Rupert "Ruby" Walsh is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Widely regarded as one of the greatest National Hunt jockeys of all time, Walsh is the third most prolific winner in British and Irish jump racing history behind only Sir Anthony McCoy and Richard Johnson.
Charlie Swan is a former top National Hunt jockey in Ireland in the 1990s. He is associated with the great Istabraq, on whom he won three Champion Hurdles. He was twice top jockey at the Cheltenham Festival and was champion National Hunt jockey in Ireland for nine consecutive years. After retiring as a jockey he spent several years a trainer, based in Modreeny near Cloughjordan, County Tipperary.
William Peter Mullins is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a seventeen-time Irish National Hunt Champion trainer. Mullins is the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, having saddled more than 100 winners.
The KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles ½ furlong, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The race is currently sponsored by the Ballymore Group
The Hatton's Grace Hurdle is a Grade 1 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 about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.
The Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race 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 during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February.
The Drinmore Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged four 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 in late November or early December.
The Red Mills Trial Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Gowran Park in February, over a distance of about 2 miles and during the race there are nine hurdles to be jumped. It was downgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 3 in 2017.
The Donohoe Marquees Novice Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt novice hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Fairyhouse, over a distance of 2 miles and it is scheduled to take 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. It is currently sponsored by Donohoe Marquees. During the 1990s it was known as the Jameson Gold Cup (Novice) Hurdle and during the 1970s & 1980s was known as the Fingal Hurdle.
Like-A-Butterfly was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who competed in National Hunt racing. Although she did not begin competing in public until she was seven years old she had a successful racing career, winning twelve of her seventeen races, including five at Grade I level. She was unbeaten in three National Hunt Flat races including the Champion INH Flat Race and her first five over hurdles including the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, Deloitte Novice Hurdle and Supreme Novices' Hurdle. She won the Irish Champion Hurdle but missed the whole of the next season through injury. In her final season she competed in steeplechases and won three times including the Powers Gold Cup and the Mildmay Novices' Chase. After retiring from racing she produced five foals before dying of horse colic at the age of nineteen.
Champagne Fever is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is noted for his front-running style and has won seven of his thirteen races. After beginning his racing career on the amateur point-to-point circuit he became the dominant National Hunt Flat performer in Britain and Ireland in 2012, winning the Champion Bumper and the Champion INH Flat Race. In the following season he was campaigned in novice hurdle races and won two more Grade I races, the Deloitte Novice Hurdle in Ireland and Supreme Novices' Hurdle in England. In his first season over steeplechase fences he won one minor race and finished second in the Arkle Challenge Trophy and in the following year he added win in the Clonmel Oil Chase and Red Mills Chase.
The Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to mares aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse Racecourse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdle to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late March or early April at Fairyhouse's Easter meeting.
The Joe Mac Novice Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt novice hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Tipperary over a distance of about 2 miles, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
The Down Royal Mares Novice Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to mares aged four years or older. It is run at Down Royal over a distance of 2 miles and half a furlong. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October or early November.
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.
Nichols Canyon was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his performances in National Hunt races. He showed good form on the flat before emerging as an outstanding performer in hurdle races. In his first two seasons of competition he raced on the flat and won three of his ten races including the Noel Murless Stakes and the Prix Denisy as well as finishing second in the St Simon Stakes.
Honeysuckle is a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. Over a career spanning five seasons, she won seventeen of her nineteen races, including two Champion Hurdles, two Mares' Hurdles, three Irish Champion Hurdles and two Punchestown Champion Hurdles. She was trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore in all her races under rules. Retired to paddocks at the age of nine, Honeysuckle produced her first foal in March 2024.
Penhill is a British-bred racehorse best known for his achievements in National Hunt racing. Racing on the flat in England he showed good form in handicap races, winning five times from eighteen starts. When transferred to Ireland to race over obstacles he was one of the best Novice Hurdlers of the 2016/2017 season, winning six races including the Joe Mac Novice Hurdle, Guinness Novice Hurdle and Spa Novices' Hurdle. His subsequent career was disrupted by chronic injury problems but he recorded his biggest win in March 2018 when he won the Stayers' Hurdle.
