Leopardstown Handicap Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Dublin Racing Festival)

Explore the Leopardstown Handicap Chase, a thrilling 2m5Β½f race at the Dublin Racing Festival. Uncover key trends, past winners, top trainers, and jockeys in this comprehensive guide to the prestigious National Hunt event featuring horses aged five and older.
Leopardstown Handicap Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Dublin Racing Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2026 Leopardstown Handicap Chase Preview

The Leopardstown Handicap Chase is run on the final day of the Dublin Racing Festival at the Leopardstown racecourse, a handicap chase open to runners aged five-year-old or older, the race is run over two miles and five furlongs where the runner will face fourteen fences.

Future Cheltenham form is worth looking out for here, Empire of Dirt won this in 2016 and went to Cheltenham a month later to land the Festival Plate and the 2019 winner Whisperinthebreeze was going well in the lead of the National Hunt Challenge Cup before falling.

Leopardstown Handicap Chase Information:

If you are interested in other predictions at Leopardstown then head over to the Leopardstown tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Races Covered during the Dublin Racing Festival section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Leopardstown Handicap Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2016 when the race had an over-round of 122%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 152%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase, the over-round has been 134%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £134 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Leopardstown Handicap Chase Trends, see which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal, we also have a section that looks at the Leopardstown Handicap Chase Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Leopardstown Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals:

  1. A Toi Phil (5:08.30) in 2017
  2. Whisperinthebreeze (5:18.00) in 2019
  3. Seabass (5:23.20) in 2012

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase next time out then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +0.25. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Leopardstown Handicap Chase remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2006 renewal when What A Native from C F Swan under the guidance of D J Casey, won in a time of 6:54.40, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, A Toi Phil, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Jack Kennedy set the quickest time of 5:08.30 in the 2017 renewal.

What the expert says...
The Paddy Power Chase provided the 2022 winner (Birchdale) and that was the fifth winner of this race to come from that race since 2007.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Leopardstown Handicap Chase Past Winners

Here are the Leopardstown Handicap Chase past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Leopardstown Handicap Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorseInfo
2025
5:29.10
Backtonormal (IRE)
7yo 9-13 11/4F
Conor Stone-Walsh (5lbs)
Gavin Cromwell (IRE)
2024
5:30.30
Heart Wood (FR)
6yo 10-1 6/1
Rachael Blackmore
Henry De Bromhead (IRE)
2023
5:25.40
The Goffer (IRE)
6yo 11-2 10/1
Davy Russell
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2022
5:37.30
Birchdale (IRE)
8yo 9-7 9/2F
Mark McDonagh (7lbs)
E Bolger (IRE)
2021
5:42.90
Off You Go (IRE)
8yo 10-8 10/1
Mark Walsh
C Byrnes (IRE)
2020
5:38.60
Glamorgan Duke (IRE)
7yo 9-11 33/1
Conor Maxwell
Paul John Gilligan (IRE)
2019
5:18.00
Whisperinthebreeze (GB)
6yo 10-1 7/1
Paddy Kennedy
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2018
5:33.40
Last Goodbye (IRE)
7yo 10-0 12/1
Adam Short (7lbs)
Miss Elizabeth Doyle (IRE)
2017
5:08.30
A Toi Phil (FR)
7yo 10-13 7/2F
Jack Kennedy
Gordon Elliott (IRE)
2016
5:37.30
Empire Of Dirt (IRE)
9yo 9-11 8/1
Jonathan Moore (7lbs)
C A Murphy (IRE)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase have been based:

  • IRE: 20 winners with an additional 51 placings from 343 runners
  • GB: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 3 runners

Leopardstown Handicap Chase Trainer Statistics

There are two leading trainers in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase over the last 20 renewals with both Gordon Elliott and T M Walsh who have both won the race two times. Gordon Elliott winners have been with A Toi Phil (2017) and The Goffer (2023). T M Walsh winners have been with Seabass (2012) and Foxrock (2015). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase, W P Mullins (0-41), A L T Moore (0-16), Noel Meade (0-15) and A J Martin (0-11) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.

