Leopardstown set fair for big Christmas meeting
Officials at Leopardstown report conditions to be "absolutely magnificent" ahead of the track’s Christmas Festival next week.
An array of stars are set to grace the Foxrock track over the course of the four days, including the likes of Apple’s Jade, Sizing John and Faugheen.
Leopardstown’s chief executive Pat Keogh is eagerly awaiting the start of racing on December 26.
He said: "The ground is yielding at the moment and I have to say the track looks absolutely magnificent.
"We’ve not had any National Hunt racing since March. One of the great benefits of not having any jumps racing here before Christmas is we can produce fresh ground and we have a great covering of grass.
"There is a little bit of rain forecast for Christmas day and that could change the going to yielding to soft, depending on how much we get.
"It’s quite mild here in Ireland at the moment, but temperatures are due to drop. I think we’ll have proper National Hunt weather for the four days."
He added: "It’s great racing and I think we’re very balanced across the four days.
"We have seven Grade One races and you’ll have stars running every day.
"All the races look very deep and they all look like being big fields with the exception of the Ryanair Hurdle, with Faugheen probably scaring a few horses.
"With the racing here in Ireland and at Kempton in England, we have a feast of racing to look forward to."
