Irish Arkle Novice Chase

The Goffs Irish Arkle Novices Chase is a highly-anticipated Grade 1 Steeplechase and is run over a trip of two miles and one furlong. The race is run annually in late January or early February at Leopardstown Racecourse during the Dublin Racing Festival.  It is open to novice chasers and there are eleven national hunt fences to be jumped.

Irish Arkle Novice Chase Overview

The Irish Arkle Novice Chase is a Grade 1 Steeplechase that is run usually in late January or early February. It attracts high-class novice chasers over a trip slightly longer than two miles. It often serves as a trial for the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival a round six weeks down the line. El Fabiolo (2023) was the last horse to complete the famous race double.

The race is run at Leopardstown and there are eleven fences to be jumped. This race carries a valuable first prize of almost €88,000.

Irish Arkle Novice Chase Betting Trends and Statistics

The leading trainer in the Irish Arkle Novice Chase in recent years is Willie Mullins who has won the race ten times with those ten winners coming from Missed That (2006), Golden Silver (2009), Un De Sceaux (2015), Douvan (2016), Footpad (2018), Energumene (2021), Blue Lord (2022), El Fabiolo (2023), Il Etait Temps (2024) & Majborough (2025). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Irish Arkle Novice Chase is Henry De Bromhead (3).

The leading jockey in the Irish Arkle Novice Chase in recent years is Paul Townend who has won the race four times. Those four winners came from Golden Silver (2009), Footpad (2018), Energumene (2021) and Blue Lord (2022).

The race usually takes a little over four minutes to run and the last three horses to have gone off as favourite have all been beaten. The winner is usually quite well found in the betting market as no horse has won this race with a starting price bigger than 6/1 in the last ten years.

Irish Arkle Novice Chase History

The first ever run of the Irish Arkle Novice Chase was in 1956 and it was run over a distance of 2 miles. The current title of the race is a tribute to the famous horse Arkle, who won this race in 1963. At the time of Arkle’s win, the race had the title of the Milltown Novice Chase. The distance of the race was extended by 2 furlongs in 1980, and then by an additional furlong in 1992. The length of the race was cut to its current distance in 1995.

The race is commonly called the “Irish Arkle” and takes place on the weekend of the Dublin Racing Festival. There is a different race, almost identical in both its name and format, that takes place in Great Britain in the month of March. Several winners of the Irish edition have also managed to prevail victorious in its British version, the Arkle Challenge Trophy. The most recent example of this feat is El Fabiolo in 2023.

Irish Arkle Novice Chase Winners