Matron Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Irish Champions Festival)

Fillies and mares meet at Group 1 level over the Leopardstown mile on Irish Champions Weekend, a race that draws the leading distaff milers from Ireland, Britain and France. Our trends guide covers the profile, the draw and the shortlist.
Matron Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Irish Champions Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Matron Stakes Preview

Scheduled to take place in September of each year at Leopardstown Racecourse during the Irish Champions Festival is the Matron Stakes. Restricted to fillies who are aged three or older, this is a Group 1 race which is contested over one mile.

Next stop, the Sun Chariot
The Matron points to Newmarket's Sun Chariot, nine winners since 2010, heading there next. Three completed the double and several more placed — a fair return without being a certainty. So the Sun Chariot is the obvious target, but respect a Matron winner rather than blindly back it ahead of the next renewal.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Matron Stakes Information:

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Leopardstown tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Races Covered during the Irish Champions Festival section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Matron Stakes market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2018, when the race had an over-round of 112%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 129%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Matron Stakes, the over-round has been 118%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £118 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Matron Stakes Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Matron Stakes Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Matron Stakes races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Tahiyra (1:37.50) in 2023
  2. Chachamaidee (1:37.58) in 2012
  3. Blue Bolt (1:38.11) in 2026

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Matron Stakes next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 17 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -5.07. Ahead of the 2027 Matron Stakes, why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Tahiyra, trained by D K Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, who set the fastest winning time in the Matron Stakes. That runner won the race in a time of 1:37.50 in 2023. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer P Twomey and jockey W J Lee with Pearls Galore who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:44.36 in the 2022 renewal.

Matron Stakes Past Winners

Here are the Matron Stakes' past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Matron Stakes are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
1:38.11
Blue Bolt (IRE)
4yo 9-7 (9 of 9) 4/5F
Colin Keane
Andrew Balding (GB)
2025
1:38.93
Fallen Angel (GB)
4yo 9-7 (2 of 11) 9/4F
James Doyle
K R Burke (GB)
2024
1:40.67
Porta Fortuna (IRE)
3yo 9-2 (8 of 9) 5/4F
Tom Marquand
Donnacha Aidan O'Brien (IRE)
2023
1:37.50
Tahiyra (IRE)
3yo 9-2 (4 of 12) 5/6F
Chris Hayes
D K Weld (IRE)
2022
1:44.36
Pearls Galore (FR)
5yo 9-7 (7 of 9) 16/1
W J Lee
P Twomey (IRE)
2021
1:41.98
No Speak Alexander (IRE)
3yo 9-2 (3 of 13) 25/1
Shane Foley
Mrs John Harrington (IRE)
2020
1:39.77
Champers Elysees (IRE)
3yo 9-2 (8 of 11) 9/2
Colin Keane
J P Murtagh (IRE)
2019
1:38.81
Iridessa (IRE)
3yo 9-0 (4 of 7) 10/1
Wayne Lordan
Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE)
2018
1:39.23
Laurens (FR)
3yo 9-0 (5 of 7) 10/1
Daniel Tudhope
K R Burke (GB)
2017
1:41.89
Hydrangea (IRE)
3yo 9-0 (9 of 10) 20/1
Wayne Lordan
A P O'Brien (IRE)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Matron Stakes have been based:

  • IRE: 14 winners with an additional 22 placings from 143 runners
  • GB: 6 winners with an additional 12 placings from 40 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 2 placings from 5 runners

2026 Matron Stakes Replay


Matron Stakes Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Matron Stakes over the last 20 renewals is A P O'Brien, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Lillie Langtry (2010), Alice Springs (2016) and Hydrangea (2017). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Matron Stakes are D K Weld (2 wins) and K R Burke (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Matron Stakes trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
A P O'Brien44-3-13-12.50-15.15
D K Weld9-2-3-1.67-3.03
K R Burke5-2-4+9.25+6.65
J S Bolger8-1-2-4.75-1.15
W McCreery7-1-1-1.00-3.00
Joseph Patrick O'Brien6-1-1+5.00+1.25
J P Murtagh6-1-1-0.50-2.30
Mrs John Harrington5-1-2+21.00+11.54
P Twomey4-1-4+13.00+10.30
Donnacha Aidan O'Brien4-1-3-1.75+1.47

Matron Stakes Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Matron Stakes over the last 20 renewals is Wayne Lordan, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Legatissimo (2015), Hydrangea (2017) and Iridessa (2019). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the Matron Stakes are Ryan Moore (2 wins), Chris Hayes (2 wins), W J Lee (2 wins) and Colin Keane (2 wins). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Matron Stakes; Seamie Heffernan has ridden 13 runners in the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Matron Stakes jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Wayne Lordan11-3-4+23.75+12.15
Ryan Moore12-2-8-2.75-0.85
Chris Hayes8-2-2+19.83+9.50
W J Lee8-2-4+15.00+9.10
Colin Keane8-2-3-0.70-0.72
Shane Foley6-1-1+20.00+10.00
James Doyle4-1-3-0.75+0.40
Daniel Tudhope2-1-2+9.00+6.95
Tom Queally2-1-1+4.50+2.30
Tom Marquand1-1-1+1.25+0.75

2027 Matron Stakes Runners & Shortlist

The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2027 renewal of the Matron Stakes will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually made 48 hours before the race.

