Leopardstown Festival Betting: Wayne Bailey's big race rundown

005 Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 23 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Dubliner Wayne is particularly excited by the next few days and it has very little to do with Christmas and a lot to do with this year's Leopardstown Festival.

As a Dubliner, I'm looking forward to the time-honoured tradition of getting Christmas out of the way and getting myself and a gang of friends up to the Leopardstown festival!

Sadly, Leopardstown is the last racecourse left in Dublin for us city dwellers since the Phoenix Park course closed down some years ago, so the festival has become even more important in recent times. There's also some Cheltenham clues on offer as Ireland's top horses make their way to the Foxrock venue:

Friday 26th December
The key race of the day is the Grade One Durkan New Homes Novice Chase where Arkle favourite Tatanen lines up for Paul Nicholls with Sam Thomas on board. Nicholls has a fantastic record when sending his horses across the water to Ireland, and has had 12 winners from 21 races in the past five years. Had you stuck a tenner on each, you'd be in profit to the tune of over £190. Tatanen went off at [1.63] and [1.64] at Aintree and Cheltenham respectively but to be honest, all he had to do was show up on each occasion. He's another French import - something that Nicholls has specialised in recently, and looks the read deal. Thomas Mullins' Made In Taipan should give him a run for his money but I expect Nicholls to raid this and take the big prize for the UK.

Saturday 27th December
Johnny Ward is a co-owner of Operation Houdini who runs in the Paddy Power Chase, and on Sunday, he stated that "The Paddy Power is run over three miles and Houdini would be better over further, but with the probable big field, one can be confident that there will be a strong gallop at the Foxrock track and anything that puts an emphasis on stamina over this trip will suit". I agree with Johnny here, and think conditions will work to his favour on Saturday. At the time of writing, he's trading around the [10.0] mark on Betfair, which seems overpriced. Personally, I'm taking the safe option and doing a place bet - a bet that seems very solid providing there are no serious mishaps.

Sunday 28th December
The Lexus Chase is one of Ireland's richest races in the winter season and the list of previous winners reads like a who's-who of steeplechasing, with Denman, Best Mate, and Beef Or Salmon all adding their name to the trophy over the years. Once again, it's a Nicholls horse who heads the betting with Neptune Collonges (pictured) trading around the [3.0] mark. He's a worthy favourite, and I was on hand to see him put in a fantastic performance at Punchestown last time out in the Guinness Gold Cup when beating Mossbank and Snowy Morning amongst others. Irish hopes of taking this race were given a boost when Mouse Morris decided to withdraw War Of Attrition from Kempton and keep him closer to home and connections rate his chances. The Listener and Exotic Dancer will also provide a challenge, but once again, I expect that this race will be raided by the Nicholls horse.

Monday 29th December
The December Hurdle is a fascinating clash, with Brave Inca, Sizing Europe, Catch Me and Sublimity all scheduled to line up. Brave Inca is one of my all-time favourite horses and ran very well on his return at Fairyhouse recently after a long break due to injury. However, I don't want to fall into the trap of placing a sentimental bet on the ten-year-old and I may just enjoy this race for what it is - without a bet. Sizing Europe looked a winner all-over in the Maplewoods Developments Hurdle, but old-timer Hardy Eustace battled back and took the prize from his grasp. Sublimity hasn't yet matched his Cheltenham form, but the word on the grapevine is that he's working exceptionally well at home. All in all, a very tricky race, and I'm still very much undecided on this one.