The Leopardstown Christmas Festival renewal is back in 2024 and there are some exciting races among the festivities. There are Seven races per day between December 26th and 29th, including some huge Grade 1 and Handicap meetings. We are here to take a look at some of the biggest races of the festival, complete with our horse racing predictions and betting tips!
Long Distance Novice Chase Preview – 26th December
A trio of runners catch the eye in this 3m½f race with Impaire Et Passe, Croke Park, and Better Days Ahead all on the billing at the time of writing. All three have been entered in the Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick on the 28th, but anything can happen until the final minutes before a race.
Better Days Ahead won the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham in strong fashion in March. That’s a good omen for punters as that race has produced some great stayers. Gordon Elliot then entered the six-year-old in his first race in Grade 1 company over hurdles in May. He was far from disgraced, finishing third behind the high-class Dancing City after disputing the lead until two out. A Beginners’ Chase triumph at Navan puts him in good standing here, though that was just a four-runner field.
Croke Park is no stranger to this company since Gordon Elliott entered him into his first Grade 1 in January. However, things looked bleak for the gelding after he finished dead last in the Novice Hurdle in Naas. He was then pulled up in the Sefton Novices’ in April. A 207-day break seemed to help sort some things out. He has won his last two, including the Drinmore Novice at a bumper 22/1 price. He is the only one of the three to have a Grade 1 chase victory.
Impair Et Passe looks like the biggest certainty of any to enter this race. He made an excellent chase debut over 2m5f at Fairyhouse in November and this step-up in trip looks like the next logical step for Willie Mullins. This race presents much stiffer competition, but his Grade 1 races over hurdles helped Mullins win the British trainer’s title.
High Class Hero draws the most interest from the rest of the field. He was a narrow second in a Grade 1 hurdle to Dancing City in May and won on his chase debut. However, High Class Hero has also entered the Beginners’ Chase on Saturday and Mullins may opt to confirm him there instead of throwing him into a Grade 1 debut.
Long Distance Novice Chase Betting Tips
Impaire Et Passe is the ante-post favourite for this race, but this is a much tougher chase than his debut. It looks like this will be a smaller field and 5/4 is a bit too short for us to back him with confidence. Instead, Croke Park looks worth the risk at 10/3. He will have to prove that the win at Fairyhouse wasn’t a one-off. However, he is also the only runner to boast a victory over this trip.
Bets on the rest of the field are risky with a lot of them yet to run in a chase and entered in the beginners’ on Saturday. However, High Class Hero could be worth an each-way ante-post punt at 14/1. He finished ½L behind chase winner Dancing City in May and ahead of Better Days Ahead. Waiting for confirmation is probably a smarter move though as we lean towards an appearance in the beginners’ for Willie Mullins’ horse.
Paddy’s Reward Club Chase Preview – December 27th
This Grade 1 National Hunt is run over 2m1f with 11 fences. A pair of Willie Mullins entrants are some of the main runners on the billing in Gaelic Warrior and Dinoblue. Gordon Elliot’s Found A Fifty is another interesting entrant. He has been entered in three races at the Christmas Festival, but Elliot may fancy his chances against an out-of-form favourite in this race. Marine Nationale steps forward after winning the Beginners’ Chase here last year. However, a lot of these runners are in questionable form.
Gaelic Warrior had a torrid time on this track in February as a 4/7 favourite. Everything seemed to go wrong after dropping 17L down from three out before unseating his rider at the last. He dropped back in trip to win the Arkle a month later but was a disappointing second at 1/3 behind Il Etait Temps in a chase here in May. On his day, this race should be in the bag, but his form brings plenty of question marks.
Dinoblue won this race handily last year, though that was against a significantly weaker field than this renewal. That has shown this season with Mullins’ Mare failing to win since that outing. She has proved before to bring her A-game in these races though and it would be foolish to rule out another big run for the seven-year-old.
Found A Fifty won a pair of Grade 2s this season and was second to Il Etait Temps by a neck in a chase over this course and trip in February. His latest appearance at Navan showed some weaknesses in his jumping, jolting to the right at times. He came out with a win by a neck and his form is similar to Gaelic Warrior’s.
Marine Nationale smashed the field in the Beginners’ Chase here last year but had a terrible return to the track in February. He went off as an 8/11 favourite at Naas last month and made several mistakes from the first fence. Barry Connel’s seven-year-old recovered to finish second but was no match for Qulixios, whose form hasn’t been much to write home about.
Paddy’s Reward Club Chase Betting Tips
Gaelic Warrior is an evens favourite for anyone betting on horse racing and could well go off odds-on. He is the horse to beat here, but too many question marks prevent confidently backing him at that price. Found A Fifty managed to win when not at his best in Navan. This will be his best chance at beating Mullins’ big runner. Whether he is confirmed for this race remains to be seen, but he is our best ante-post bet for the Paddy Rewards Club Chase at 7/2
Solness is an interesting entrant from the wider field. He was second by a neck to Found A Fifty in a Grade 2 in November. He came last in a mess of Grade 1 where four horses finished the race at Sandown after stumbling on the first fence. However, he has shown he has a better run in him without those mistakes. He is worth an each-way punt at 33/1 as long as the field avoids a drastic change.
