The Dublin Racing Festival is back for its 2025 renewal, marking one of the most eagerly awaited events on the Irish National Hunt calendar. Over the course of two exciting days at Leopardstown, racing fans are treated to top-tier action. The festival draws elite horses, jockeys, and trainers from across the globe, all competing for prestigious Grade 1 wins.
With a mix of seasoned champions and rising stars, the festival is the perfect opportunity for punters to enjoy competitive races and find value in the betting markets. Every year this event is full of exciting races and unexpected winners. We have put together some horse racing predictions for the big events to help you navigate the chaos.
2025 Novice Hurdle Preview – Saturday 1st February, 1:15 pm
Ran over 2m6f, this race is open to horses aged five or older. Willie Mullins has dominated this race recently, having trained the winner in nine of the last 13 and three of the previous four. His charges lead the way at our online bookmaker with Final Demand at the forefront. He had an excellent run when winning a Maiden Hurdle at Limerick in December, storming ahead by 15L, and looks a great runner in the making.
Supersundae, another of Mullins’ entries, is the second favourite, with form that surpasses that of his stablemate. He wasn’t beaten by much on his stable debut last season and improved further with a win in the Lawlor’s at Naas earlier this month on his return.
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Completing the top three favourites and among Mullins’ strongest contenders is Sounds Victorious. While his jumping wasn’t flawless, he finished strongly at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day. Mullins was impressed by his performance, describing him as a chaser type. The jockey selection will provide further insight, but he appears to be an under-the-radar contender with great potential.
Mozzies Sister is Declan Queally’s sole entrant in this race. She was mainly raced in bumpers last season and split Familiar Dreams and Aurora Vega in a Grade 3 bumper at the Punchestown Festival last May. A second-placed finish in the Listed Mucklemeg Bumper at Gowran Park in early October proved her to be a handy runner.
Novice Hurdle Betting Tips
Final Demand had a great run at Limerick, but it is hard to ignore the stronger form of his stablemates here. It would be a surprise to see Supersundae go off at his current 5/1 price and it may be worth jumping on that price. Mullins’s 13-month layoff for the horse looks like a masterstroke, and he is primed for a big performance here.
Sounds Victorious is another runner with a fairly wide price at 7/1. These top three will probably go off a lot tighter than the market is showing. Jockey booking may be important here, but his finish at Fairyhouse was mightily impressive, considering it wasn’t the prettiest performance. This less demanding ground will suit him, and he’s destined for big things.
We wouldn’t bet against either of these horses. However, Supersundae just slightly takes the edge down to his form. Mullins is a big believer in the six-year-old and can get off the mark this year in this race.
A test of stamina suits Mozzies Sister well, and this race demands exactly that. She is from good pedigree and her second place behind The Big Westerner, a big shout for the Alber Bartlett, was very impressive. Declan Queally’s entrant only has three hurdle races to her name and there is a lot of potential there. We like an each-way bet at 14/1 and there are other markets to consider when betting on the Novice Hurdle.
Irish Gold Cup 2025 Preview – Saturday 1st February, 3:30 pm
Ran over 3m½f, this 17-fence Grade 1 National Hunt is the highlight of the festival. Galopin Des Champs headlines the field as he aims for a third victory in the Irish Gold Cup Chase at Leopardstown. The nine-year-old has claimed this Grade 1 race for the past two years, winning impressively before securing the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following month. He won the Savills Chase here convincingly during the Christmas festival and has been beaten once in seven runs.
His chief rival in this race will be stablemate Fact To File. They were both entrants in the Savills with Fact To File finishing 7½L behind the nine-year-old in second. However, Willie Mullins’ entrants have exchanged wins with Fact To File bettering Galopin in the John Durkan.
Mullins has plenty of the field covered with reigning Grand National victor, I Am Maximus, also an entrant. Henry De Bromhead’s Monty’s Star won the New Year Chase and finished 3¾L behind Fact To File in the Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham last year. Minella Cocooner is an interesting entrant having looked out of sorts this season following his Gold Cup Handicap triumph at Sandown last April.
Gavin Cromwell’s sole charge Inothewayurthinkin enters after a poor run in the Savills. He was raced wide, struggling for headway before two out, before making a mistake on a late jump. Keith Donoghue is booked once again, and he is yet to find his race on the seven-year-old just that.
