FESTIVAL FORMAT ANOUNCED AS BIG PRIZES RETURN
Ian Fortune
It may have been the Night of Stars for almost a decade, but the Winter Racing Festival is now firmly established as the end of year showpiece at Shelbourne Park. Of course, this year’s weekend of racing is much later than in previous years for various reasons but it will certainly be worth waiting for.
The details of the festival were released to yours truly yesterday afternoon and the first thing you will notice when you glance through the races is that the prizemoney has returned to incredible levels with six of the championship races on the second night of the festival worth €10,000 to the winner.
It’s also notable that there is a little something for everybody. There are races for sprinters, stayers, middle distance dogs, ultra-marathon performers, quality graders, syndicate owned dogs, veterans, novice stayers, potential Kirby Memorial challengers, juveniles and even a race for the Shelbourne regulars.
The festival is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, December 29th and 30th and it should be unmissable. We’ll have more on the festival in the coming days including reaction from the racing office and one or two others. The full breakdown of the festival can be found below:
The 2022 GRI Winter Racing Festival
Thursday 29th & Friday 30th December
Thursday 29th December
A1 Syndicate Owned 525 For 6 @ €20 Winner €1,000
AA0 525 For 6 @ €20 Winner €1,000
Con & Annie Kirby Memorial Trial Stake (Jan 21 or Younger) For 6 @ €20 Winner €1,500 + Free Entry to The Con & Annie Kirby.
Old Stagers 525 (June 19 or Older) For 6 @ €20 Winner €1,750
The below are Sweepstakes with the final to be run on Thursday 29th December
The Shelbourne Marathon 1025 for 18 @ €50 Winner €4,500 – First Round Heats Thursday 22nd December.
A4 525 For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Thursday 22nd December.
A3 (No Backgraders) For 18 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Friday 16th December.
A2/A3 Spk Regulars (Must have @ least 5 races around SPK)
For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,500 – First Round Heats Friday 16th December.
A1 525 For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Thursday 22nd December.
A0/A1 600 For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Friday 23rd December.
Novice 750 For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Thursday 22nd December.
A0 525 For 12 @ €20 Winner €1,750 – First Round Heats Friday 23rd December.
Friday 30th December
AA0 525 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
AA0 Bitch 525 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
AA0 550 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
AA0 575 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
AA0 600 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
DD0 750 For 6 @ €150 Winner €10,000
SS0 350 For 6 @ €100 Winner €5,000
DD0 850 For 6 @ €100 Winner €5,000
Juvenile (Sept 20 or Younger) For 6 @ €100 Winner €5,000
Syndicate Owned 550 For 6 @ €100 Winner €5,000
AA0 525 For 6 @ €50 Winner €2,000
AA0 Bitch For 6 @ €50 Winner €2,000
AA0 550 For 6 @ €50 Winner €2,000
**Owners & Trainers Please Note**
The Final Placement of Entries will be determined by The Shelbourne Park Racing Team.
Entries Close for One Off Races on Tuesday 20th December at 12 noon.