Paddy Power Chase Preview – December 27th
This is the big handicap of the meeting, run over 3m½f. Mullins and Elliot have this race well covered with Meetingofthewaters and Three Card Brag heading the ante-post betting. Martin Brassil’s Panda Boy is right up there again after finishing second behind Meetingofthewaters in this chase last year. A big and competitive field also gives us some interesting each-way betting options with Pinkerton and Macdermott boasting handicap victories at big prices this year.
Meetingofthewaters won this race last year. He was a solid third at Cheltenham over the same trip in March despite not jumping with fluency and will welcome soft ground. However, he is yet to debut this season. Mullins may be saving him for the English or Irish Grand National in 2025.
Panda Boy is only 3lb higher here than his second-place finish last year. The rain was no problem then and he can handle better ground too. If Meetingofthewaters is pulled from the race, Brassil’s charge will probably head the market alongside Three Card Brag.
💦 Meetingofthewaters lands the €200,000 @paddypower Chase@dan2231 | @WillieMullinsNH | @LeopardstownRC pic.twitter.com/t7DsezN8kj
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 27, 2023
Three Card Brag made his season debut at Clonmel earlier this month and didn’t have the best run after a slow jump on the third and a mistake on the seventh. He still pushed the leaders on the home turn before being outpaced two out. He’s without a win since January 2023 but may enter as the favourite without Meetingofthewaters.
Pinkerton had a couple of good warmups after an excellent spring and summer. Noel Meade’s charge won a Beginners’ Chase in April before a pair of handicap triumphs at Punchestown and Galway, running at 20/1 in the latter. He is up 19lbs from there but has placed at heavier.
Macdermott has been unreliable at times but his thrilling win on the line at 18/1in the Scottish Grand National in April showed what he is made of. He won a Fairyhouse handicap by 3L before that and is only up 3lbs from that triumph.
Paddy Power Chase Betting Tips
It is hard to call the field for this race, but the prospect of Meetingofthewaters being pulled turns our attention to Panda Boy. He ran an excellent race here last year and still has plenty of potential in these big events. Brassil’s charge is just 3lbs higher and may get his rub of the green this time around. He is 12/1 in the ante-post betting and could come in shorter should he be confirmed in time.
The extra 19lbs is a bit of a worry for Pinkerton despite his place finishes at this weight. Macdermott’s thrilling win in the Scottish National may have set the tone for his run in this race. His handicap win this year at just 3lbs lighter gives us confidence for another strong showing over this trip. Willie Mullins’ horse is 20/1 in this race and is our pick for an each-way bet.
Savills Chase Preview – December 28th
This Grade 1 chase is one of the most exciting of the meeting, run over 3m½f. A mouthwatering meeting is on the cards between stablemates Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File. Spillane’s Tower is another interesting entrant, but his attendance could be ground-dependent. Gerri Colombe also has a big run in him and Gordon Elliot’s charge may benefit from the confirmed field.
Gerri Colombe was poor on his reappearance at Down Royal, but we have seen so much so often that we can rule that out as a blip. Some rain would help the eight-year-old who is superb on soft ground. He finished second in this race last year but was admittedly well beaten.
Spillane’s Tower made his debut over 3m in April in a Grade 1 Champion Novice chase at Punchestown. The Elliot-trained six-year-old was a roaring success, beating Monty’s Star in a thriller. However, other runners have much more experience on this trip and this is a more competitive field than that novice victory.
Galopin Des Champs was the victor in this race last year and returns after a warmup in Punchestown in November. He finished third behind Fact To File and Spillane’s Tower, but is back up in trip here to his preferred 3m. After completing his debut this season the Gold Cup winner looks set for another big run in a race that suits him down to the ground.
Fact To File is an excellent chaser winning on his season debut in front of his stablemate. The seven-year-old won his first Grade 1 over this trip in March in front of Monty’s Star. He doesn’t have as much experience over 3m as Galopin but has shown he has the running of him elsewhere.
Savills Chase Betting Tips
Undoubtedly, the front runners in this race are Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File. They have been at home in races over 3m and now have their seasonal debut behind them. We sway towards Fact To File to win this race. He is more lightly raced and has already proven to have the beating of his stablemate. Galopin Des Champs is excellent at Leopardstown, but we are taking the younger legs in what could go right to the final furlong.
Spillane’s Tower is our outside pick for the Savills Chase. He doesn’t have much experience over this trip, but like Fact To File, the younger legs could give him an edge. James Joseph Mangan’s horse outran his odds at Punchestown in front of Galopin in November and may have what it takes to at least get a place in front of the eight-year-old.