As we near the weekend of one of the biggest Racing festivals in Ireland, The Dublin Racing festival, excitement, and nervousness are brewing.

Having only been introduced in 2018, The Dublin Racing Festival is a relatively new addition to the Racing calendar. Over the weekend The Dublin racing festival, held at the iconic Leopardstown Racecourse offers fifteen hotly contested races, eight of which are grade one’s. Being the mecca of Irish racing, The Dublin Racing Festival hosts two of Irelands biggest races, The Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup and The Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle. With over two million euro prize money, the races are fiercely competitive, with many big names such as Henry De Bromhead, Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins having runners.

“DRF is so exciting! It is the last of the big stop-offs before Cheltenham! So many grades one races, over two days, and so many amazing horses too! It is an absolute spectacle of racing!” comments Zoe Smalley, head girl at Henry de Bromheads yard and Head of Racing at The Grassroots Gazette.

Being so close to Cheltenham, it is off-putting for many English trainers as they avoid travelling their horses so close to Cheltenham for fear anything would happen. As one of the largest weekends for racing of the year, it attracts huge crowds, consisting hugely of families. It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the races but equally enjoy live music, great food, and entertainment.

“The atmosphere in Leopardstown is always amazing! The crowd is always great and there’s always craic to bait the band! It Is a big weekend for the individual yards and trainers, it really finds out exactly where those Cheltenham horses are! After the Dublin racing festival, blink! And you will be on the road to the Cotswold’s!” Zoe continued.

Some fan favorites such as Honeysuckle and last year’s unexpected 40-1 winner Lily du Berlais return to this year’s Dublin Racing Festival to defend their titles along with many newcomers.

“The Dublin racing festival has always attracted strong fields; it is seen by many as a warmup for Cheltenham and can have a bearing on anti-Post weighting on horses. The new bank Holiday will only help to strengthen this festival over the coming years”- Daithi O’Lionachain, Racing Correspondent with The Grassroots Gazette.

Lily du Berlais, trained by SRB Crawford, returns to the Dublin Racing Festival to try her hand at claiming another win in the very hotly contested festival. The daughter of Shirocco ‘s claim to fame would be her 40-1 win at last year’s Dublin racing festival, narrowly pipping Battling Bessie to the post in the Coolmore N.H. Sires Santiago Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race. The unexpected victor has raced only three times, winning in Perth and Leopardstown and being runner-up at Navan.

To me the beauty of The Dublin Racing festival is that, although it’s arguably one of the most well-known and prestigious racing events in Ireland, it is still possible for underdogs, such as Lily Du Berlais to excel.

“The DRF is a great showcase pre-Cheltenham and a fantastic opportunity for Racing fans to see the superstars in the flesh. Also, a wonderful opportunity for some of the smaller trainers that might not be going to Cheltenham to pit their best against the best. It is a fantastic atmosphere with the tension and expectation from the Owners, Trainers, and Jockeys, hoping and dreaming of getting to mid-March in the best shape possible. The DRF is Horse Racing at its best” says John Fitzgerald, head of the restricted trainer’s association. I agree totally with his comments as it is so important that smaller trainers have the opportunity to showcase their horses on such a large stage whether they venture to Cheltenham or not. As an industry and a community, we have to continue to support these events which enable trainers and horses to race in these brilliant races, racing against such capable competitors.

“DRF is becoming the highlight of our racing year as two days of fantastic action, four grade ones on Saturday and again on Sunday, with top handicaps in there too, and both days finishing with two graded bumpers of frightening quality for geldings,(Saturday) and mares (Sunday.)

This is two days of unreal racing, level with Cheltenham on ability and it is really a pinch me moment on what we are about to see as racing fans. No other sport can bring you this level of competition at finger reach, simply not to be missed.”- Shane Duffy, Trainer.

We are certainly privileged to have such top caliber horses, jockeys and races at our fingertips, and it is something we should not ever take for granted. To have 8 grade ones over one weekend in one spot is top class.

In just its fifth year running, The Dublin Racing Festival has made such a hugely wonderful impact on the Irish racing scene and continues to be of significant help to trainers’, jockeys, and horses alike in their individual campaigns and careers. Many top Irish horses such as Faugheen and Samcro have raced and won at The Dublin Racing festival, so I do feel it is a brilliant weekend of racing for talent spotting and giving experience and opportunities to horses with great ability who might not be headed to the likes of Cheltenham but still want to be able to race at events of the same Caliber.