'Beautiful' conditions forecast for first running of showpiece meeting

The inaugural Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown this weekend is likely to be staged on ground described as beautiful by the track's chief executive Pat Keogh.

Seven Grade 1s and a host of other valuable races will take place at Leopardstown on Saturday and Sunday when some of the sport's biggest names will be in action.

The ground is described as soft over hurdles and soft, yielding in places on the chase track for a meeting that offers €1.5 million in prize-money.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Keogh said: "We issued a going report yesterday and it's not going to change a lot between that and the weekend.

"I think it will be soft ground on the hurdle track. It's beautiful, new ground, this is ground that hasn't been used.

"Out on the chase track it's soft ground with a bit of yielding in it and it won't move an awful lot from that."

Keogh, who also expressed his delighted at the number of British racing fans who are set to travel over for the fixture, added on At The Races: "There is some rain coming, but a bit of drying [weather] as well and at the moment the forecast for the weekend is quite good; coldish, but with very little rain around."

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