Northern Ireland Festival of Racing at Down Royal Racecourse
FRIDAY 1ST & SATURDAY 2ND NOVEMBER
NIFOR is the highlight of the racing year at Down Royal and the 2013 Festival is set to be the best yet. NIFOR is a celebration of everything that Down Royal embodies from the best and bravest horses in the National Hunt world, to the colourful silks in the parade ring complementing the stunning and eye catching outfits on display on JNwine.com Ladies Day.
Friday 1st November – Be there from the off
Feature races: EBF Lough Construction Ltd (Grade 3) Maiden Hurdle
WKD (Grade 2) Hurdle
The WKD Hurdle is the richest hurdle race staged in Northern Ireland and was won in 2012 by Monksland who made a super recovery after a mistake at the last to take the 2012 WKD Hurdle from Joxter and went on to win the Grade 2 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown.
Saturday 2nd November – Where Champions Are Made
Feature races: The Billecart-Salmon (Class C) Handicap Hurdle
The Powers Irish Whiskey (Grade 2) Steeplechase
The JNwine.com (Grade 1) Champion Chase
For many racing fans this is the day when the Irish National Hunt Season truly kicks off. The Saturday of the Festival is often used by trainers as the first port of call for their potential Cheltenham Festival hopefuls and the calibre of horse, jockey and trainer on show is second to none.
English Champion Trainer, Paul Nicholls cemented his strong record in the JNwine.com Champion Chase as Kauto Stone produced a superb display to land the Grade One contest in 2012 and emulate his half-brother’s achievements of storming to victory in the contest.
Off the track, JNwine.com Ladies Day on Saturday 2nd November is a celebration of racing style and elegance. The stunning and eye catching outfits on show throughout Ladies Day enhance the theatre and excitement of the Northern Ireland Festival of Racing.
On Friday 1st November, there will be a Punters’ Pack offer which includes entrance to the racecourse, Racecard, £5 win bet, bottle of WKD, hot beef roll and access to the Private Paddock Marquee. There will only be 500 Punters’ packs available over the festival, at a cost of £22 and they must be booked in advance.
Admission on Saturday 2nd November is £15. Discounts on admission are available for groups booking coach trips to the racecourse.
Visit www.downroyal.com for details on all packages and to book.