Matron Stakes Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +61.38, is when runners had a highest class placed of Class 1 (G1).

❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career start in the class; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-40.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 9 (3,8) [9 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 2 (1,11) [11 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 8 (7,9) [9 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 4 (9,7) [12 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 7 (8,1) [9 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Matron Stakes is Deauville; there have been a total of 6 winners of this race who ran at Deauville last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Goodwood; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Goodwood last time out.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Matron Stakes:

  • Galileo (3 Wins)
  • Danehill Dancer (2 Wins)
  • Siyouni (2 Wins)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was No Speak Alexander in 2021, winning for Mrs John Harrington at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of Shane Foley. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the Matron Stakes

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Matron Stakes. These are the races in which the recent winners ran before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Blue Bolt
Deauville - 1st of 8 (1/2)
Prix Rothschild
2025 - Fallen Angel
Deauville - 1st of 13 (119/10)
Prix Rothschild
2024 - Porta Fortuna
Newmarket (July) - 1st of 7 (10/11)
Falmouth Stakes
2023 - Tahiyra
Ascot - 1st of 6 (8/13)
Coronation Stakes
2022 - Pearls Galore
Deauville - 5th of 7 (10/1)
Prix Rothschild
2021 - No Speak Alexander
Deauville - 10th of 14 (23/1)
Prix Rothschild
2020 - Champers Elysees
Gowran Park - 1st of 11 (5/6)
Coolmore Stud No Nay Never Fairy Bridge Stakes
2019 - Iridessa
Curragh - 7th of 8 (4/1)
Irish Oaks
2018 - Laurens
York - 6th of 8 (3/1)
Yorkshire Oaks
2017 - Hydrangea
Goodwood - 4th of 6 (10/1)
Nassau Stakes

Principal races during the Irish Champions Festival

Saturday at the Irish Champions Festival

Leopardstown hosts the opening day of the Irish Champions Festival, the highlight of the day being the Irish Champions Stakes, a race dominated by Aidan O'Brien in recent years, with him winning six of the last seven renewals and having won the race a total of thirteen times.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Sovereign Path HandicapKrasimir (IRE)
3yo - 15/2
G M Lyons
Reese Holohan
Golden Fleece StakesDarkness Falls (IRE)
2yo - 1/1
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
Matron StakesBlue Bolt (IRE)
4yo - 4/5
Andrew Balding
Colin Keane
Solonaway StakesQuddwah (GB)
6yo - 1/1
Simon & Ed Crisford
James Doyle
Irish Champion StakesHotazhell (GB)
4yo - 50/1
Mrs John Harrington
Shane Foley
Petingo HandicapImmutable (IRE)
6yo - 25/1
Joseph G Murphy
Luke McAteer

Sunday at the Irish Champions Festival

The Sunday of the Irish Champions Festival is hosted at the Curragh with four Group 1 races, the highlight being the Irish St Leger. Aidan has not been as dominant in this, with just seven wins, two behind both Vincent O'Brien and Dermot Weld.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Bold Lad Sprint HandicapTango Flare (IRE)
6yo - 50/1
Patrick T Foley
Luke McAteer
Blandford StakesBarnavara (IRE)
3yo - 6/1
Mrs John Harrington
Shane Foley
Moyglare Stud StakesPrecise (IRE)
2yo - 11/2
A P O'Brien
Ronan Whelan
Flying Five StakesArizona Blaze (GB)
3yo - 11/2
Adrian Murray
David Egan
National StakesZavateri (IRE)
2yo - 15/2
Eve Johnson Houghton
Charles Bishop
Irish St LegerAl Riffa (FR)
5yo - 3/1
Joseph Patrick O'Brien
Dylan Browne McMonagle
Northfields HandicapShaool (IRE)
4yo - 11/2
J P Murtagh
Ben Coen

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Matron Stakes Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

About the author

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.

- James Banting, Content Editor

Andy Powell

About the author and editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

- Andy Powell, Content Editor

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