Racing Highlights

Racing Highlights 

The flat season at The Curragh consists of 11 Group 1, 13 Group 2, 18 Group 3, and 7 Listed races including the Tattersalls Irish 1000 & 2000 Guineas, Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival, Juddmonte Irish Oaks and Longines Irish Champions Weekend. All the Irish Classics are run at The Curragh.

Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas (May)
The Irish 2,000 Guineas is the first Irish Classic of the Flat season. Run in late May, it is a Group 1 race run over one mile and is confined to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies only. The field traditionally includes horses which have previously contested the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier in the month. The race was first run in 1921. 

Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas (May)
The Irish 1,000 Guineas is the second Irish Classic of the season and is run on the same weekend in late May as the Irish 2,000 Guineas. It is the first Irish Classic of the season confined to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. The race is run over the same course and distance, one mile, as the Irish 2,000 Guineas and traditionally includes horses which have previously contested the 1,000 guineas at Newmarket earlier in the month. The race dates back to 1922.

Tattersalls Gold Cup (May)
The Tattersalls Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 110 yards. Previous winners include Al Kazeem, So You Think and Fame and Glory.  

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (June) 
The Irish Derby is the third and most important Irish Classic and Group 1 of the Flat season. Run over a distance of one mile and four furlongs, it is open to three-year-old colts and fillies and takes place as part of the Irish Derby Festival in late June or early July. Many hoses which have previously contested the 2,000 Guineas in Ireland, England and France and the English and French Derbies traditionally come to the Curragh for the Irish Derby. English Derby winners have a great record when competing in the Irish equivalent. The modern Irish Derby was established in 1866.

Pretty Polly Stakes (June)
The Pretty Polly Stakes is run on Irish Derby weekend. It is run over a distance of ten furlongs and open to fillies of three years of age and older and has been a Group 1 race since 2004. Horses trained in Britain have a good record a race that is often a stepping stone to the Irish Oaks. Many runners in the Pretty Polly Stakes have previously contested the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Curragh and will have run at Royal Ascot.  

The Juddmonte Irish Oaks (July)
The Irish Oaks is the fourth Irish Classic of the flat season and is confined to three-year-old fillies. The race is held in mid-July and is run over the same course and distance, one mile and four furlongs, as the Irish Derby. Many hoses which have previously contested the 1,000 Guineas in Ireland, England and France and the English and French Oaks traditionally come to the Curragh for the Irish Oaks. English Oaks winners have a great record when competing in the Irish equivalent. 

Comer Group International Irish St. Leger (September)
Day 2 of Longines Irish Champions Weekend
The Irish St Leger is the final Classic of the Irish Flat season and is the only Classic open to horses aged three years and older. It is run over a distance of one mile and six furlongs and takes place on the second day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend in mid-September. The Irish St Leger became an open-age race in 1983, and there have been several repeat winners since then. Many Irish St Leger contenders go on to compete in Australia's biggest race, the Melbourne Cup.

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