The December Festival Hurdle, currently known by its sponsored title of the Matheson Hurdle, 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 ...

hurdle race in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 four years or older. It is run at

Leopardstown Leopardstown (), historically called Ballinlore, is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. With institutional lands and a large racecourse, it is divided by the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorw ...

over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Christmas Festival meeting in late December. Prior to 2013 the race was named the Istabraq Festival Hurdle in honour of

Istabraq Istabraq (23 May 1992 – 25 July 2024) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was most famous for his hurdling. He won the Champion Hurdle on three consecutive occasions. He was trained by Aidan O'Brien and owned by John Patrick McManus. Joc ...

, who won it four times. The race was run as the Ryanair Hurdle from 2013 to 2018 when

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

sponsored the race. Matheson took over the sponsorship from the 2019 running. Former titles of the event included the paddypower.com iPhone App Hurdle, Sean P. Graham Memorial Hurdle and the Bookmakers Hurdle. The race was first run in 1986, and it has held Grade 1 status since 2002. It is often used as a trial for the

Champion Hurdle The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...

. Four horses have won both races in the same season – Istabraq three times,

Hurricane Fly Hurricane Fly (foaled 5 April 2004) is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his performances in hurdle races when under the care of trainer Willie Mullins at Closutton in County Carlow in Ireland. He is a dual winner of the C ...

twice and Brave Inca and State Man once each.

Records

Most successful horse (4 wins): *

– ''1997, 1998, 1999, 2001'' *

– ''2010, 2012, 2013, 2014'' * Sharjah – '' 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021'' Most successful

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 ...

(6 wins): * Charlie Swan – ''Novello Allegro (1992), Theatreworld (1996), Istabraq (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)'' Most successful trainer (11 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 ...

- ''Hurricane Fly (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), Nichols Canyon (2015), Sharjah (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), State Man (2022, 2023)''

Winners

References

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
– ''December Festival Hurdle – Leopardstown.'' {{Race Meeting, Christmas Festival (Leopardstown), Turf National Hunt races in Ireland National Hunt hurdle races Leopardstown Racecourse

Records

Winners

See also

References