The Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase 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: ...

steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

over a distance of about 3 miles and ½

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

(3 miles and 120 yards, or ), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is for

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 with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The present version of the race was introduced in 2007, when it was sponsored by Ellier Developments. There had been two similar events in the preceding years – a Grade 2 race over a shorter distance (also sponsored by Ellier), and a handicap race over the same length. The new version was backed by Boylesports in 2009, and by Growise from 2010 to 2018. The Growise Champion Novice Chase is Ireland's equivalent of the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase at Cheltenham, but no horse has won both races since 2007.

Records

Leading jockey since 2007 (5 wins): *

Davy Russell Davy Russell (born 27 June 1979) is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. Childhood and ama ...

- ''Quito De La Roque (2011), Sir Des Champs (2012), Zabana (2016), The Storyteller (2018), Delta Work (2019)'' Leading trainer since 2007 (5 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 ...

- ''Kempes (2010), Sir Des Champs (2012), Valseur Lido (2015), Colreevy (2021),Capodanno (2022) ''

Winners since 2007

References

---- * Racing Post: ** , , , , , , , , ** , , , ----
pedigreequery.com
– ''Ellier Developments Champion Novice Chase – Punchestown.'' {{Race Meeting, Punchestown Festival, Turf National Hunt races in Ireland National Hunt chases Punchestown Racecourse

Records

Winners since 2007

See also

References