Here are some of the top Leopardstown Handicap Chase trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Gordon Elliott33-2-8-17.50-6.96
T M Walsh7-2-5+8.00+10.31
Henry De Bromhead19-1-4-12.00-7.05
Mrs John Harrington8-1-2+0.00-0.12
Gavin Cromwell8-1-1-4.25-5.28
C A Murphy5-1-1+4.00+0.80
Miss Elizabeth Doyle4-1-1+9.00+4.50
Terence O'Brien4-1-1+6.00+2.63
E Bolger4-1-2+1.50+2.81
Paul John Gilligan3-1-3+31.00+26.51

Leopardstown Handicap Chase Jockey Statistics

There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase, Paul Townend has ridden 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Leopardstown Handicap Chase jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Mark Walsh9-1-2+2.00+0.50
Rachael Blackmore8-1-2-1.00-1.81
Jack Kennedy8-1-2-3.50-3.81
Jonathan Moore6-1-2+3.00+4.43
Mark Enright5-1-1+5.00+1.63
Conor Maxwell3-1-1+31.00+18.63
Adam Short3-1-1+10.00+5.50
Mark McDonagh2-1-1+3.50+1.81
Conor Stone-Walsh2-1-1+1.75+0.72
Paddy Kennedy1-1-1+7.00+4.38

Leopardstown Handicap Chase Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +3.00 is when runners ran on Heavy ground last time out.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career start with the jockey, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-56.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase is Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 8 winners of this race who ran at Leopardstown last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 330 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 16 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase:

  • Flemensfirth (3 Wins)
  • Presenting (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Leopardstown Handicap Chase despite multiple attempts:

  • Beneficial (0 Wins from 18 runners)
  • Old Vic (0 Wins from 12 runners)
  • Oscar (0 Wins from 9 runners)
  • Gold Well (0 Wins from 7 runners)
  • Kings Theatre (0 Wins from 7 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Glamorgan Duke in 2020, winning for Paul John Gilligan at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Conor Maxwell. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the Leopardstown Handicap Chase

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Leopardstown Handicap Chase, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Backtonormal
Leopardstown - 6th of 13 (41/1)
Paddy Power From The Horses Mouth Podcast Beginners Chase
2024 - Heart Wood
Naas - 2nd of 4 (11/8)
Bar One Racing "Bet 10 Euro Get 50 Euro Sign Up Offer" Beginners Chase
2023 - The Goffer
Warwick - 3rd of 4 (10/3)
eventmasters.co.uk Hampton Novices Chase
2022 - Birchdale
Leopardstown - 6th of 28 (33/1)
Paddy Power Chase
2021 - Off You Go
Limerick - F of 15 (4/1)
Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase
2020 - Glamorgan Duke
Thurles - 3rd of 11 (8/1)
www.thurlesraces.ie Handicap Chase
2019 - Whisperinthebreeze
Punchestown - 2nd of 10 (4/1)
Punchestown Amateur National
2018 - Last Goodbye
Navan - 12th of 21 (12/1)
Troytown Handicap Chase
2017 - A Toi Phil
Leopardstown - 5th of 10 (10/1)
Neville Hotels Novice Chase
2016 - Empire Of Dirt
Leopardstown - PU of 28 (14/1)
Paddy Power Chase

Races Covered during the Dublin Racing Festival

Remember to head over to the Leopardstown predictions page to see which runner the racing tipsters are supporting in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase and don't forget we also cover the following races at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Races - Day 1 (Saturday)Last WinnerInfo
Golden Cygnet Novice HurdleFinal Demand (IRE)
6yo - 11/8
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Irish Arkle Novice ChaseMajborough (FR)
5yo - 8/11
W P Mullins
Mark Walsh
Irish Gold CupGalopin Des Champs (FR)
9yo - 1/2
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Spring Juvenile HurdleHello Neighbour (IRE)
4yo - 85/40
Gavin Cromwell
Keith Donoghue
Races - Day 2 (Sunday)Last WinnerInfo
Dublin ChaseSolness (FR)
7yo - 6/1
Joseph Patrick O'Brien
Danny Mullins
Irish Champion HurdleState Man (FR)
8yo - 5/4
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Ladbrokes Novice ChaseBallyburn (IRE)
7yo - 8/13
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Leopardstown Handicap ChaseBacktonormal (IRE)
7yo - 11/4
Gavin Cromwell
Conor Stone-Walsh
Tattersalls Ireland Novice HurdleKopek Des Bordes (FR)
5yo - 4/5
W P Mullins
Paul Townend
Timeless Sash Windows Handicap HurdleMcLaurey (IRE)
6yo - 3/1
Emmet Mullins
Mark Walsh

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Leopardstown Handicap Chase Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Tipster Competition Assistant

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing analyst with over 15 years of experience, delves into the intricacies of international horse racing, meticulously analyzing complex statistical data to uncover hidden trends. He spearheads the creation and management of OLBG's international horse racing trend blogs, providing valuable insights for bettors worldwide.

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