Following major racing on Boxing Day, the Leopardstown Christmas Festival of 2025 day 2 card on Saturday, 27 December contains two Grade 1s in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase and Future Champions Novice Hurdle. Both events, plus the supporting card will provide plenty of clues for the future.
Apart from a maiden hurdle for three-year-olds and the extended bumper, the beginners chase, two-mile handicap hurdle and Paddy Power Chase (a Listed Handicap over three miles) provide huge variety as the festive four-day fixture on the southside of Dublin continues. The latter is one of the big betting races of the entire Christmas period and we’ve seen subsequent Grand National winners taking part.
While the Future Champions Novice Hurdle has some promising prospects, the Leopardstown Christmas Festival 2025 day 2 highlight is the other Grade 1. Many of the big guns from the two-mile chase division including Champion Chase hero Marine Nationale and Irish Arkle scorer Majborough line up against course specialist Solness in the Paddy’s Rewards Club.
Much could change on Cheltenham betting sites based on the results in Dublin in relation to the Festival in March. That goes for other days of this festive meeting too. This card in particular looks interesting, though, and we thus set our horse racing experts a pre-Christmas task of going through its main body. See Saturday selections for the main five races below…
Leopardstown Christmas Festival 2025 Day 2 Preview for Saturday, 27 December
12:37 – 2m 1f Beginners Chase
Both Kargese and LOVELY HURLING finished second on their respective debuts over fences, but Colm Murphy’s charge is much less exposed. After just five career starts, he can give weight and a beating to the Willie Mullins mare for JP McManus. While James’s Gate is the pick of the other three, they don’t make much appeal against the big two.
1:12 – 2m 1f Grade 1 Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase
Only By Night wins a thrilling renewal of our feature, the G3 @Barberstown Castle Hotel Chase! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RmNZQgopc1
— Naas Racecourse (@NaasRacecourse) November 9, 2025
Gavin Cromwell’s star mare has a big future ahead of her and could be heading back to Cheltenham for a tilt at fellow females in the spring. Last year’s winner Solness lacks a recent run, which may find him out. The veteran Captain Guinness looks ever more vulnerable to younger legs and the second Mullins-McManus mount Hercule Du Seuil has most to find off these terms.
1:47 – 2m Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle
𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 🟢🟡🟢@WillieMullinsNH‘s unbeaten four-year-old excels under @PTownend in the Grade Three @BoyleSports Novice Hurdle @tipperaryraces … pic.twitter.com/0hRwAezYn2
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 5, 2025
Harder to fancy are re-opposing Royal Bond first and third Koktail Brut and The Passing Wife. The latter is still a maiden in this sphere, while the former just didn’t convince at Fairyhouse. Declan Queally mare Carrigmoornaspruce disappointed when turned over at Evens around Down Royal, so the Mullins duo might be fighting out the finish here.
2:22 – 2m Handicap Hurdle
Gordon Elliott will probably never have a better chance of winning a handicap with BOWENSONFIRE than this. Up another 3lb for the catching the eye in defeat again around Fairyhouse last time, few others make much appeal here really. Lightly-raced types over hurdles might provide the best opposition at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival here.
Among those, Laafi drops significantly in class for the Greatwood Hurdle. Ace Branigan has hade even fewer outings in this sphere with the testing ground at Navan a probable excuse for his well-beaten fourth last time. Mullins mounts Jouer Masque and Sainte Lucie could have a say in proceedings too. Balko d’Ange and Matt Connor are last time out winners to consider.
3:00 – Listed 3m 100y Paddy Power Chase (0-150)
The usual nightmare with six representing Mullins and Elliott (including reserves), five for Cromwell and three from the De Bromhead stable. Four yards account for two-thirds of the possible runners, so it’s impossible to have a strong view on this. A wide-open market speaks favourably for Paul Byrne owned pair Ballysax Hank and Backmersackme, but there are issues with both.
While the former won the Summer Plate at Market Rasen in a canter for Cromwell, he then failed to land the American Grand National from a horse struggling to get away from the obstacles. Backmersackme, meanwhile, is a chasing maiden but caught the eye when runner-up at Cheltenham races in October. Kim Muir third and fourth Sa Majeste, one of three for McManus, and Weveallbeencaught are also prominent.
Topweight and Scottish Grand National hero Captain Cody ran a blinder when a keeping on third behind Romeo Coolio in the Drinmore. Going back up in trip can only help him. Dublin Racing Festival Leopardstown Handicap Chase scorer Backtonormal gives Cromwell another major piece of ammunition here, if turning up in the same form as February.
Last year’s runner-up MIDNIGHT OUR FRED gets the nod, however, in first-time cheekpieces for JP Flavin. Coming back here looks to have been the plan all along. Others to consider in the big betting race of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival are Troytown fourth and fifth Will The Wise and Pied Piper, Listed Wexford winner Blizzard Of Oz, O’Moore Park, Waterford Whispers and Will Do.