Irish Gold Cup Betting Tips 2025
Galopin Des Champs is the odds-on favourite for this race and it is hard to look past the Mullins charge. Though his triumphs at Cheltenham may be more famous, there is no doubt that Leopardstown is home for him. There are still no signs of regression for the champion, and he has been deadly in Dublin. We are backing him to make it a hat-trick of Irish Gold Cup triumphs at 4/6.
Plenty may watch the Savills Chase and keep faith with Fact To File. He maybe gave Galopin too much respect in that race, allowing the champ to trot out in front. His John Durkan victory was impressive, and he has proven he can have the beating of his stablemate on his day. Anyone betting on horse racing events should consider him as he is our second pick at 7/2.
Inothewayurthinkin is better than he showed in the Savills and Keith Donoghue has to find his ride soon. Gavin Cromwell’s charge opens at a bumper 20/1 and is our pick for an each-way bet.
Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle Preview – Sunday 2nd February, 1:40 pm
This Grade One National Hunt is run over 2m and open to horses aged five and over. Kopek Des Bordes made a later debut than some of his stablemates last season but marked his arrival with a dominant 13-length victory in a Fairyhouse Bumper. Although his jumping wasn’t always fluent in his hurdles debut at Leopardstown, he still proved too strong in the finish. He opens as the favourite here.
Kaid d’Authie showed great resilience and determination by bouncing back with a gutsy victory at this track in December after falling on his hurdles debut at Navan. Although he has the build and appearance more typical of a chaser, his performance suggests that he may possess the necessary talent and ability to make an impact on the hurdles division as well.
Despite being very lightly raced for an eight-year-old, Redemption Day made a powerful impression last season when winning the Grade 1 bumper at the Cheltenham Festival. While he has some questions to answer after a disappointing hurdles debut, his standout bumper form makes him hard to dismiss, and he remains a horse with plenty of potential.
Gordon Elliot’s Bleu De Vassy made his Grade One debut here last month and ran well to finish second in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle. He dominated in Group Threes and should make this step up handily.
Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle Betting Tips
Kopek Des Bordes opens as a 5/4 favourite for this race after an excellent win on this course on Boxing Day. He looks a powerful runner on any going and will relish this trip once more. However, we may be swayed by Kaid d’Authie at bigger money here. There is not much to separate the horses as form goes and Kaid d’Authie’s last run was spectacular given the circumstances after falling at Navan. The jumping was not quite fluent, but he is going from strength to strength and if he finds his footing here, he can have the beating of his stablemate.
Bleu De Vassy looks to have a tonne of potential and his win in the Future Champions Hurdle tees him up for a great run here. He will be prominent and finish at the top of the pack. Gordon Elliot’s runner is worth at least an each-way bet at 10/1.
Irish Champion Hurdle Preview – Sunday 2nd February, 3:20 pm
This Grade One National Hunt ran over 2m, is one of the highlights of Sunday’s action. The absence of Brighterdaysahead is big news for some runners here. Mullins once again has the field covered with strong entrants with Lossiemouth and State Man heading the betting. The former opens as an odds-on favourite following his spectacular Hatton’s Grace Hurdle victory at the start of December.
State Man has won this race for the last two years and is bidding for a historic third. However, he had had a tough season, falling behind Brighterdaysahead in the Morgiana Hurdle. He was beaten again by Gordon Elliot’s charge on this track in a Grade One during the Christmas Festival.
Winter Fog and Daddy Long Legs round out Mullins’ runners. The former outran State Man to finish second in that Christmas Festival race. Daddy Long Legs has won a Grade Three but may be out of his depth here. Fils d’Oudairies is Gordon Elliot’s sole runner here. He is also a Grade 3 winner but has struggled to find form over the last year. Senecia rounds out the field as a rank outsider.
2025 Irish Champion Hurdle Betting Tips
This is a tough one to call, with all runners having drawbacks. Lossiemouth has avoided Constitution Hill in the International Hurdle with purpose, having lost to him in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton. State Man has been bested by Brighterdaysahead in back-to-back races, struggling to find his form this season. For that reason, we sway towards Lossiemouth, worth 4/7 with our online bookmaker.
This short field means there is not much space for an each-way bet, and that is assuming all six make it to the stalls. If any were going to upset the leading two, it would be Winters Fog. He has a place finish ahead of State Man in the Christmas Festival here and a third place behind him, albeit by 13L.
