Panda Boy Well In at Leopardstown
We have a cracking day of racing to see off the January blues and welcome in February.
The first of the two day Dublin Racing Festival coughs up no less than four Grade 1 races! Sandown has its own Grade 1 Scilly Isles novices' chase while Musselburgh hosts the Edinburgh National as part of their competitve card.
ITV racing are showing ten races including two from Leopardtown. It is the three mile handicap hurdle that we target in search of a winner.
Panda Boy reverts to hurdling following his excellent 2nd place finish in the Paddy Power handicap chase at Christmas. He has finished 3rd and 2nd in that competitive three-mile handicap chase over the past couple of seasons. It proves he is a strong stayer, and he is rated 9lbs lower over hurdles. Connections obviously feel Panda Boy can capitalise on his lower hurdle mark in this valuable handicap.
He won a Pertemps qualifier over course and distance on soft ground back in December 2021. There should be a strong pace as the faster they go the better the chance of dour stayer Panda Boy who is a big horse and well capable of carrying 11-9.
Ted Walsh has a nice mare on his hands in Gaoth Chuil. She has progressed massively since winning a mare’s handicap hurdle here over 2m4f last March. She didn’t run her race at the Aintree Festival but returned this season to finish second at Punchestown behind Dancing Jeremy. That run blew the cobwebs away and she finished 2nd in a listed handicap hurdle at Naas in November.
Lord Erskine set a strong pace that day up front and it was only Gaoth Chuil and eventual winner Espanito Bello who came out of the pack to run down the leader. Gaoth Chuil was upped in trip here over Christmas and stayed the three-mile trip well on heavy ground. She will enjoy this nicer ground better and is taken to defy a 6lb hike in the ratings by the handicapper.
Leopardstown 3:00
0.5 point each Panda Boy 9/1 William Hill, 6 places else 8/1 Skybet, 7 places.
0.5 point each Gaoth Chuil 11/1 William Hill 6 places else 10/1 Skybet, 7 places.
Past Results
Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results
The Irish Gold Cup (Irish: Corn Óir na hÉireann) is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February.
The event was first run in 1987, and it was originally titled the Vincent O'Brien Irish Gold Cup. It was named after Vincent O'Brien (1917–2009), who was a successful racehorse trainer. The race was renamed the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1991, when Hennessy began sponsoring and it was often referred to as the "Irish Hennessy", as there was also a long-established chase in Great Britain called the Hennessy Gold Cup. Hennessy's sponsorship ended after the 2015 running and the 2016 event was run as the unsponsored Irish Gold Cup. Unibet sponsored the Irish Gold Cup from 2017 to 2019. In 2017, it was run as the Stan James Irish Gold Cup Chase and in 2018 and 2019 as the Unibet Irish Gold Cup. Since 2020 the race has been sponsored by Paddy Power.
Throughout its history the race has served as a leading trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Four horses have won both events in the same year – Jodami (1993), Imperial Call (1996), Sizing John (2017) and Galopin Des Champs (2023).
Winners over past 10 years
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Galopin Des Champs | 7 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2022 | Conflated | 8 | Davy Russell | Gordon Elliott |
| 2021 | Kemboy | 9 | Danny Mullins | Willie Mullins |
| 2020 | Delta Work | 7 | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
| 2019 | Bellshill | 9 | Ruby Walsh | Willie Mullins |
| 2018 | Edwulf | 9 | Mr Derek O'Connor | Joseph O'Brien |
| 2017 | Sizing John | 7 | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington |
| 2016 | Carlingford Lough | 10 | Mark Walsh | John Kiely |
| 2015 | Carlingford Lough | 9 | Tony McCoy | John Kiely |
| 2014 | Last Instalment | 9 | Brian O'Connell | Philip Fenton |
Best of Luck,
Nicky