Red-hot line-up for Irish Gold Cup

STARS of the racing world such as Road To Respect and Our Duke are among the early entries for the Unibet Irish Gold Cup which takes place during the inaugural Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on February 3 and 4.

A total of 15 Irish-trained horses are among the entry for the €200,000 feature race, the Unibet Irish Gold Cup, on the Sunday and these also include Anibale Fly, Coney Island and Edwulf.

Three trainers have made multiple entries with five runners from the Willie Mullins stable, including Total Recall, Killultagh Vic and Bachasson. Gordon Elliott has Cheltenham hopefuls Mala Beach and Outlander on his team while Henry De Bromhead has entered Balko Des Flos, Valseur Lido and Sub Lieutenant.

The feature on the opening day is the BHP Insurance Iris Champion Hurdle. The legendary Hurricane Fly has an incredible connection with this race, having won it on five consecutive occasions. With his fifth win he flew into the history books with 22 Grade 1 wins, establishing a world record.

This time round English raider Buveur D’Air and the Willie Mullins-trained Faugheen, winner in 2016, are expected to clash. Samcro also features among the 17 entries for the €150,000 spectacular.

The weekend was created by consolidating Leopardstown’s three stand-alone meetings in late January and February into a two-day event and adding additional races to make a full house.

Prize money has increased from €446,000 in 2017 to €700,000 in 2018 over the seven Grade 1 races on the card.