Sovereign Path Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Irish Champions Weekend)

2025 Sovereign Path Handicap Preview

Scheduled to take place in September of each year at the Leopardstown Racecourse is the Sovereign Path Handicap, a Premier Handicap that is contested over seven furlongs by runners aged three or older, the race takes place on Irish Champions Weekend.

Sovereign Path Handicap Information:

• Sovereign Path Handicap Past Winners
• Sovereign Path Handicap Trainer Statistics
• Sovereign Path Handicap Jockey Statistics

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 Irish Champions Weekend section for links to these.

How competitive is the Sovereign Path Handicap market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2011 when the race had an over-round of 119%. The race in 2013 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 144%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Sovereign Path Handicap, the over-round has been 132%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £132 which is bet.

Sovereign Path Handicap Trends:

• 2025 Sovereign Path Handicap Trends
• Sovereign Path Handicap Trend Analysis

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 Sovereign Path Handicap next time out then you would have backed a total of 5 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +12.20. Ahead of the 2025 Sovereign Path Handicap why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2012 renewal when Piri Wango from G M Lyons under the guidance of Emmet McNamara, won in a time of 1:34.76, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Finicius, trained by Eoin Griffin and ridden by Johnny Murtagh set the quickest time of 1:25.12 in the 2010 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run Sovereign Path Handicap over the last 20 renewals:

1. Finicius (1:25.12) in 2010
2. Baraweez (1:25.40) in 2014
3. Dance Night Andday (1:25.46) in 2024

Sovereign Path Handicap Past Winners

Here are the Sovereign Path Handicap 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. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Sovereign Path Handicap are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Sovereign Path Handicap have been based:

• IRE: 15 winners with an additional 46 placings from 269 runners
• GB: 5 winners with an additional 8 placings from 39 runners

Sovereign Path Handicap Trainer Statistics

There are two leading trainers in the Sovereign Path Handicap over the last 20 renewals with both G M Lyons and J S Bolger who have both won the race two times. G M Lyons winners have been with Piri Wango (2012) and Masen (2021). J S Bolger winners have been with Many Colours (2007) and Tobann (2013). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Sovereign Path Handicap, Mrs John Harrington (0-15), D K Weld (0-14) and J P Murtagh (0-12) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.

Here are some of the top Sovereign Path Handicap 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):

Sovereign Path Handicap Jockey Statistics

There are multiple leading jockeys in the Sovereign Path Handicap over the last 20 renewals with Declan McDonogh, Ronan Whelan and W J Lee having all won the race two times. Declan McDonogh's winners have been with Seeharn (2011) and Burnt Sugar (2017). Ronan Whelan's winners have been with Current Option (2019) and Dance Night Andday (2024). W J Lee winners have been with Colour Blue (2016) and Could Be King (2020). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Sovereign Path Handicap, Wayne Lordan has ridden 11 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Sovereign Path Handicap 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):

Sovereign Path Handicap Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +17.75 is when runners ran over 6f on debut. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 places in the past 180 days, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-56.

Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:

• 2024: Winner in 20 (18,21,16) [17 Runners]
• 2023: Winner in 13 (7,4,2) [17 Runners]
• 2022: Winner in 1 (19,16,11) [18 Runners]
• 2021: Winner in 19 (1,4,8) [16 Runners]
• 2020: Winner in 16 (18,21,20) [18 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Sovereign Path Handicap is Curragh, there has been a total number of 5 winners of this race who ran at Curragh last time out. The next best courses which have produced the second most winners are Naas and Leopardstown, there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 14 winners from a total of 255 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 6 winners from a total of 53 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Sovereign Path Handicap, that stallion No Nay Never has produced 2 winners (2023,2022).

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

• Kodiac (0 Wins from 14 runners)
• Dark Angel (0 Wins from 9 runners)
• Invincible Spirit (0 Wins from 6 runners)
• Dandy Man (0 Wins from 5 runners)
• Danehill Dancer (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Zap in 2018, winning for Richard Fahey at odds of 20/1 under the guidance of Chris Hayes. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2025 Sovereign Path Handicap.

Races Covered during the Irish Champions Weekend

Here is the schedule for the two-day Irish Champions Weekend which is run at Leopardstown on Saturday and then the Curragh on Sunday for races which we cover with blogs, each race will be linked to the race blog and detail last year's winner in the table below.

Saturday at the Irish Champions Weekend

Leopardstown hosts the opening day of the Irish Champions Weekend, the highlight of the day being the Irish Champions Stakes, a race dominated by Aidan O'Brien in recent years with him winning all of the last five renewals and has won the race a total of twelve times.

Sunday at the Irish Champions Weekend

Sunday of the Irish Champions Weekend is hosted at the Curragh with four Group 1 races, the highlight being the Irish St Leger, Aidan has not been as dominant in this with just six wins, three behind both Vincent O'Brien and Dermot Weld.