Leopardstown

Opposition is running scared from Honeysuckle in the feature Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday, 6 February (3:00). Henry De Bromhead’s wonder-mare won this in the last two seasons and is a very strong favourite for her hat-trick. Is there any case against Honeysuckle? Let’s see what SportsLens experts say with their Irish Champion Hurdle tips. Favourites have an excellent record in this race. In the past dozen renewals, 11 market leaders have won it, so horse racing betting sites pick the right horse. Most of those are previous course and distance winners too. Only two of the five runners in the Irish Champion Hurdle this year tick that box. It’s fair to say that this year’s contest isn’t the strongest horse racing event ever put on at Leopardstown. Most of the main oppositio...

The 2022 Dublin Racing Festival kicks off at Leopardstown in Ireland on Saturday, 5 February. This is the last major meeting across multiple days before the Cheltenham equivalent in March. See the horses SportsLens experts like with Dublin Racing Festival tips for Saturday. Headlining this card is the Irish Gold Cup, which our tipsters have already looked at separately. There are three other Grade 1 races on the day including the Spring Juvenile Hurdle and Irish Arkle Novice Chase. The Dublin Racing Festival has wider implications even though these are valuable races in their own right. Results of these Leopardstown contests shape how Cheltenham betting sites regard DRB winners for the Festival following month. Punters must pay close attention to what happens in the Emerald Isle here, then...

The feature race at Leopardstown on a stellar Saturday, 5 February card is the Irish Gold Cup over an extended 3m (3:15). As the last of four Grade 1s on the card, it should prove instructive for Cheltenham. When giving their Irish Gold Cup tips this year, SportsLens experts have three popular steeplechasers prominent in the market to consider. It’s been a decade since a horse racing favourite last won this race. Will that trend stop this time around? Recent stats say five of the last eight Irish Gold Cup winners were nine-year-olds and/or previous course and distance victors. Leopardstown form is key, and that was the case before the creation of the Dublin Racing Festival too. Lightly-raced horses without a busy campaign enjoy success here. All eight most recent winners came to the race o...

The feature race on the fourth and final day of the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown is the 2m Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle (2:20). Two exceptional horses, Istabraq and Hurricane Fly, have won this four times before. Sharjah is all the rage to add his name to that exclusive club after landing the spoils in each of the last three seasons. Is there any case against the favourite? Read 2021 Matheson Hurdle tips from SportsLens experts to find out. Six of the last dozen favourites have won this race, although none have been successful since 2015. Nine of the 12 most recent winners had an official rating of 156 or higher, and only Sharjah ticks that box from this year’s field of six. The case already looks strong for that one. There is also a substantial history of multiple winners, starting with ...

The feature staying hurdles race over Christmas in Ireland is the 3m Grade 1 Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle on Tuesday, 28 December (1:45). This should not be confused with the 2m race at Kempton on Boxing Day with the same name. See which horses SportsLens tipsters put on their shortlist with 2021 Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle tips here. Mares have won four of the last five renewals but three of those went to the mighty Apple’s Jade. The sole female declared this year is some way off the standards she set. Nine of the last 11 Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle winners had an official rating of 150+, so it takes a top horse and thorough stay to land this test of stamina. The contest is also usually won by a race-fit animal. Each of the last dozen scorers ran a maximum of five weeks beforehand. S...