The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.
Arkle was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, he was the grandson of the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mary Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin, Ireland, and was born at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath. He was owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, who named him after the mountain Arkle in Sutherland, Scotland, that bordered her Sutherland estate. Trained by Tom Dreaper at Greenogue, Kilsallaghan, in County Dublin, he was ridden during his steeplechasing career by Pat Taaffe.
In horse racing in Great Britain, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs, and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, 3 kilometres (2 mi) off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of the Irish Grand National steeplechase.
The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online betting company Betway, the race is now known as the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 6½ furlongs, and during its running there are twenty-three fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year on 27 December.
Flyingbolt was a famous racehorse. Officially he is the second best steeplechaser of all time, behind only Arkle, who was ironically stabled just a few doors away in the same yard at Kilsallaghan, Co. Dublin where both were trained by Tom Dreaper. A comparison of their merits is probably best illustrated by the Official Handicapper, who at the end of the 1965-1966 season rated Arkle the superior by only 1 lb (0.5 kg). Timeform, the highly respected racing publication, had a difference of 2 lbs between them. However, whereas Arkle is feted and remembered as the greatest steeplechaser of all time, Flyingbolt has been all but forgotten. As a hurdler, he was the best Tom Dreaper ever trained. His wins included the Gloucestershire Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Scalp Hurdle at Leopardstown. He also finished third in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Flyingbolt and Arkle never met on the race track, mainly because they were trained by the same man, and he preferred to keep them apart.
The Punchestown Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Punchestown Champion Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the William Hill Champion Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and during its running there are eleven fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April.
The Arkle Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eleven fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late January.
The WillowWarm Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year on Easter Sunday.
The Thyestes Chase is a National Hunt handicap steeplechase run in Ireland. It takes place at Gowran Park, Gowran, County Kilkenny in January, over a distance of about 3 miles and 1 furlong and during the race there are 17 fences to be jumped. The race is usually contested by horses who go on to run in the Grand National and has been won in recent years by two horses who have gone on to win the Grand National, in Hedgehunter and Numbersixvalverde. The most famous winners of the race were Arkle (1964) and Flyingbolt (1966). It currently has a maximum field of 18 runners. The race is sponsored by bloodstock auctioneers Goffs.
The Normans Grove Chase was a Grade 2 steeplechase National Hunt race in Ireland. It was run at Fairyhouse Racecourse over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong and took place each year in March or April at the course's Easter Festival. The 2017 running was moved to a fixture in early April to avoid clashing with similar races at the Punchestown Festival. Prior to 2013 the race took place in January.
Thomas William Dreaper (1898-1975) was an Irish steeplechase racehorse trainer, best known for having been the trainer of Arkle and Flyingbolt.
Patrick Taaffe was an Irish National Hunt jockey who is best remembered as the jockey of Arkle. The pair dominated National Hunt racing in the mid-sixties, winning the Irish Grand National, the King George VI Chase, two Hennessy Gold Cups, three Cheltenham Gold Cups and the Whitbread Cup.
Fortria was an Irish National Hunt horse best known as the first dual winner of the Champion Chase and winner of the inaugural Mackeson Gold Cup. Although very successful over two miles, he also excelled at longer distances, and won the 1961 Irish Grand National and finished second in the 1962 and 1963 Cheltenham Gold Cups.
The Fairyhouse Easter Festival Novice Hurdle, currently run as the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Novice Hurdle, is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in April. The race is usually run at the course's Easter Festival but in 2017 it was moved to a fixture in early April to avoid clashing with similar races at the Punchestown Festival.
The Devenish Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on Easter Monday.
