Coral Hurdle (Ireland)

Boylesports Hurdle
2017
Ice Cold Soul Tudor City Golden Spear

The Coral Hurdle is a National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late January or early February .

The present race has evolved from the Irish Sweeps Hurdle, an event which was first run in 1969. This was one of several races which contributed to the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake, a scheme to help fund investment in Ireland's health service. Thousands of tickets were sold to the public, and each was allocated with the name of a horse due to run in a particular race. The tickets corresponding to the winning horse could yield a substantial dividend. The Irish Sweeps Hurdle initially took place at Fairyhouse, and it was then transferred to Leopardstown in 1971. In its early years the race took place in December, and prior to becoming a handicap it served as a major trial for the Champion Hurdle.

A second phase of the race's history began in 1987, when it became known as the Ladbroke Hurdle. This event was run at Leopardstown each year in January until 2000, but it was then switched to a different venue, Ascot in Great Britain. Since 2001 this has been the usual venue of the race, now named the Racing Welfare Handicap Hurdle, and the race is now scheduled to be run in December. [1]

The Pierse Hurdle, named after its sponsor Pierse Contracting Ltd, was introduced at Leopardstown in January 2001. It had an identical format to that of the "Ladbroke", and it was in effect a continuation of the same event. The race was sponsored by MCR Group in 2010 and 2011, and Boylesports bookmakers took over the sponsorship from 2012. Since 2016 the race has been sponsored by Coral bookmakers.

Winners

  • Weights given in stones and pounds; Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr", "Mrs" etc.
Year
Winner
Age
Weight
Jockey
Trainer
1969 Normandy 4 Terry Biddlecombe Fred Rimell
1970 Persian War 7 Jimmy Uttley Arthur Pitt
1971 Kelanne 7 11-06 Bill Smith Bill Marshall
1972 Captain Christy 5 11-06 Bobby Beasley Pat Taaffe
1973 Comedy of Errors 6 12-00 Bill Smith Fred Rimell
1974 Comedy of Errors 7 12-00 Ken White Fred Rimell
1975 Night Nurse 4 11-05 Paddy Broderick Peter Easterby
1976 Master Monday 6 10-02 John Harty L. Quirke
1977 Decent Fellow 4 11-04 Richard Linley Toby Balding
1978 Chinrullah 6 10-06 Gerry Newman Mick O'Toole
1979 Irian 5 10-00 Mrs Ann Ferris Arthur Moore
1980 Carrig Willy 5 10-00 T. A. Quinn Mick O'Toole
no race 1981
1982 For Auction 6 10-10 Mr Colin Magnier Michael Cunningham
1983 Fredcoteri 7 10-00 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore
1984 Fredcoteri 8 10-04 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore
1985 Hansel Rag 5 10-00 Anthony Powell A. Redmond
1986 Bonalma 6 10-13 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore
1987 Barnbrook Again 6 11-08 Colin Brown David Elsworth
1988 Roark 6 11-01 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore
1989 Redundant Pal 6 10-00 P. Kavanagh Paddy Mullins
1990 Redundant Pal 7 11-05 Conor O'Dwyer Paddy Mullins
1991 The Illiad 10 10-13 Pat McWilliams Andy Geraghty
1992 How's the Boss 6 10-02 Jason Titley John Brassil
1993 Glencloud 5 10-13 Gerry O'Neill Noel Meade
1994 Atone 7 10-08 Kevin O'Brien Bunny Cox
1995 Anusha 5 10-02 Shane Broderick Michael Hourigan
1996 Dance Beat 5 09-12 Anthony Powell Jessica Harrington
1997 Master Tribe 7 10-04 Norman Williamson Jenny Pitman
1998 Graphic Equaliser 6 10-00 Conor O'Dwyer Arthur Moore
1999 Archive Footage 7 11-08 David T. Evans Dermot Weld
2000 Mantles Prince 6 09-12 Fran Berry Pat Hughes
2001 Grinkov 6 10-07 Charlie Swan Pat Hughes
2002 Adamant Approach 8 11-01 Ruby Walsh Willie Mullins
2003 Xenophon 7 10-11 Mick Fitzgerald Tony Martin
2004 Dromlease Express 6 10-04 John Allen Charles Byrnes
2005 Essex 5 10-08 Barry Geraghty Michael O'Brien
2006 Studmaster 6 10-03 Tommy Treacy Jessica Harrington
2007 Spring the Que 8 10-03 Philip Enright Robert Tyner
2008 Barker 7 10-06 Timmy Murphy James Barrett
2009 Penny's Bill 7 09-09 Sean Flanagan Elizabeth Doyle
2010 Puyol 8 10-10 John Cullen John Mulhern
2011 Final Approach 5 10-09 Paul Townend Willie Mullins
2012 Citizenship 6 10-03 Robbie Power Jessica Harrington
2013 Abbey Lane 8 10-08 Emmet Mullins Willie Mullins
2014 Gilgamboa 6 10-09 Mark Walsh Enda Bolger
2015 Katie T 6 10-09 Brian Hughes Kevin Prendergast
2016 Henry Higgins 6 10-10 Robbie Power Charles O'Brien
2017 Ice Cold Soul 7 10-02 Sean Flanagan Noel Meade
2018 Off You Go 5 09-10 Mark Enright Charles Byrnes

Note: Some sources may not regard the current race (2001–present) as a continuation of the Ladbroke Hurdle (1987–2000).

See also

References

  1. Armytage, Marcus (December 18, 2001). "The first ever British running of the Ladbroke Hurdle". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-02-12.


  • bbc.co.ukHurdle highlight at Leopardstown.
  • 2001Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot, December 22, 2001.
  • Horses in Training 1993. Raceform Ltd. 1993. p. 778. ISBN 0-900611-38-3.
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