8 days from €950 per person self drive or EUR 3400 with 5* luxury, & a personal driver guide & tipster from the bloodstock world
Book Now - Tel +353-1-2889355 vacation@irishluxury.com US Toll Free 1-800-8945712
Horse racing can be incorporated into tours on other dates - click here for more information
Nothing beats the excitement of the races, and this is the perfect tour
for any horseracing fan! The trip includes a tour of the several
thoroughbred stables where you will get the chance to 
see the horses at close quarters.
There's a visit to The Horseracing Museum in Kildare, the headquarters of horse racing and the heart of the Irish bloodstock industry.
The
high point of the tour (and the Irish racing year) with some of the world's top horses competing in the
Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. Make no mistake this is the biggest party of
the year at an Irish racecourse and is not to be missed, where the beautiful
people dress-up, turn-out and party-on all day. There is always that essential feel-good factor which
cannot be induced artificially at an occasion - it's either there or it's not
and Irish Derby Day has got it in abundance.
In 2009 three of the top four horses in the world were trained in Ireland.
Kildare's reputation has attracted breeders from all over
the world. The Aga Khan owns Ballymany
Stud. Kildangan Stud is the palatial farm of
Dubai's Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, and his brother Sheik Hamdan set
up Derrinstown Stud. Prince
Khalid Abdullah has Juddmonte
Farms. Horseracing in Ireland is known as "the sport of kings", and with
good reason, too. In Celtic times, Brehon law dictated that it should be limited
to princes and noblemen. It is mentioned in ancient Irish manuscripts -
the beat of the hooves and the roar of the crowd have always thrilled the Irish
race goer - come and be part of it!
Saturday 26th June
Arrive Dublin where your driver guide will meet you and bring you into the city centre. Relax at The Merrion Hotel, the finest hotel in the city, with an excellent Spa. In the afternoon an expert guide will give you a private short walking tour of the City to give you a sense of place, and show you the local sites. This evening consider a traditional night of music, dance and song.
Sunday 27th June
Derby Day!
"And straight I will repair
To the Curragh of Kildare
For it's there I'll find tidings of my dear"
is
the melodic precursor to the race itself and the crowd sings along to the song
of Kildare as the runners make their way down to the starting stalls. There is a
buzz of expectancy like for no other race in the calendar. This is wildly
exciting and not just because it's a great spectacle but also because of the
meaning and resonance of the race. Arriving at Noon you will meet your
host for the day who will bring you to your reserved table in the dining room,
to establish a base camp. A wander around the grandstands and then back to
lunch and some tips on who is going to win!
The Irish Derby often decides which is the best 3-year-old colt in Europe as it
performs the role of a junction of sorts, attracting horses that ran in the big
races earlier in the year and getting them to face each other in a dramatic
showdown. It is truly a major world event in horseracing. It features some of
the finest racehorses in the world (collectively worth millions of Euro) owned,
trained and ridden by masters of their professions, competing for a prize of
1.25 Million Euro. Your expert guide will bring you into the owners and trainers
enclosure where you will get to meet jockeys, owners and
trainers, and maybe even here a tip for a winner!
Monday 28th June
To Kildare to see the Irish National Stud in the morning, and a private stud
farm and a training stable in the afternoon. Tour to Mount Juliet for the night. The stud here was founded in 1914
by 
Major Dermot McCalmont as a base for his champion racehorse The Tetrarch. The
stud is situated on 1,000 acres of exceptional land which has been farmed since
the Middle Ages by the monks of the nearby Jerpoint Abbey and later by the Earls
of Carrick. The McCalmont family enjoyed great success at Ballylinch and
developed several influential stallions including The Tetrarch, his son
Tetratema, and later Fortino (the sire of Caro) and Sassafras. They also
developed the highly successful family descending from the outstanding broodmare
Messopotamia, and in all bred eleven Classic winners at Ballylinch. Mount
Juliet, once the stately home of the Earl of Carrick, is now one of
Ireland's most prestigious hotels.
Tuesday 29th June
Tour to Adare in the West of Ireland, an idyllic village with thatched houses, ancient abbeys and a castle on the banks of the River Maigue. On the way visit one of the top stables in Ireland and spend some time in Limerick. Limerick is a big industrial city, famous as the setting for Angela's Ashes. Limerick Castle is a dramatic city fortress of Norman times standing guard over Limerick on the river Shannon. The castle was built in 1210 under orders from King John. It is one of the finest examples of fortified Norman architecture in Ireland With an imaginative exhibition, multi-vision show, excavations, war machines, 800 years of history unfold within its battlements. In the narrow streets that surround it are several small antique shops. Nearby is The Hunt collection, an internationally important Collection of some 2,000 original works of art and antiquity. It is a personal collection formed by John and Gertrude Hunt who selected each piece according to the quality of its design, craftsmanship and artistic merit - from the Stone Age to the Twentieth Century. Also of interest are The Georgian House & St Mary's Cathedral. Snuggled in a wooden and lush countryside setting, Adare is widely regarded as being Ireland's prettiest and most picturesque village. Situated on the river Maigue, a tributary of the Shannon river, Adare (Gaelic name: "Ath Dara" - the "ford of the oak" - from the combination of water and woodland) dates back, at least, to the early 13th century. The bridge by which you enter the village, in the shadow of the ruined Desmond Castle, was built in 1329. Two groups of world famous ornate, thatched cottages line part off the village's broad main street, punctuated with beautiful stone buildings, medieval monasteries and ruins. Your hotel for the night is the stunning stately Adare Manor.
Wednesday 30th June
Enjoy the facilities of the hotel or spend the day touring the stunning Lakes of Killarney, or to Cork City and Blarney Castle. Return to Adare for the night.
Thursday 1st July
Head up to Galway, home of the Irish Hunter. On the way meet a horse whisperer, see some stunning scenery, and visit a Horse museum. Overnight at the very luxurious and stylish designer hotel The G, in Galway city.
Friday 2nd July
Tour back to Dublin by way on one last race meeting.
The Curragh and Bellewstown could not be more different. Beautifully
situated with magnificent views of the Mountains of Mourne to the north and the
Irish Sea to the east, the tradition of local horse lovers racing at Bellewstown
every summer dates back centuries. The racing starts here at 6 pm. Overnight at The
Merrion.
Saturday 3rd July
Depart Dublin Airport
Your tour includes 7 nights accommodation including tax, service and breakfast, transport, and VIP entrance to The Curragh and Bellrewstown. Tours with the driver guide also include all admissions.
With a driver guide and 5 star hotels as described prices start at EUR 3400 per person.
With a self drive car and 5 star hotels as described prices start at EUR 1700 per person
With a self drive car and 3 star hotels prices start at EUR 950 per person
Adams & Butler - Luxury Travel Experts
Tel +353-1-2889355 Fax 353-1-2889282
book@irishluxury.com
US Toll Free 1-800-8945712