The Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase is a Grade 1

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

in Ireland which is open to

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

aged five years or older. It is run at

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

over a distance of about 3 miles and ½

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

(3 miles and 120 yards, or ), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is for

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The present version of the race was introduced in 2007, when it was sponsored by Ellier Developments. There had been two similar events in the preceding years – a Grade 2 race over a shorter distance (also sponsored by Ellier), and a handicap race over the same length. The new version was backed by Boylesports in 2009, and by Growise from 2010 to 2018. The Growise Champion Novice Chase is Ireland's equivalent of the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, but no horse has won both races since 2007.

Records

Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

since 2007 (5 wins): *

Davy Russell David Niall Russell (born 27 June 1979) is an Irish retired National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. Childho ...

- ''Quito De La Roque (2011), Sir Des Champs (2012), Zabana (2016), The Storyteller (2018), Delta Work (2019)'' Leading trainer since 2007 (6 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse horse trainer, trainer and former jockey. He is a nineteen-time List of Irish National Hunt races, Irish National Hunt Champion trainer. Mullins is the most successful traine ...

- ''Kempes (2010), Sir Des Champs (2012), Valseur Lido (2015), Colreevy (2021),Capodanno (2022), Champ Kiely (2025) ''

Winners since 2007

References

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Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

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pedigreequery.com
– ''Ellier Developments Champion Novice Chase – Punchestown.'' {{Race Meeting, Punchestown Festival, Turf National Hunt races in Ireland National Hunt chases Punchestown Racecourse

Records

Winners since 2007

See also

References