Navan will be set to command national attention on Sunday, February 8, afternoon as Boyne Hurdle Day returns with a compact yet high-quality seven-race programme, unfolding from 1:50pm to 4:50pm. With Cheltenham drawing closer, this meeting will arrive at a crucial point in the jumps season, and the Grade 2 William Hill Boyne Hurdle will stand firmly at its centre, offering €45,000 in prize money and a revealing test of staying hurdle form.
The curtain-raiser at 1:50pm will be the Navan Ford & Opel Maiden Hurdle, a contest for four-year-olds and upward over two miles. Eleven runners will line up to negotiate nine hurdles, with €12,000 on offer, setting an early tone for a day built around stamina and progression.
At 2:20pm, attention will shift to Listed company in The Ryan’s Cleaning Apple’s Jade Mares Novice Hurdle. Run over two miles and four furlongs with eleven hurdles to be jumped, this €23,500 event will see nine mares tested in a race that often shapes the spring narrative for emerging female hurdlers.
The spotlight will intensify at 2:50pm with The William Hill Boyne Hurdle, a Grade 2 contest for five-year-olds and upward staged over 2m5f180y offering €45,000 in prize money. Six runners will tackle twelve hurdles in a race that has historically served as a launchpad for Festival ambitions.
Gordon Elliott will be strongly represented through Staffordshire Knot, ridden by Jack Kennedy, and Better Days Ahead, partnered by Danny Gilligan. Henry De Bromhead’s Hiddenvalley Lake, with Darragh O’Keeffe aboard, will bring proven resilience, while Willie Mullins will rely on Irancy under Mark Walsh. Colonel Mustard, trained by Mrs Lorna Fowler and ridden by John Shinnick, and Maxxum, with Jordan Gainford for Elliott, will complete a field rich in depth and experience.
The action will continue at 3:20pm with The Gibney’s of Malahide Handicap Hurdle, another stamina-sapping assignment over the same 2m5f180y trip. Eleven runners will face twelve hurdles for a €11,500 prize, offering opportunities for improvers to step forward in a competitive handicap setting.
At 3:50pm, chasing quality will take centre stage in the William Hill Racing Builder Ten Up Novice Chase, a Grade 2 contest over three miles. Five runners will tackle seventeen fences for €37,500, making it a crucial test for novice chasers with long-term staying credentials.
The depth of the card will be underlined at 4:20pm by The William Hill Each Way Extra Handicap Chase, a three-mile endurance challenge featuring a full field of eighteen runners. With seventeen fences and €15,000 on offer, this race promises relentless pressure from start to finish.
The meeting will conclude at 4:50pm with The William Hill Irish Racing (Pro/Am) Flat Race, a two-mile contest for four-year-olds and upward. Ten runners will compete for €10,500, closing the afternoon with a platform for future jumping prospects to announce themselves.
Boyne Hurdle Day at Navan will blend tradition with timely significance, offering proven names, emerging talent and meaningful clues for the weeks ahead. In Navan Racecards 8 February, this Grade 2 showcase will be poised to deliver clarity, quality and momentum at a defining stage of the jumps season.
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