Leopardstown Christmas Festival numbers expected to hold up

Small fields in big races might be the hot topic in racing right now but Leopardstown’s authorities are hopeful their renowned Christmas festival can buck the trend next week.

The €1.1 million four-day festival which kicks off on St Stephen’s Day contains seven Grade One races, including the €150,000 Lexus Chase and the €100,000 Ryanair Hurdle, which is threatening to be the most eagerly-anticipated contest of the season so far.

The shape of both races will become clearer tomorrow when five-day declarations are made, a stage that takes place this afternoon for the first two days of the festival with particular focus likely to be trained on the most valuable handicap pot of the meeting, Friday week’s €190,000 Paddy Power Chase.

The Racing Post Novice Chase is the St Stephen's Day Grade One feature, a race in which champion trainer Willie Mullins looks to hold an especially strong hand with Champagne Fever, Felix Yonger and Ballycasey among a potent team of novices he can choose from.

Mullins's hugely powerful team have faced little opposition in some of the top races run so far this term but Leopardstown's supremo Pat Keogh is happy that the Christmas festival's prestige will bring numbers out, both on-course and off it.

Great prize-money
"The festival is always a target. It's where a lot of people want to be, and want to see their horses run. There is a prestige to Leopardstown at Christmas, there's great prize-money, and that usually attracts good fields. I would certainly hope the numbers will hold up again," Keogh insisted yesterday.

Ground conditions at the Co Dublin course yesterday were officially “yielding” and not too much change to that is anticipated by next week. “We got 7mms of rain on Monday which was probably needed. And there is a bit more forecast later in the week. But after that, there doesn’t look like being too much rain about,” Keogh added. “It’s obviously hard to predict for certain but the way we see it there won’t be much change in the ground between now and Christmas.”

That's positive news for a number of trainers, none more so than Henry De Bromhead whose stable star Sizing Europe is on track to defend his Dial-A-Bet Chase crown on Friday week against a field of younger horses that is likely to include the Durkan winner Arvika Ligeonniere.

“He’s in mad form. I couldn’t believe it the other day. The boys were having trouble holding him,” the Co Waterford trainer said. “He’s in some form and I’m really looking forward to Christmas with him.”

He added: "You wouldn't believe he was 11 when you saw him at home – he's like a two year old. I'm looking forward to taking on some of these younger guys and seeing how the pensioner gets on against them."

Successfully defended
Two horses have previously successfully defended the two-mile Grade One race, and both, like Sizing Europe, were Queen Mother Champion Chase winners, Moscow Flyer in 2002-03 and Big Zeb (2010-11.) The latter was also successful in 2008.

Jezki completed the Grade One double of the Royal Bond and the Future Champion Novices Hurdle last year and The Tullow Tank is on course to try and do the same next week. The horse named after Irish rugby international Seán O'Brien has been confirmed a Leopardstown runner by trainer Philip Fenton. Leopardstown is Carrickmines-based owner Barry Connell's local course.

Sizing Europe's old rival Sprinter Sacre will also be in action on Friday week, making his first start of the new season in the Desert Orchird Chase at Kempton, having missed out on his intended comeback in the Tingle Creek earlier this month. "Sprinter will go to Kempton. The antibiotics he took cleared up his little problem he had before the Tingle Creek in no time at all," trainer Nicky Henderson said yesterday. "He worked very well on Saturday and again this morning and we scoped him yesterday and he was clean." Britain's champion trainer added: "As he missed his first target we were keen to give him a run and it still gives up three weeks until the Victor Chandler. "

Kempton officials have confirmed the Desert Orchid won’t be moved from its December 27th slot despite the appearance of steeplechasing’s highest-rated performer.

Before the Christmas action, Willie Mullins has kept open the option of running his exciting French import Un De Sceaux, a 156-rated performer after winning both his Irish starts last season, in Sunday’s Horse & Jockey Hurdle at Thurles.