Group 1 race | |
Location |
Curragh Racecourse Co. Kildare, Ireland |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1921 |
Race type | Flat / Thoroughbred |
Sponsor | Tattersalls |
Website | Curragh |
Race information | |
Distance | 1 mile (1,609 metres) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Right-handed |
Qualification | Three-year-olds excluding geldings |
Weight | 9 st 0 lb Allowances 3 lb for fillies |
Purse |
€300,000 (2016) 1st: €171,000 |
The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May.
The event was established in 1921, a year before the launch of the Irish 1,000 Guineas. The inaugural running was won by Soldennis.
It is Ireland's equivalent of the 2,000 Guineas, and in recent years it has taken place three weeks after that race. The field usually includes horses which previously contested the English version, and eight have achieved victory in both events. The first was Right Tack in 1969, and the most recent was Gleneagles in 2015.
The leading horses from the Irish 2,000 Guineas often go on to compete in the following month's St. James's Palace Stakes. The last to win both races was Gleneagles in 2015.
Leading jockey (5 wins):
Leading trainer (10 wins):
Leading owner since 1950 (9 wins): (includes part ownership)
1 The 1944 race was a dead-heat and has joint winners.
2 Kingfisher finished first in 1967, but he was relegated to second place after a stewards' inquiry.