Teahupoo and Home By The Lee are two of the star attractions among the list of horses entered for the Grade 1 Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle, which will be run on Saturday 28th December at Leopardstown racecourse.
A stellar list of 17 horses have been entered for the 3m contest that is one of the premier trials for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and Teahupoo will be looking to cement his place as a leading contender for the Stayers in March – a race he won with aplomb last season.
However, he was well beaten by Lossiemouth in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle on his last racecourse outing, so step back up in trip here for this 2m 7f 180y contest should see him bounce back, but in Home By The Lee he has a former winner of this race to contend with. Joseph O’Brien’s nine-year-old was a fine winner of this contest back in 2023 and he showed the fire still burns bright having beaten Bob Olinger in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan in the middle of November.
Bob Olinger has been a real model of consistency throughout his year and has tasted second place on his last three runs, but prior to that had won the two before, so he could take his chance here and looks a huge player, as does The Wallpark who ran away with a Cheltenham handicap last time out and has been subsequently purchased by JP McManus and is looking to show he is a Graded performer.
Hewick has been entered for the race and last year’s King George VI Chase hero could look to build on a fine runner-up finish behind Envoi Allen in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal, while Brighterdaysahead has been entered, but she’s unlikely to head here and aim for another clash with State Man in the December Festival Hurdle.
Former Grand National hero Noble Yeats has shown he can excel in top class Graded races over hurdles and is an eye-catching entry, as are Asterion Forlonge, Hiddenvalley Lake and Ballyadam for what should be a really competitive renewal during the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.
Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle 2024 Runners
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Asterion Forlonge | Willie Mullins |
| 2 | Ballyadam | Henry De Bromhead |
| 3 | Beacon Edge | Gordon Elliott |
| 4 | Bob Olinger | Henry De Bromhead |
| 5 | Hewick | Tara Cogan |
| 6 | Hiddenvalley Lake | Henry De Bromhead |
| 7 | Home By The Lee | Joseph O’Brien |
| 8 | Intense Raffles | Joseph O’Brien |
| 9 | Maxxum | Gordon Elliott |
| 10 | Noble Yeats | Emmet Mullins |
| 11 | Rocky’s Diamond | Declan Queally |
| 12 | Sandor Clegane | Paul Nolan |
| 13 | Sir Gerhard | Willie Mullins |
| 14 | Teahupoo | Gordon Elliott |
| 15 | The Wallpark | Gordon Elliott |
| 16 | Brighterdaysahead | Gordon Elliott |
| 17 | Kala Conti | Gordon Elliott |