|}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 Betfair Exchange Trophy Handicap Hurdle, and the race is now scheduled to be run in December.[1]
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.
Most successful horse since 1969 (2 wins):
Leading jockey since 1969 (4 wins):
Leading trainer since 1969 (6 wins):
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| 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 | |
| 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 | 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 |
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