The Irish Classics are five Group One horse races run at The Curragh racecourse during the flat racing season. [1] They mirror the British Classic Races, the original five "classics", with one minor exception. The Irish St. Leger is open to horses older than age three, unlike the British counterpart which is restricted to three-year-olds, and is open to geldings, which are barred from all other British and Irish classics.
The five Irish Classics are:
Race | Date | Distance | Course | First Run |
---|---|---|---|---|
Irish 1,000 Guineas | May | 1 mile | The Curragh | 1922 |
Irish 2,000 Guineas | May | 1 mile | The Curragh | 1921 |
Irish Derby | Late June/early July | 1 mile 4 furlongs | The Curragh | 1866 |
Irish Oaks | July | 1 mile 4 furlongs | The Curragh | 1895 |
Irish St. Leger | September | 1 mile 6 furlongs | The Curragh | 1915 |
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 2,000 hectares of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Also located here is Pollardstown Fen, the largest fen in Ireland. This area is of particular interest to botanists and ecologists because of the numerous bird species that nest and visit there. There are also many rare plants that grow there.
The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their own age group. As such, victory in any classic marks a horse as amongst the very best of a generation. Victory in two or even three of the series marks a horse as truly exceptional.
Giant's Causeway was an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won five Group One races in Britain and Ireland as a three-year-old in 2000: the St James's Palace Stakes, Eclipse Stakes, Sussex Stakes, Juddmonte International Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes. He was named the 2000 Cartier Horse of the Year. The horse was sent to stud and proved to be an outstanding sire.
The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March until late October. Guided tours of the venue are available outside of race days.
The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopardstown in April.
Scorpion is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a three-year-old in 2005 he won the Grand Prix de Paris and the St. Leger Stakes. In 2007 he won the Coronation Cup.
Rodrigo de Triano was an English Thoroughbred Champion racehorse.
Right Tack (1966–1985) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from June 1968 to October 1969 he ran twelve times, winning eight races and finishing second three times. As a two-year-old he won his last five races included the Middle Park Stakes and was rated the second-best British colt of his generation. In the following year he became the first horse to win both the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. After being retired from racing he stood as a breeding stallion in Ireland and Australia.
Look Here was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the 2008 Epsom Oaks. In a racing career which lasted from October 2007 to October 2009 the filly ran nine times and won two races. After winning her only race as a two-year-old, Look Here finished second on her three-year-old debut. She then won the Classic Oaks over one and a half miles at Epsom, in which she was a 33/1 outsider. Look Here never won another race, but finished third in the St Leger Stakes, Coronation Cup and Pretty Polly Stakes.
Patrick Joseph Prendergast (1910–1980), known as Paddy "Darkie" Prendergast was an Irish trainer of racehorses. He won seventeen Irish classics and became the first Irish trainer to have a major impact on British flat racing. He trained the first Irish winners of the 2000 Guineas and The Oaks and was British champion trainer for three successive seasons.
Pourparler was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who won the classic 1000 Guineas in 1964. In a racing career lasting from the spring of 1963 until July 1964, the filly ran ten times and won three races. As a two-year-old, Pourparler won two important races in England and finished third in the Prix Robert Papin in France. In the following spring, she was beaten in her first two races before winning the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. She was beaten in her two subsequent races before being retired to stud, where she had limited success as a broodmare.
Dawn Approach is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which began in March 2012 the colt has won all seven of his races including the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, the National Stakes at the Curragh and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. He ended the 2012 European season as the year's most highly rated two-year-old colt and was regarded as a leading contender for the 2013 classics. As a three-year-old, Dawn Approach won the classic 2000 Guineas on his first appearance, going on to win the St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
La Tendresse (1959–1972) was a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. Regarded as one of the fastest two-year-old fillies to race in Britain and Ireland she won five races in 1961 including the Molecomb Stakes and the Lowther Stakes, and was rated the best European juvenile of either sex. She was less dominant as a three-year-old, but did win the King George Stakes at Goodwood. After her retirement from racing she had some success as a broodmare.
Minding is a champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 2016 European Horse of the Year after winning the Epsom Oaks, 1000 Guineas, and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Churchill is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was rated the best two-year-old colt in Europe in 2016, winning five of his six races including the Chesham Stakes, Tyros Stakes, Futurity Stakes, National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. On his three-year-old debut he won the 2000 Guineas and followed up with a second Classic victory in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
Saffron Walden was a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred by Stavros Niarchos he fetched IR£1,200,000 as a yearling and showed considerable promise on his only run as a two-year-old when he finished second in the Killavullan Stakes. In the spring of 1999 he emerged as a top-class miler, winning the 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes before recording an emphatic victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas. He was fancied for The Derby but finished seventh and was disappointing in his two subsequent races. After being retired from racing he stood as a breeding stallion in Japan and Ireland with limited success as a sire of winners.
Oscar Schindler was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion best known for being the second horse to win two runnings of the Irish St. Leger. In a racing career which lasted from October 1994 until November 1997 he competed in five different countries and won five of his twenty starts.
Royal Diamond is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. A slow maturing stayer who was gelded before he appeared on a racecourse, he passed through the hands of five different trainers in a track career which lasted from September 2008 until November 2014. He won several minor races as a three-year-old in 2009 but then lost his form and failed to win in the next two seasons, including and unsuccessful stint as a National Hunt horse. He finally emerged as a top-class performer at the age of six when he rebounded from an unlucky defeat in the Ebor Handicap to record an upset victory in the Irish St. Leger. He was at least as good in the following season when he won the Challenge Stakes, Irish St. Leger Trial Stakes and British Champions Long Distance Cup. He was retired from racing after failing to win in 2014.
Capri is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 he won three of his five races including the Canford Cliffs Stakes and the Beresford Stakes as well as finishing third in the Critérium de Saint-Cloud. In the following year he was beaten in his first two races and finished sixth in The Derby before emerging as one of the best colts of his generation in Europe with wins in the Irish Derby and the St Leger. He won the Alleged Stakes on his four-year-old debut but failed to win in eleven subsequent starts and was retired from racing at the end of 2019.
Snowfall was a Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks, and Yorkshire Oaks. She showed promising but unremarkable form as a two-year-old in 2020, winning one minor race from seven starts. The following year she improved dramatically, winning the Group 3 Musidora Stakes and then taking the Epsom Oaks by a record margin of sixteen lengths. She went on to win emphatic victories in the Irish Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks over older horses.