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Leopardstown Tips on December 28th - Christmas Festival Day 3 Tips

Jon Vine

Editor

Last updated: Wed 27 Dec 2023 16:12

Jon Vine 27 Dec 2023

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Tips for Leopardstown on Thursday 28th December
Two Grade Ones race will be run on day three of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival
Minella Cocooner, Irish Point and Farouk D'alene feature in our selections

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Leopardstown races. (Getty)

The Leopardstown's Christmas Festival reached its penultimate day on Thursday, with two excellent Grade One races featuring on another top-quality card.

I've taken a look through Thursday's races at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival and picked out my best betting tips.

Leopardstown Christmas Festival Day 3 Tips

12:05pm Leopardstown - Savills Maiden Hurdle Tips

I'm going to take a chance on WHALE HARBOUR (11/1) in the opener on Thursday. Gavin Cromwell's four-year-old was well-backed against Down Memory Lane on his hurdles debut at Down Royal and was yet to be asked any serious questions when he made a terrible error at the second-last.

What Harbour is by an excellent sire of stayers in Milan and his dam won over three miles on heavy ground. Stepping up beyond the minimum distance seems like a sensible plan and Cromwell has been striking at around 20% of late.

1:15pm Leopardstown - Rising Stars Beginners Chase Tips

Zanahiyr will enjoy the softening ground at Leopardstown, but he's always been a little suspect in the finish and chasing has been a secondary thought for this former Triumph Hurdle winner. Fact To File jumped fairly well on his chasing debut and, like Zanahiyr, he's a proven winner on fairly testing going.

MINELLA COCOONER (2/1) has a 400-day absence to overcome, but at the prices, he could be the value bet. Following an impressive novice hurdles campaign, Willie Mullins' star sat near the top of the ante-post betting for last year's Brown Advisory. Paul Townend's mount then picked up an injury after his runner-up finish on chasing debut to stablemate Classic Getaway, who won a classy race in excellent style earlier this season. Minella Cocooner is still only seven and remains a promising recruit to the novice chasing ranks.

1:50pm Leopardstown - Christmas Hurdle Tips

Home By The Lee and IRISH POINT (13/8) have flip-flopped in the betting for this Grade One, since the ground at Leopardstown turned heavy. The defending champion has every chance of defending his crown, but there's no doubt in my mind that Irish Point is the more talented of the two.

Gordon Elliott's five-year-old cruised to an impressive Grade One win at Aintree in the spring and kicked off this season with an easy win at Down Royal. Irish Point beat Tuesday's Kauto Star winner, Il Est Francais in a heavy ground French bumper, and his only poor performance in Ireland came on fairly quick ground. If he sees out the trip, Irish Point should win.

2:25pm Leopardstown - Savills Chase Tips

Read our full guide to the 2023 Savills Chase here on our website.

If you plan on watching any of Thursday's races from Leopardstown on a mobile or tablet, then check out our Savills Chase Live Stream page.

3:00pm Leopardstown - Pertemps Qualifier Tips

Heavy ground will be essential in all of the hurdles races at Leopardstown on Thursday. One of the few in this race who has done his best work on testing ground is FAROUK D'ALENE (20/1), who drops back to hurdling after two poor chasing runs since returning from a long-term injury.

Gordon Elliott's eight-year-old only ran three times over hurdles as a novice, beating that year's Albert Bartlett winner, Vanillier in a Grade Two on heavy ground at Limerick on his final start. Farouk D'Alene is rated nine pounds lower over hurdles than he is over fences and Carl Miller comes in to take seven pounds off his back.

Verdict

Leopardstown Christmas Festival Day Three

Leopardstown Day 3 Top Tips:

Irish Point

1:50pm Leopardstown

@13/8 - 10 Units

Bet £10 Get £40

in free bets

18+. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply.

Bet at BOYLE Sports

Minella Cocooner

1:15pm Leopardstown

@2/1 - 10 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

with bonus code NEWBONUS

Available to new customers only. Make a qualifying deposit of £5 or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify for 300% of that amount in Bet Credits, up to a maximum of £30 in Bet Credits. Once released, your Bet Credits will be held in your account balance and are non-withdrawable. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code NEWBONUS can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. #ad

Bet at bet365

Farouk D'Alene E/W

3:00pm Leopardstown

@20/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £40

in free bets

Bet at BOYLE Sports

Whale Harbour E/W

12:05pm Leopardstown

@11/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

with bonus code NEWBONUS