ATTRACTING British horses and racegoers is a major focus for Leopardstown Racecourse in the countdown to the first Dublin Racing Festival next February.

The new two-day jumps meeting, which contains all the best races from the track’s three post-Christmas Festival fixtures, has received widespread support since details were released earlier this week.

But track CEO Pat Keogh acknowledges that some of the leading UK owners and trainers will be slow to change the racing programme for their best horses.

“We’re very pleased with how the Festival has been received,” Keogh said yesterday.

“The coverage across all media has been positive and the reaction from Britain has been particularly strong. We’re already getting a lot of enquiries from British visitors.”

At this week’s launch jockey Ruby Walsh said he wanted to see Leopardstown packed for the event.

The biggest crowd figure recorded at Leopardstown in recent years has been 17,000 for Day 2 of the Christmas Festival, a figure which should be achievable on both days next February, Walsh said, given the 46,000 attendance at Croke Park last Sunday for the All-Ireland Ladies Football Final.

Keogh said yesterday he expects more than 20,000 to attend over both days, which would be a greater number than attended the Coral Hurdle, Irish Champion Hurdle and Irish Gold Cup days in total this year.

“I’d be very disappointed if we did not get more than 22,500 over the two days. That would be a starting point. We should be filling Leopardstown and I believe these racedays will be all-ticket in time.”

With Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott so dominant at the higher levels of National Hunt racing, Leopardstown may find it a challenge to convince the top British owners and trainers to support the meeting. Yesterday trainer Colin Tizzard told The Irish Field he would be reluctant to send horses on a five-day round trip to Ireland five weeks before the Cheltenham Festival.

“We come to Punchestown but that’s after Cheltenham,” he said. “If we had horses with chances at Cheltenham I don’t think we would want to travel before then.”

Keogh said he has received more positive feedback from other leading UK handlers.

“I think they will support it. The prize money is brilliant and there is a clear gap in the calendar. We have pitched this meeting perfectly equidistant between Christmas and Cheltenham. Some trainers have their own patterns and plot the same campaigns for each type of horse. But we believe when they see the quality of our programme they will review their plans.”

Cheltenham’s popularity regularly overshadows all other major races which precede it. Keogh said: “It is frustrating to hear trainers being asked after winning a Grade 1 event ‘what race are you going for at Cheltenham?’ Yes, it is the Olympics but there are other fantastic festivals and the Dublin Racing Festival is an absolute destination in its own right. It will be a long road but we are creating something here for the long-term.

“This is not just a Leopardstown move, this is an Irish racing move. We must thank Horse Racing Ireland, the sponsors and the other racecourses who have helped make this a reality.”

The timing of the festival, on the first weekend in February, means that the Irish Gold Cup will be run a week earlier than usual.

It’s hoped that the switch will attract more top-class chasers. Keogh commented: “It was just a week too close to Cheltenham for some people. Bringing it back a week deals with that.”

Gordon Elliott described the new meeting as “a great job” yesterday and said he would be supporting it as much as possible. “The timing won’t affect our training schedule,” he said.

“The best initiative by any racecourse in a long time,” was Willie Mullins’ reaction to the meeting.

“The timing is fantastic, especially for the two big races and in particular the Irish Gold Cup which is a week earlier than usual allowing more time between the race and Cheltenham.”