18:00 Leopardstown

Ireland

Unio Employee Benefits Handicap

7f · Flat · Good To Yielding · 14 runners · €9,000 · Thursday, 20 August 2026

Result

Race report

AI top pick was a non-runner

1st
Naoi (IRE)
Sam Coen·W McCreery
20/1·21.00
SP
2nd
Free Solo (IRE)
Ben Coen·P J F Murphy·beaten .75 lengths
20/1·21.00
SP
3rd
Ninth Crusade (IRE)
Jamie Powell·M D O'Callaghan·beaten 0.3 lengths
33/1·34.00
SP

Race time

1m 26.64s

Race time recorded.

In-running (Naoi (IRE))

“Slow to break and settled near the back - pushed along and made headway inside two furlongs - sixth with a furlong left before finishing strongly to hit the front close home”

Settled · 1pt level stake = 20.00 pt return on the winnerTipping P&L →

Furlong's verdict

Reading the form…

AI-written, grounded in our data on this race. May be wrong. Verify before staking. Opinion, not advice.

Pundit corner

Racing Post · third-party

Pundit pick: Sporting Hero

Sporting Hero heads a wide-open 21-runner field at Leopardstown over seven furlongs on good-to-firm ground, rated narrowly ahead of Faoladh and a pound or two clear of Ninth Crusade and Altimara, though in a contest of this size the ratings advantage offers only modest reassurance. Faoladh and Ninth Crusade represent the most pressing threats and could easily outrun their ratings in a large-field sprint, while Altimara is not without claims either. With confidence limited, Sporting Hero is selected on the strength of that narrow edge, but punters should be aware this is a difficult race to call in a field of 21. Sporting Hero is our selection.

Editorial from Racing Post analysts via the Racing API — not generated by Racing Alpha. Formbook forecast prices are estimates, not market prices.

Why the model rates this top

Mr Perth

Wayne Lordan · M C Grassick · 3yo

Top-rated of 14

score 50.5 · +1.2 clear of next best (49.3)

Scores compare runners within this race only

The Racing Alpha rating combines four signals. Below is the breakdown — components driving this pick first.

Freshness10% weight
100very strong
20d since last run (race-fit window)
Trainer20% weight
83small sample (n=3)
M C Grassick: 1/3 winners last 14d (33%) — too few recent runs to judge the yard
Ratings50% weight
44below average
OR 66
Form20% weight
10weak
Last 6: 8-7-0-7

MarketNo market price available yet.

v1.3 rating — a field-relative score, not a win probability; for market-derived value see the Fair column in the runners table. Weights and method on /about. Tips are opinions, not advice.

Draw bias — Leopardstown 7f

full course data →

Moderate: low (inside) favoured (IV 1.16).

Low (1–7)

IV 1.16

Mid (8–14)

IV 0.88

High (15–21)

IV 0.94

Today: Mr Perth (draw 4) and Sporting Hero (draw 1) get the bias; La La Lucrative (draw 9) is in the least-favoured band.

IV = impact value: 1.00 is neutral, above it a stall band wins more often than its share of runners predicts. 180 qualifying races at this course and trip, 3-year window.

Runners · sorted by finishing position

Pos	No.	Horse	Form	Wt	OR	RPR	TS	AI	SP
1	3	Naoi J: Sam Coen(5) · T: W McCreery · draw 10 4yo · F · b	3338	9-10	66	—	—	38.0	20/1·21.00 SP
2	7	Free Solo J: Ben Coen · T: P J F Murphy · draw 19 9yo · G · chtp	070659	9-07	63	—	—	39.3	20/1·21.00 SP
3	20	Ninth Crusade J: Jamie Powell · T: M D O'Callaghan · draw 18 3yo · G · bt	70626	9-13	74	—	—	48.2	33/1·34.00 SP
4	11	Bear Right J: Shane Foley · T: Mrs John Harrington · draw 3 3yo · F · bp	734332	9-04	65	—	—	45.3	3/1F·4.00 SP
5	15	Shamanka J: Jack Cleary(5) · T: Harry Cleary · draw 11 4yo · F · bt	30040	9-02	58	—	—	41.0	80/1·81.00 SP
6	16	Brains J: Reese Holohan(7) · T: R Donohoe · draw 5 10yo · G · btb	426575	9-00	56	—	—	34.7	12/1·13.00 SP
7	9	Phoenix Pairc J: Paddy Harnett(5) · T: W McCreery · draw 12 4yo · F · gt	90070	9-06	62	—	—	37.0	10/1·11.00 SP
8	6	All Hail J: Gary Carroll · T: A Oliver · draw 7 3yo · G · bb	28409	9-08	69	—	—	43.0	18/1·19.00 SP
9	2	Altimara J: Donagh O'Connor · T: Ross O'Sullivan · draw 8 5yo · M · b	70965	9-12	68	—	—	40.2	7/2·4.50 SP
10	19	Jazzit J: Wesley Joyce(3) · T: T G McCourt · draw 14 4yo · G · bp	058832	8-09	51	—	—	35.5	4/1·5.00 SP
11	21	Sporting Hero J: Jamie Orr(7) · T: William Durkan · draw 1 6yo · G · b	106100	10-05	75	—	—	49.3	50/1·51.00 SP
12	13	Zheleznaya Dama J: Rory Cleary · T: Brendan W Duke · draw 16 3yo · F · ch	3P521	9-04	65	—	—	44.5	15/2·8.50 SP
13	14	Hazrama J: Chris Hayes · T: D K Weld · draw 2 3yo · F · ch	000	9-03	64	—	—	33.3	25/1·26.00 SP
14	8	Ballymagreehan J: Luke McAteer · T: David Marnane · draw 13 4yo · G · b	601779	9-06	62	—	—	32.3	11/1·12.00 SP
—	—	Kc Bear J: Nicola Burns(5) · T: Noel Meade · draw 17 3yo · G · b	12428	9-04	65	—	—	40.2	—
—	—	Mr Perth J: Wayne Lordan · T: M C Grassick · draw 4 3yo · G · ch	8707	9-05	66	—	—	50.5	—
—	—	Rappell J: Seamie Heffernan · T: Paul W Flynn · draw 20 5yo · G · chtb	906210	9-10	66	—	—	40.4	—
—	—	Oppenheimer J: Leigh Roche · T: Kevin Thomas Coleman · draw 15 3yo · G · b	87074	8-12	59	—	—	36.5	—
—	—	Gordon Bennett J: Robert Whearty · T: Peter Fahey · draw 21 8yo · G · b	60390	9-00	56	—	—	31.6	—
—	—	Faoladh J: Adam Browne-Souza(7) · T: Andrew Slattery · draw 6 4yo · G · b	169001	10-01	71	—	—	43.4	—
—	—	La La Lucrative J: Robbie Colgan · T: Matthew J Smith · draw 9 5yo · G · b	71814	9-09	65	—	—	43.3	—

OR = official rating · AI = model score (0–100) · form reads oldest → latest

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 18:00 Leopardstown on 20 August 2026?

Naoi (IRE) won the 18:00 Leopardstown at SP 21.00. Ridden by Sam Coen. Trained by W McCreery.

Did the Racing Alpha AI tip win the 18:00 Leopardstown?

No — the AI top pick (Mr Perth) was a non-runner or unplaced.

What were the placings in the 18:00 Leopardstown?

Top finishers: 1. Naoi (IRE) (21.00), 2. Free Solo (IRE) (21.00), 3. Ninth Crusade (IRE) (34.00).

What was the winning time for the 18:00 Leopardstown?

The winning time was 1m 26.64s.

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