The Dublin Racing Festival takes place in Leopardstown on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of February.
The racing is incredible but that's par for the course when it comes to Irish racing. It's the culture, the music, the comedy and everything else that's involved that really sets it apart as the ultimate weekend for Irish sports fans.
Here are five brilliant reasons to head to Foxrock this weekend.
Racing - Grade 1s Galore
The obvious place to start: two days of incredible racing will take place at Leopardstown this weekend. Simply put, the best jump horses in Ireland will be front and centre at one of Ireland's most iconic racing venues. The Unibet Irish Gold Cup on Sunday afternoon is no doubt the main attraction but there are six other Grade 1 races across the weekend. If world class racing is your thing, Leopardstown is the place to be this weekend.
The Rugby
If you don't already have plans in place, it's likely you're not heading over to Paris for the first weekend of the Six Nations. The question now becomes, where are you going to watch it? Luckily attending you won't have to miss a second of the rugby if you attend the Dublin Racing Festival. The final race on Saturday goes off at 4.40pm and France v Ireland kicks off just after that.
The Leopardstown entertainment concourse will have the match playing on all screens and there'll even be a panel of rugby experts to dissect the match.
Music
So you've landed a few lucky bets and you've witnessed a famous Irish victory in Paris - how do you properly celebrate? The Dublin Racing Festival has you covered there as well. The fun does not stop once the sport ends on Saturday. In fact, there'll be a bumper line up of entertainment which includes a performance from the inimitable Damien Dempsey and a DJ set by Fade Street star and influencer extraordianaire Vogue Williams on Saturday night plus a set from trad legends Stockton's Wing after Sunday's racing.
And if music's not your thing, don't worry because there's also...
Comedy
There's also a brilliant line-up of comedy featuring the likes of Danny O'Brien, Joanne McNally, Gearoid Farrelly and Fred Cooke.
Faugheen
A listed entry in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle, Faugheen deserves a mention all on his own. In 2016, the Willie Mullins trained superstar confirmed his place at the pinnacle of Irish racing by decimating the field in this very race. However, injury struck shortly after and he wasn't to be seen out on the track for the best part of two years.
His return at the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November was nothing short of exemplary. However, his follow up at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival was anything but ideal. Pulled up during the Ryanair Hurdle, it was just the second defeat of his career. Faugheen has been penciled in as a 6/4 favourite in the Irish Champion Hurdle and the racing world will be studying the race very closely to see if the 'Machine' will be back to winning form.
