
Dublin Racing Festival Day One: Free Bets, Tips & Odds

Here at betting.bet we’ll preview the entire day’s racing, offering free bets, exclusive horse racing tips and the latest odds.
The horse racing world will descend on Leopardstown Racecourse this weekend as Ireland’s premier racetrack prepares to host the two-day Dublin Racing Festival. The best national hunt horses, trainers and jockeys that the UK and Ireland have to offer will be on display at Leopardstown and Saturday’s seven-race card includes no fewer than four Grade 1 contests. Here at betting.bet we’ll preview the entire day’s racing, offering free bets, exclusive horse racing tips and the latest odds from our betting partners at Unibet.
Where To Watch Dublin Racing Festival Day One
The seven-race Dublin Racing Festival card gets underway at 1:15pm with the seventh and final race of the day scheduled to start at 4:35pm. All seven races will be broadcast live on Racing TV whilst ITV’s ITV Racing programme will feature the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at 3:30pm. Additionally most leading horse racing betting sites will include live streaming of all UK & Irish horse racing to their customers.
3:30 - Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup Chase
The feature race on day one of the DRF is the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup with ten confirmed runners for this year’s renewal of the Grade 1 race. Contested over 17 fences and a distance of just over three miles, the Irish Gold Cup is open to horses aged five years and over and serves as a leading trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Willie Mullins-trained star Galopin Des Champs has won the last two renewals of the race and is back at Leopardstown bidding to become just the third horse after Jodami and Florida Pearl to win three Irish Gold Cups.
Galopin Des Champs is set to go off as the odds-on favourite following a dominant Savills Chase win here at Leopardstown last month. The nine-year-old bookies’ favourite has won six straight races at Leopardstown and will take some beating on Saturday.
Stablemate Fact To File was seven lengths down in second in the Savills but did get the better of Galopin Des Champs in the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown back in November. Winner of the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novices Chase at last year’s Dublin Racing Festival, Fact To File is certainly the biggest threat to Galopin Des Champs’ hat-trick bid.
Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File head a six-strong team for trainer Willie Mullins with his other entries including Grand National winner I Am Maximus as well as Embassy Gardens, Grangeclare West and Minella Cocooner.
Whilst Willie Mullins looks set to land a record-extending 14th Irish Gold Cup on Saturday, the main danger is the Henry de Bromhead-trained Monty’s Star. The eight-year-old was second to Fact To File in the Brown Advisory at last year's Cheltenham Festival and made an encouraging return when second in the Grade 3 New Year's Day Chase at Tramore. The remaining three entries in Saturday's Irish Gold Cup are all previous Grade 1 winners with Hewick, Conflated and Inothewayurthinkin completing the lineup.
Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup Chase | Race Odds |
---|---|
Galopin Des Champs | 8/13 |
Fact To File | 10/3 |
Monty's Star | 8/1 |
Embassy Gardens | 9/1 |
Hewick | 16/1 |
Inothewayurthinkin | 20/1 |
I Am Maximus | 40/1 |
Conflated, Grangeclare West | 50/1 |
Minella Cocooner | 66/1 |
1:15 - Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle
The Dublin Racing Festival kicks off with a wide-open Grade 1 novice hurdle with 12 runners set to line up for the 2m6f contest. Willie Mullins dominates the betting and it simply seems a case of which Willie Mullins entry will land the opener. Final Demand is the market leader following a convincing maiden hurdle win at Limerick in December however, we’re expecting stablemate Supersundae to shorten considerably in the coming days. Supersundae was far from disgraced on his stable debut in last year’s Supreme and made an encouraging return to the track when eight lengths off a very useful winner in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle earlier this month.
Jasmin De Vaux was well off the pace at Naas despite going off as 11/8F. Form shown when landing the Grade 1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival last year makes Jasmin De Vaux a real danger.
If anything is to stop Willie Mullins landing this Grade 1 novice hurdle then Mozzies Sister looks most likely. The Declan Queally-trained mare boasts figures of 212132 over the past twelve months, running well in high-quality contests this season.
Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle | Race Odds |
---|---|
Final Demand | 13/8 |
Supersundae | 5/1 |
Jasmin De Vaux, Sounds Victorius | 6/1 |
Mozzies Sister | 8/1 |
I Am Lorenzo | 12/1 |
Pray Tell | 14/1 |
Sommesky | 16/1 |
Sporting Glory, Wingmen, World Of Fortunes | 20/1 |
Joystick | 33/1 |
2:55 - Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase
Whilst the Irish Gold Cup is the feature race on Saturday, the Irish Arkle could certainly prove to be the best race of the afternoon. There are six runners confirmed for this 2m1f Grade 1 contest and Willie Mullins will hope to retain his recent domination of the race. Mullins has trained eight of the last ten Irish Arkle winners including each of the last four. Mullins has the top two in the betting with stablemates Majborough and Ile Atlantique both highly-respected.
Majborough won the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham last year on just his second run for Willie Mullins and a subsequent switch to chase has really got everyone excited. Majborough made a superb chasing debut at Fairyhouse last month and is a worthy favourite for Saturday’s Grade 1 contest. Ile Atlantique was well-beaten in a handful of top-class hurdle contests last year but has looked solid in two chases since returning from a break. Ile Atlantique landed a beginners chase at Navan in December before securing back-to-back wins in the Grade 2 Racing Post Novice Chase at Naas earlier this month.
Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase | Race Odds |
---|---|
Majborough | 8/13 |
Ile Atlantique | 11/4 |
Firefox | 8/1 |
Touch Me Not | 9/1 |
Jeannot Lapin | 25/1 |
Here Comes Georgie | 50/1 |
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Dublin Racing Festival Day One Predictions
Race Time | Race Name | Betting.Bet Predictions |
---|---|---|
13:15 | Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle (Grade 1) | Jasmin De Vaux |
13:50 | Gannon's City Recovery & Recycling Services Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1) | Wendrock |
14:25 | Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle (0-150) (Listed) | Backmersackme |
14:55 | Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase (Grade 1) | Majborough |
15:30 | Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) | Galopin Des Champs |
16:05 | Ryanair Handicap Chase (0-150) (Listed) | My Mate Mozzie |
16:35 | Paddy Power Play Card (C & G) I.N.H. Flat Race (Grade 2) | Sortudo |