Racing lineup

The racing at Leopardstown, both on the National Hunt and on the Flat scene, is rarely short of top class with the best horses, jockeys and trainers regularly in action. During the summer months, the emphasis is very much on the flat and there are a number of Group and Listed races that invariably throw up horses that go on to greater things in the future. On the opening Thursday night meeting, the Saval Beg Stakes has been won in the past by the likes of Vinnie Roe, a 4-time St Leger winner at the Curragh, while Media Puzzle, successful in the 2002 Melbourne Cup in Australia, took the 2006 renewal of the race.

The Ballyogan Stakes is the feature event on June 4th and this six furlong sprint generally attracts some decent sprinters from across the water although the last two runnings of the race have gone to the John Oxx trained Age Of Chivalry and David Wachman’s Liscanna. On the same card the listed Glencairn Stakes for older horses has been won twice in the last three years by the Kevin Prendergast trained Mustameet and this race invariably produces an exciting finish.

On June 11th, the big one that evening is the Ballycorus Stakes over seven furlongs and trainer Ger Lyons has fond memories of this race as An Tadh gave him his first Group race success in this event in 2006 while twelve months ago it was Summit Surge who obliged for the same stable.

While also producing quality Group and Listed races, Leopardstown is also a track where some of the maiden races can unearth potential stars while the handicap events are invariably very competitive affairs with the majority of them ending up in photo finishes. The Tyros Stakes for two year olds that is held at the end of July has been a real source of future superstars in recent seasons with the likes of Teofilo and New Approach both previous winners of this listed contest. In 2006, Teofilo won the Tyros Stakes on his way to becoming European Champion 2-Y-O later that season as he ended the year unbeaten on five starts with victories in the National Stakes at the Curragh and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on his very impressive cv. Sadly, this exciting prospect was never to reach his true potential as he suffered a career ending injury in the spring of 2007 and was immediately retired to stud.

However, just one year later the Tyros Stakes produced another outstanding winner in the shape of New Approach who, like Teofilo, was trained by the brilliant Jim Bolger. It was a case of déjà vu here as New Approach ended his two year old career unbeaten in the exact same five races as his stable companion had won a year earlier but thankfully, he managed to avoid injury and managed to fulfil his potential as a three year old. Having finished runner up behind the brilliant Henrythenavigator in both the English and Irish 2000 Guineas, New Approach delivered a superb performance to win the 2008 Epsom Derby in fine style before adding the Irish Champion Stakes and the English Champion Stakes to earn the title of the best three year old in the world. Indeed, New Approach became the first horse in 40 years to win both the Dewhurst Stakes as a two year old and the English Champion Stakes, both races at Newmarket, while in adding the Epsom Derby to his list of achievements, he became the first horse to land these three Group One races for nearly a hundred years.

Other top class horses that have performed at the Leopardstown Summer Evening Meetings over the last number of years have been the likes of the brilliant Yeats, who won the Saval Beg Stakes in 2007 before going on to become only the second horse in over thirty years to win three Ascot Gold Cups in a row while the likes of Miss Beatrix won her maiden at Leopardstown in 2006 before taking the Goffs Million at the Curragh later that year. Her stable companion Dimenticata also proved successful at the Foxrock track before finishing a close second in the following year’s 1000 Guineas so if it is top class horses you want to see in action, come along to Leopardstown and enjoy yourself at one of the premier tracks in Europe with quality racing, excellent facilities and great company all adding up to a great night out.