Leopardstown Christmas Festival launched Leopardstown Racecourse today launched its fully sponsored Christmas Festival where the launch included a stable tour of trainer Dessie Hughes’ yard. Hughes put festival prospects Minsk, Stonemaster, Magnanimity and Frisco Depot through their paces and Ciaran Conroy, Commercial Manager at Leopardstown Racecourse subsequently said: “we are delighted to achieve 100% sponsorship for the Festival and we would like to welcome the Racing Post, United Arab Emirates Embassy, Topaz and Thorntons Recycling as new sponsors at the Festival. "We are privileged to partner with so many existing and loyal sponsors including Paddy Power, Lexus, Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Woodies DIY, Mongey Communications, Madigans, The Irish Daily Star, Ballymaloe Country Relish, Ryans Event Cleaners, Pertemps and Martinstown Stud. Leopardstown offers a significant platform for sponsors to engage with a captive audience as well achieving their targeted business objectives”. Pat Keogh, CEO at Leopardstown Racecourse said: “We are continuously working on improving the experience for racegoers at Leopardstown. This year we look forward to introducing a number of customer focused enhancements including the Festival Enclosure Marquee which will be open from 11am each morning, providing entertainment all day. The newly refurbished Leopardstown Pavilion will host the Winter Warmer package. Following on from the success of the renovated Tote Hall in 2010, improvements have also been made to the Top Level Suites and the Owners & Trainers Bar”. Commenting further on the race entries, Keogh said: “We are delighted with the entries for our early closing races. It is certain that we will be treated to some wonderful racing. It is great to see so many champions amongst the entries and there is plenty of new talent ready to take them on. It is also nice to see a good number of English trained horses aiming at the festival. Leopardstown has seen some marvellous races over the years, where the best of Ireland and Great Britain take each other on. This adds another dimension to the racing and we are looking forward to a number of healthy battles over the Festival”.
