The Golden Cygnet Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

race in Ireland which is for horses aged five years or older. It is run at

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is ...

over a distance of about 2 miles and 6 furlongs (4,426 metres). The race is scheduled to take place each year in late January or early February. The race was first run in 1999 and is named in honour of

Golden Cygnet Golden Cygnet (1972 - 1978) was a racehorse who was described in the 1979 Irish Racing Annual by legendary Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien as "the best hurdler I've ever seen." His hurdling career lasted less than 5 months, as a result of the f ...

, a racehorse trained by

Edward O'Grady Edward O'Grady is an champion Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Grady was the leading Irish trainer at Cheltenham (after Vincent O'Brien) by number of winners. He was played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1980 ...

who was fatally injured while racing in 1978. It was awarded Grade 3 status in 2003 and then raised to Grade 2 in 2008. Since 2016 the race has been sponsored and run as the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle. Prior to 2018 it was run over 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and in 2018 it was extended to its present distance and upgraded to Grade 1 status as part of the new Dublin Racing Festival.

Records

Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

since 1999 (4 wins): *

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

– '' Boston Bob (2012), Pont Alexandre (2013), Sure Reef (2014), Let's Dance (2017)'' Leading trainer since 1999 (8 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

- '' Boston Bob (2012), Pont Alexandre (2013), Sure Reef (2014), Outlander (2015), A Toi Phil (2016), Let's Dance (2017), Gaillard Du Mesnil (2021), Minella Cocooner (2022) ''

Winners

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

: **, , , , , , , , , **, , , , , , , , , **, , {{Race Meeting, Dublin Racing Festival, Turf Leopardstown Racecourse National Hunt hurdle races National Hunt races in Ireland Recurring sporting events established in 1999 1999 establishments in Ireland

Records

Winners

See also

References