The Irish Gold Cup (
Irish: Corn Óir na hÉireann) is a Grade 1
National Huntsteeplechase in
Ireland which is open to
horses aged five years or older. It is run at
Leopardstown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February.
The event was first run in 1987, and it was originally titled the Vincent O'Brien Irish Gold Cup. It was named after
Vincent O'Brien (1917–2009), who was a successful
racehorse trainer. The race was renamed the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1991, when
Hennessy began sponsoring and it was often referred to as the "Irish Hennessy", as there was also a long-established chase in Great Britain called the
Hennessy Gold Cup. Hennessy's sponsorship ended after the 2015 running and the 2016 event was run as the unsponsored Irish Gold Cup.[1]Unibet sponsored the Irish Gold Cup from 2017 to 2019.[2] In 2017, it was run as the Stan James Irish Gold Cup Chase and in 2018 and 2019 as the Unibet Irish Gold Cup. Since 2020 the race has been sponsored by
Paddy Power.
Throughout its history the race has served as a leading trial for the
Cheltenham Gold Cup. Four horses have won both events in the same year – Jodami (1993), Imperial Call (1996),
Sizing John (2017) and Galopin Des Champs (2023 and 2024).