from official records. Last checked 2026-10-09.
What wins the Irish Champion Hurdle
The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 hurdle over 2m and eight hurdles, for horses aged four and over. First run in 1950, it is Ireland's championship race for two-mile hurdlers.
The trends
Winning age
- 7yo
- 40%
- 6yo
- 30%
- 8yo
- 30%
Age known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)
Market
- Started favourite
- 70%
- Won at 10/1 or bigger
- 0%
- Won at 5/1 or shorter
- 90%
Starting price known for 10 of 10 winners (2017–2026)
Trainers & jockeys
- Most successful trainer
- Henry de Bromhead (4)
- Most successful jockey
- Paul Townend (3)
10 runnings (2017–2026)
The profile to look for
- A short-priced favourite usually wins. The favourite won seven of the ten runnings from 2017 to 2026, and the longest-priced winner in that time was Supasundae at 8/1.
- Champions come back. Honeysuckle won it three years running from 2020 and State Man from 2023. A previous winner returning deserves respect.
- Three stables. Henry de Bromhead trained four of the ten winners, Willie Mullins three and Gordon Elliott two.
When the favourite gets beaten
The last two runnings went against the market. Lossiemouth was favourite both times: she fell in 2025, when State Man won, and finished second in 2026 to Brighterdaysahead. A strong favourites' record is history, not a promise: a short price already counts the form everyone can see, so it pays little when it wins and loses the whole stake when it does not.
Irish Champion Hurdle: Recent Winners
Grade 1 · 2m · 4yo+ · Leopardstown · Late January or early February
| Year | Winner | Age | SP | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Brighterdaysahead | 7 | 11/4 | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
| 2025 | State Man | 8 | 5/4 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2024 | State Man | 7 | 2/5f | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2023 | State Man | 6 | 6/5f | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2022 | Honeysuckle | 8 | 1/5f | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2021 | Honeysuckle | 7 | 10/11f | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2020 | Honeysuckle | 6 | 8/11f | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2019 | Apple's Jade | 7 | 8/11f | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
| 2018 | Supasundae | 8 | 8/1 | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington |
| 2017 | Petit Mouchoir | 6 | 9/10f | David Mullins | Henry de Bromhead |
Trends
- The returned favourite won 7 of the 10 runnings from 2017 to 2026.
- Lossiemouth was the beaten favourite in both 2025 (8/11, fell at the 6th) and 2026 (4/6, second).
- Two horses won three runnings in a row in 2017 to 2026: Honeysuckle (2020 to 2022) and State Man (2023 to 2025).
- Henry de Bromhead trained four of the ten winners from 2017 to 2026, Willie Mullins three and Gordon Elliott two.
- The longest-priced winner from 2017 to 2026 was Supasundae at 8/1 in 2018.
- Field sizes ran from 4 to 9 runners in 2017 to 2026.
Source-verified from official records. Last checked 2026-10-09.
How to bet the weekend, and where
Small fields, big names
The Gold Cup had four to twelve runners from 2017 to 2026, and the Champion Hurdle four to nine. In fields that size the price you take matters as much as the horse you back:
- Best odds guaranteed. Prices move in the last hour before the off. A BOG bookmaker pays the starting price if it is bigger than the price you took.
- Know what you are paying. Every price includes the bookmaker's margin. What betting really costs shows how big it is across British racing.
Where to bet on the festival
Our Dublin Racing Festival offers page compares what our verified partners offer for the weekend. For a wider comparison, see our free bet offers and the best bookmakers for horse racing.
After the festival
Every race's result is on our racing results page the same evening, and the festival hub carries the weekend's coverage.
Responsible note
Eight Grade 1s in two days is a lot of betting opportunities. Decide a budget for the weekend before the first race and stick to it, and treat any free bet as a bonus on a bet you would have made anyway. Over time the odds favour the bookmaker, however well you know the horses. If betting stops being fun, BeGambleAware offers free, confidential support on 0808 8020 133. 18+, please gamble responsibly.
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