St Stephen's Day Guide: Grade 1 thrills at Leopardstown and Limerick Saint Stephen's Day is better than Christmas Day for hardcore horse racing fans, as there's an abundance of action on offer on both sides of the Irish Sea. Kempton's King George card is the feature amongst a whopping eight meetings in Britain, whilst there are three in Ireland. It marks the start of two fantastic four-day festivals hosted by Leopardstown and Limerick, whilst Down Royal's card completes the line-up. Here we take a closer look at all the action on offer and some of the potential clashes are not to be missed! Leopardstown We'll start with the best card on offer and there are a couple of graded races. The card gets underway with a maiden hurdle and it's definitely worth a watch, as last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner came out on top in 2024. Another maiden hurdle then follows and some very smart horses lined up last year, including Supreme runner-up William Munny. Irish trainers will be hoping that this pair of maiden hurdles end up being the strongest Supreme trials of the year once again! One of the two graded races on the card is the Grade 2 O'Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle, which was won last year by Gavin Cromwell's Hello Neighbour. It's a great opportunity for Irish juveniles to establish themselves as Triumph Hurdle candidates. A couple of handicaps are also on the card, with the 2m1f handicap chase and a novice handicap hurdle. The day's main event is the Grade 1 Long Distance Novice Chase, where Gordon Elliott landed a 1-2-4 last year. A Flat race closes out the card and it might be worth keeping an eye on the winner, as last year's victor, Green Splendour, went on to Land a Grade 2 at Aintree. Limerick Ireland really does love their maiden hurdles, and we have one for three-year-olds on offer, as well as an open maiden hurdle. We also have a couple of handicaps on the card, one over fences and one over hurdles. There's also a novice chase, but the highlight is the Grade 2 Lyons Of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle. Run over 2m7f, it's a recognised trial for the Albert Bartlett, with two of the last 10 winners following up at Cheltenham and last year's winner finishing second. It's a strong test of stamina and it provides novices with the chance to throw their hats into the ring for Cheltenham. A mares' bumper closes out the card and Limerick's four-day festival is a major highlight of the festive period. Down Royal Last year's meeting went well for Henry de Bromhead, who landed a double on the day. The first of those successes came in a maiden hurdle, which was won by subsequent Cheltenham Festival winner Air Of Entitlement. Emmet Mullins' excellent hunter chaser Its On The Line made his seasonal reappearance here last year, finishing second, and he won Punchestown's Champion Hunters Chase. This fixture doesn't possess the quality of Leopardstown and Limerick's, but you can always guarantee a cracking atmosphere and a good racegoing experience.
