Dublin Racing Festival Day One Tips: @RoadCheltenham Provides Leopardstown Best Bets

The Dublin Racing Festival is one of the highlights of the National Hunt season and all eyes will be on Leopardstown this weekend for major Cheltenham clues – this is often regarded as the biggest ‘Trials’ meeting for those four days in March.

While critics have labelled the DRF as a Willie Mullins benefit in recent times, the two-day meeting at Leopardstown often pits the best Irish runners against one another and we should be in for a hugely exciting couple of days.

Without further ado, I’m going to take a look through each race on Day 1 at the 2025 Dublin Racing Festival, with a Saturday NAP and a ‘Next Best’ at Leopardstown as well as a tentative selection across the card.

13:15 Leopardstown - Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle

The word coming out of Closutton is that FINAL DEMAND may be a bit of a weapon and if the vibes are right then he’ll take the world of beating in this race. Supersundae ran a big race in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas and he could feature in the shake up while last year’s Champion Bumper winner Jasmin De Vaux may benefit for the step up in trip.

His jumping will need to improve though and it is quite easy to pick holes in him after his poor effort the last day. Sounds Victorius races behind the bridle but he looks a proper staying type and he can go well while I Am Lorenzo is my dark horse for the race at a big price. He could be the each way play for the Gavin Cromwell team.

13:50 Leopardstown - Gannon's City Recovery & Recycling Services Juvenile Hurdle

Is there a potential superstar in the field? If there is, it might be SAINTE LUCIE. Reports suggest that she worked very well at the Curragh earlier this week and Willie Mullins was very open about how much she surprised him on debut at Punchestown – she has half cooked that day and should improve massively for the run.

Hello Neighbour has a lofty reputation but I’m not entirely convinced that he’ll be able to give 7lbs to the filly. Meanwhile, Mullins was also complimentary about Lady Vega Allen and Sean O’Keeffe may have picked up a nice ride there. Wendrock can go well at a bigger price but he looks destined for the Fred Winter in March.

14:25 Leopardstown - Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle

Meetingofthewaters could be thrown in off 112 when you consider he has a chase rating of 148 over fences. Rachael Blackmore is booked and rides off a featherweight but he is fairly skinny at his current price. JP McManus has the top two in the betting here and I’d be inclined to prefer Perceval Legallois with Mark Walsh in the saddle.

I actually quite like ICEBERG THEORY at a huge price for Paul Nolan. He is versatile with regards to ground, looks like he’ll benefit for the step up to three miles and he has some nice form in the book. He ticks plenty of boxes for me but this is a competitive race so it is hard to place too much confidence in any selection.

14:55 Leopardstown - Irish Arkle

I’m hoping to see MAJBOROUGH put up a big performance in the Irish Arkle – I’ve been a big fan of his since his debut in France and he looks like the main rival to Sir Gino in the Arkle market at this stage. He looked excellent on debut at Fairyhouse and he arrives here fresh after a decent break following that success.

Willie Mullins has the second favourite in Ile Atlantique and he was very impressive at Naas the last day. I’m expecting Paul Townend to try and make the running in a bid to get Majborough out of his comfort zone and it’ll be interesting to see how this race plays out in the early exchanges. There’s plenty of pace in there, that’s for sure.

15:30 Leopardstown - Irish Gold Cup

Dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner GALOPIN DES CHAMPS is unbeaten over fences at Leopardstown and he’s the one to beat in the feature race. He is six from six in chases at the track and he can claim an 11th Grade 1 success on Saturday afternoon, with market rival Fact To File the obvious contender to finish in second place.

A comprehensive defeat may see Fact To File head to the Ryanair Chase in March. It’ll be interesting to see how Monty’s Star fares given Henry de Bromhead’s poor stable form – if he can run well at the Dublin Racing Festival then that will stand him in good stead ahead of his bid to dethrone Galopin Des Champs at Cheltenham.

16:05 Leopardstown - Ryanair Handicap Chase

I don’t have a particularly strong fancy in this but I am intrigued by Gavin Cromwell’s MIDNIGHT IT IS. He ran a huge race at Fairyhouse in January and was treated relatively kindly by the handicapper so he could still have improvement to come off his current mark and Conor Stone-Walsh takes a useful 5lbs off with his claim.

Another who ran in that Fairyhouse race is Captains Nephew and he is one who could also feature in the shake up. Philip Rothwell’s horses have been running reasonably well in recent weeks and he could be one to play at a fair each way price.

16:35 Leopardstown - Paddy Power Play Card NH Flat Race

I was surprised to see Kalypso’chance skip this engagement but stablemate HE CAN’T DANCE may be the main beneficiary. I was hugely impressed with his debut success for Gordon Elliott and it was interesting to see the Cullentra House handler subsequently purchase the runner up. He can go well in Saturday’s finale.

Green Splendour is the choice of Patrick Mullins and he’s likely to be well fancied in the betting given his connections. I wasn’t entirely sold on debut but I can see the angle for him given the yard are operating at a 28% strike rate in bumpers this season. Colcannon is a very interesting runner here and shouldn’t be dismissed at the prices.