The Liffey Handicap Hurdle is a National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late January or early February .

The present race has evolved from the Irish Sweeps Hurdle, an event which was first run in 1969. This was one of several races which contributed to the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake, a scheme to help fund investment in Ireland's health service. Thousands of tickets were sold to the public, and each was allocated with the name of a horse due to run in a particular race. The tickets corresponding to the winning horse could yield a substantial dividend. The Irish Sweeps Hurdle initially took place at Fairyhouse, and it was then transferred to Leopardstown in 1971. In its early years the race took place in December, and prior to becoming a handicap it served as a major trial for the Champion Hurdle when it was won by champions such as Persian War, Comedy of Errors and Night Nurse, as well as the future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Captain Christy.

A second phase of the race's history began in 1987, when it became known as the Ladbroke Hurdle. This event was run at Leopardstown each year in January until 2000, but it was then switched to a different venue, Ascot in Great Britain. Since 2001 this has been the usual venue of the race, now named the Ascot Rotary Club Festive Handicap Hurdle, and the race is now scheduled to be run in December.

The Pierse Hurdle, named after its sponsor Pierse Contracting Ltd, was introduced at Leopardstown in January 2001. It had an identical format to that of the "Ladbroke", and it was in effect a continuation of the same event. The race was sponsored by MCR Group in 2010 and 2011, and Boylesports bookmakers took over the sponsorship from 2012. From 2016 to 2021 the race was sponsored by Ladbrokes Coral bookmakers - the race carried Coral's name from 2016 to 2018, and became the Ladbrokes Hurdle in 2019. It has been run under the present title since 2022.

Records Most successful horse since 1969 (2 wins): Comedy of Errors – 1973, 1974 Fredcoteri - 1983, 1984 Redundant Pal- 1986, 1990 Off You Go - 2018, 2019

Leading jockey since 1969 (4 wins): Tom Taaffe – Fredcoteri (1983, 1984), Bonalma (1986), Roark (1988)

Leading trainer since 1969 (6 wins): Arthur Moore - Irian (1979), Fredcoteri (1983, 1984), Bonalma (1986), Roark (1988), Graphic Equaliser (1998)

Winners Weights given in stones and pounds. Year Winner Age Weight Jockey Trainer 1969 Normandy 4 Terry Biddlecombe Fred Rimell 1970 Persian War 7 Jimmy Uttley Arthur Pitt 1971 Kelanne 7 11-06 Bill Smith Bill Marshall 1972 Captain Christy 5 11-06 Bobby Beasley Pat Taaffe 1973 Comedy of Errors 6 12-00 Bill Smith Fred Rimell 1974 Comedy of Errors 7 12-00 Ken White Fred Rimell 1975 Night Nurse 4 11-05 Paddy Broderick Peter Easterby 1976 Master Monday 6 10-02 John Harty L. Quirke 1977 Decent Fellow 4 11-04 Richard Linley Toby Balding 1978 Chinrullah 6 10-06 Gerry Newman Mick O'Toole 1979 Irian 5 10-00 Ann Ferris Arthur Moore 1980 Carrig Willy 5 10-00 T. A. Quinn Mick O'Toole 1981 no race 1981 1982 For Auction 6 10-10 Colin Magnier Michael Cunningham 1983 Fredcoteri 7 10-00 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore 1984 Fredcoteri 8 10-04 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore 1985 Hansel Rag 5 10-00 Anthony Powell A. Redmond 1986 Bonalma 6 10-13 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore 1987 Barnbrook Again 6 11-08 Colin Brown David Elsworth 1988 Roark 6 11-01 Tom Taaffe Arthur Moore 1989 Redundant Pal 6 10-00 P. Kavanagh Paddy Mullins 1990 Redundant Pal 7 11-05 Conor O'Dwyer Paddy Mullins 1991 The Illiad 10 10-13 Pat McWilliams Andy Geraghty 1992 How's the Boss 6 10-02 Jason Titley John Brassil 1993 Glencloud 5 10-13 Gerry O'Neill Noel Meade 1994 Atone 7 10-08 Kevin O'Brien Bunny Cox 1995 Anusha 5 10-02 Shane Broderick Michael Hourigan 1996 Dance Beat 5 09-12 Anthony Powell Jessica Harrington 1997 Master Tribe 7 10-04 Norman Williamson Jenny Pitman 1998 Graphic Equaliser 6 10-00 Conor O'Dwyer Arthur Moore 1999 Archive Footage 7 11-08 David T. Evans Dermot Weld 2000 Mantles Prince 6 09-12 Fran Berry Pat Hughes 2001 Grinkov 6 10-07 Charlie Swan Pat Hughes 2002 Adamant Approach 8 11-01 Ruby Walsh Willie Mullins 2003 Xenophon 7 10-11 Mick Fitzgerald Tony Martin 2004 Dromlease Express 6 10-04 John Allen Charles Byrnes 2005 Essex 5 10-08 Barry Geraghty Michael O'Brien 2006 Studmaster 6 10-03 Tommy Treacy Jessica Harrington 2007 Spring the Que 8 10-03 Philip Enright Robert Tyner 2008 Barker 7 10-06 Timmy Murphy James Barrett 2009 Penny's Bill 7 09-09 Sean Flanagan Elizabeth Doyle 2010 Puyol 8 10-10 John Cullen John Mulhern 2011 Final Approach 5 10-09 Paul Townend Willie Mullins 2012 Citizenship 6 10-03 Robbie Power Jessica Harrington 2013 Abbey Lane 8 10-08 Emmet Mullins Willie Mullins 2014 Gilgamboa 6 10-09 Mark Walsh Enda Bolger 2015 Katie T 6 10-09 Brian Hughes Kevin Prendergast 2016 Henry Higgins 6 10-10 Robbie Power Charles O'Brien 2017 Ice Cold Soul 7 10-02 Sean Flanagan Noel Meade 2018 Off You Go 5 09-10 Mark Enright Charles Byrnes 2019 Off You Go 6 11-05 Mark Walsh Charles Byrnes 2020 Thosedaysaregone 7 09-12 Kevin Brouder Charles Byrnes 2021 Drop The Anchor 7 10-05 Simon Torrens Pat Fahy 2022 Call Me Lyreen 6 11-04 Davy Russell Gordon Elliott 2023 Gaelic Warrior 5 11-12 Paul Townend Willie Mullins 2024 Lord Erskine 11 10-01 Darragh O'Keefe Harry Rogers 2025 McLaurey 6 10-02 Mark Walsh Emmet Mullins 2026 Bowensonfire 6 11-04 Jack Kennedy Gordon Elliott

Note: Some sources may not regard the current race (2001–present) as a continuation of the Ladbroke Hurdle (1987–2000).

See also Horse racing in Ireland List of Irish National Hunt races

References

Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

bbc.co.uk – Hurdle highlight at Leopardstown. – Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot, December 22, 2001.