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Irish Christmas racing tips: Donn McClean Leopardstown preview

By Donn McClean

Horse Racing

Wed December 24, 2025 · 7h ago

Donn McClean takes a look at some of the big Christmas action at Leopardstown.

This time 12 months ago, Romeo Coolio was jumping hurdles and Barbizon had yet to race and Weveallbeencaught was being trained by Christian Williams for a handicap chase at Kempton.

Just shows you. The pace of change these days.

Romeo Coolio was a high-class novice hurdler at this time last year, of course. Gordon Elliott’s horse won the Paddy Power Future Champions’ Novice Hurdle at the 2024 Leopardstown Christmas Festival, through the fog. He went into the fog in front, travelling well, and he came out of the fog in front, still travelling well. Even a mistake at the final flight couldn’t stop him.

He looked good in winning at Down Royal on his chasing bow, and he looked even better last time in winning the Grade 1 Drinmore Chase at Fairyhouse. His jumping was very good for one so inexperienced, and he beat a good horse of Willie Mullins’ there in Gold Dancer, a dual Grade 3 winner over fences who already had a chase mark of 153.

Patrick Mullins: Christmas racing preview

He will have another Willie Mullins horse with whom to contend on Friday in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown in Salvator Mundi. The No Risk At All gelding was beaten at long odds-on by his stable companion Kappa Jy Pyke at Thurles on his chasing bow. He is going to have to leave that run well behind if he is going to trouble Romeo Coolio.

But he too was a high-class novice hurdler last season, he had Romeo Coolio seven lengths behind him when he won the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle at the Aintree Grand National meeting in April. Also, it is significant that Willie Mullins is set to run him here, in the Grade 1 contest, when he could have run in a beginners’ chase instead.

July Flower is a player in the race too. Henry de Bromhead’s mare won the Grade 3 mares’ hurdle at this meeting last year, and she is unbeaten in two runs to date over fences. Winner of her beginners’ chase at Limerick in October, she went to Cheltenham for the Arkle Trial in November and she won that too, jumping well and coming home a length and a half ahead of Be Aware, who finished second behind Lulamba in the Grade 1 Henry VIII Chase at Sandown next time.

July Flower’s best form over hurdles is over further, but she jumps so efficiently, she proved at Cheltenham that she is comfortable over the minimum trip over fences.

You can understand why Narciso Has is high in the market for the Grade 2 Changing Times Brewery Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown earlier on Friday. A winner on his hurdling bow at Auteuil in April, Willie Mullins’ horse gave best only to Mange Tout in the Grade 3 juveniles’ hurdle at Fairyhouse on Hatton’s Grace Hurdle weekend.

That was his first run for Willie Mullins, and his first since April, so there is every chance that he will come forward appreciably for it.

No Mange Tout to worry about on this occasion, but he could have plenty to fear from that filly’s stable companion Barbizon. The King Of Change gelding didn’t make his racecourse debut until June, when he finished fifth in a median auction maiden at The Curragh on Irish Derby weekend.

A winner on the flat at Killarney in July and at Punchestown in September for John Murphy, after which he was given a flat mark of 101, he was impressive in winning his maiden hurdle on his first run for Gordon Elliott and for Gigginstown House Stud at Navan’s Troytown Chase meeting last month.

Strong in the market that day, he moved to the front as they passed the winning post with a circuit to run, and he wasn’t headed thereafter. He travelled easily in front on the run between the last two flights, he jumped the final flight well and he stayed on strongly up the run-in to win nicely, leaving the impression that he was winning with a fair bit more in hand than the four-and-a-quarter-length winning margin.

Back in second place that day was Ben Hur, who will re-oppose on Friday and who added ballast to the form when he won his own maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse two weeks ago, beating Wackestone, who had finished third in the Navan contest. Glen To Glen, fifth at Navan, won his maiden hurdle at Cork three weeks ago, possibly a little fortuitously. Either way, it’s solid form.

Barbizon should come forward from that, his first run over hurdles and his first run for his new trainer, and he could be the one to put it up to the favourite.

Weveallbeencaught finished fifth in that handicap chase at Kempton’s King George meeting last year, before joining Nigel Twiston-Davies again and winning at Doncaster in January. Fourth in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham in March, and fourth again in the premier three-mile-one-furlong handicap chase at Aintree’s Grand National meeting in April, he was picked up for £40,000 at the Goffs UK Spring sale in May by Eric McNamara, who had the Paddy Power Chase in mind for him.

As such, his profile is not wholly dissimilar to the profile that Real Steel had before he won the Paddy Power Chase in 2022. Real Steel was – like Weveallbeencaught is – trained by Eric McNamara and owned by Tadhg Moynihan, and bought, like Weveallbeencaught has been, at the Goffs UK Spring Sale the previous May.

Real Steel had two runs for McNamara before the Paddy Power Chase: fourth at Listowel, second at Galway. Weveallbeencaught has also had two, fourth at Listowel, second at Limerick, in the Munster National, to his new stable companion French Dynamite, in a 1-2 for the trainer. A 5lb hike for that run takes Weveallbeencaught up to a mark of 137, just 2lb higher than his hurdles mark. His trainer reported him during the week to be in really good form and on track for Saturday’s race, which is shaping up to be one of the most competitive handicap chases on the racing calendar.

No change there then.

For more from Donn visit www.donnmcclean.com

Irish Christmas racing tips: Donn McClean Leopardstown preview

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