The NI Festival of Racing at Down Royal on 6th and 7th November signals the true beginning of the National Hunt season in Ireland, when you welcome
back with open arms the chasers and hurdlers – old friends – that have been absent all summer.
The feature race of the weekend, the Grade 1 JNwine.com Champion Chase, is now firmly established as one of the top staying chases on the calendar. In 2006, the race hosted an epic battle which saw Beef Or Salmon just get the better of an epic battle with Gold Cup hero War Of Attrition to record his second win in the race.
Champion trainer in the UK, Paul Nicholls, has won the last two of renewals of the race. He won it with Taranis in 2007, who stayed on well under Ruby Walsh to beat Justified, while last year, the race signaled the return of Kauto Star, on a retrieval mission after losing his Gold Cup crown at Cheltenham the previous March. Victory in the JNwine.com Chase was just the springboard to the campaign that Clive Smith’s champion needed, as he went on to win the King George, and to become the first horse in history to regain the Cheltenham Gold Cup after losing it. Nicholls is readying the battalions again this year.
RACING ANDACCOMMODATION OFFER
Premier Inn Lisburn
1 night B&B with entrance for to the NI Festival of Racing on Friday 6th or Saturday 7th November £45.50 (€49.00) per person sharing
The Premier Inn offers value, clean and comfortable rooms and a warm welcome from the team with an adjacent restaurant serving tasty meals.
The Premier Inn Lisburn, 136-144 Hillsborough Road, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT27 5QY. Call 0870 111 2894.
www.premierinn.com
Flatfield Guesthouse
1 night B&B with entrance to the NI Festival of Racing on Friday 6th or Saturday 7th November – from £50 (€54) per person sharing.
71 Laney Road, Moira, BT67 0PA. Call Mrs Wilson or Roger Wilson on 02892 621 0509 or 07881 851 523
For more information on Down Royal Racecourse contact them on:
Tel: 0044 48926 21 256
Email: info@downroyal.com
www.downroyal.com
* Offer valid until 7th November 2009.
** Prices may vary due to exchange rate changes.