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The Curragh stages the final race day of the 2026 flat racing season this Sunday, featuring a competitive eight-race programme and presentations to the 2026 Champion Jockey, Trainer, Owner and Apprentice Jockey.
Friends of The Curragh Irish Cesarewitch winner Chally Chute will look to win back-to-back QuinnBet Loughbrown Stakes when he lines up in the two-mile contest again this year. He will face stiff opposition from ten rivals, including Amelia Earhart, Asakir, Absurde and Snapretend.
The Austrian, Together Now, Contorsion, Shaool, Thread of Gold, In My Teens and the unbeaten Golden Splendour feature among the thirteen runners for the QuinnBet Finale Stakes. The listed race will bring the 2026 season to a close.
A total of 138 runners have been declared across all eight races, with the Keadeen Hotel Premier Handicap attracting 22 runners, the Mongey Communications Sprint 13 runners, the Ryans Cleaning Race 10 runners and the Isuzu Ireland Handicap 26 runners. There are also 20 runners in the Velo Coffee at the Curragh Maiden and 23 juveniles in the opening Irish EBF Maiden.
Billy Lee will be crowned Champion Jockey following an outstanding season which includes fourteen winners at the Curragh.
Aidan O’Brien will secure the Irish Champion Trainer title for the 29th time, while the Coolmore partners will receive the Champion Owner trophy for the 28th time, adding another distinction to their record in Irish racing.
The Champion Apprentice contest will remain much closer heading into Sunday, with Tipperary’s Sam Coen, County Laois teenager Reese Holohan and County Limerick’s Paddy Harnett all still in contention.
The Curragh will also make presentations to Wesley Joyce, who was voted by the public as the Leading Riding Performance of the Year for his winning ride on Genesis in the Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap.
Denis Hogan’s outstanding training achievements with Meridien, which include success in the Neville Homes Summer Fillies Handicap, have earned him the most votes in the Leading Training Performance of the Year category.
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