Article Category: Sport of Kings

CHELTENHAM DID HAVE RACING

March 26, 2020

GIVEN THE mainstream media uproar over Cheltenham taking place, it is no surprise that the actual racing action took second place. As usual,... Read more »

BANKING ON BLACKMORE

March 12, 2020

THIS TIME last year, Rachael Blackmore was being tipped to make her Cheltenham Festival breakthrough. She duly delivered in style, booting home two... Read more »

HRI FOLLOWS THE MONEY

March 12, 2020

THE five-year strategic plan up to 2024 was recently launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and it contained no real surprises. The development... Read more »

DOUG TAYLOR’S JET SET

March 12, 2020

DUBLIN SUIT Douglas Taylor enjoyed five minutes of fame 10 years ago when he orchestrated a well-executed gamble on his horse, D Four... Read more »

AMERICAN PHAROAH’S FOALS

February 27, 2020

A HIGH-profile lawsuit in the US, in which Ahmed Zayat – former owner of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah – is being sued... Read more »

MARK BROSNAN’S BETTING PROBLEM

February 27, 2020

THE NEWS that betting-exchange company Matchbook has had its UK licence temporarily suspended by the Gambling Commission may not attract much attention. The... Read more »

THISTLE BLOODSTOCK FEELS STING

February 27, 2020

NOT MANY people would be willing to have a light shone on the fact that they gave away an injured racehorse to a... Read more »

FENTON’S FALSE START

February 13, 2020

PHILIP FENTON has been working hard to rebuild his training career after spending three years on the sidelines serving a ban for possessing... Read more »

BYRNES GETS BURNED

February 13, 2020

AS SOMEONE partial to pulling off the odd monster gamble, Charles Byrnes’s horses are often the subject of extra scrutiny by race-day stewards.... Read more »

NOT QUITE A DUNNE DEAL

February 13, 2020

WHEN TRAINER David Dunne received a €3,000 fine (including €1,000 towards Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s costs) after his 2019 Ballinrobe winner Druim Samhraidh... Read more »

CHRIS GORDON’S HIGH-PROFILE CASE

February 13, 2020

AFTER THE Association Of Irish Racehorse Owners saw it doing battle with a lawsuit brought about by Jimmy Gough (see The Phoenix, 6/9/19),... Read more »

PHOENIX RISES

January 30, 2020

DESPITE EXPLOSIVE allegations late last year of money laundering and using the proceeds of a crypto-currency Ponzi scheme to fund the investment of... Read more »

BRIAN HUGHES’S OPPORTUNITY

January 30, 2020

THE SAYING ‘one man’s loss is another man’s gain’ can often ring true in jump racing and the recent injury suffered by reigning... Read more »

JOHN MAGNIER’S FRENCH FANCY

January 30, 2020

COOLMORE STUD is known to be relentless in its pursuit of dominance in the breeding world and the latest acquisition by John Magnier... Read more »

TOTE’S WOES, O’LEARY’S WINNERS

January 16, 2020

LEOPARDSTOWN’S annual Christmas festival had its usual mix of thrills and spills and, on the whole, it was considered a fine week for... Read more »

NO LENIENCY FOR COLM MURPHY

January 16, 2020

THE OPENING day of racing in 2020 saw the stewards at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day hand out their first big fine of... Read more »

HRI CUTS ITS CLOTH

January 16, 2020

THE 2020 budget for Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) was approved just before Christmas and, given the government’s standstill allocation to racing, it was... Read more »

ELLIOTT’S CATCH OF THE DAY

January 16, 2020

GORDON ELLIOTT was obviously one of the chief beneficiaries of the Gigginstown success at Leopardstown, but he will also have gained plenty of... Read more »

DUNNE AND DUSTED?

December 12, 2019

THE CASE featuring the testing positive for an anabolic steroid of the David Dunne-trained Druim Samhraidh following his win at Ballinrobe in August... Read more »

DECLAN MCDONAGH’S OPPORTUNITY

December 12, 2019

DONNACHA O’BRIEN’S departure from the weighing room isn’t exactly great news for Irish trainers, given they now have another O’Brien handler to contend... Read more »

QUINLAN’S NARROW ESCAPE

December 12, 2019

THE WAR on drugs continues, but it remains a serious concern for the sport that such a high proportion of jockeys are engaging... Read more »

TIM HUSBANDS’S HOMEWORK

December 12, 2019

ONE PERSON who will be keeping a close eye on the racing at Leopardstown this Christmas is the track’s soon-to-be manager, Tim Husbands.... Read more »

KEVIN DOYLE’S NEXT GOAL

November 28, 2019

SINCE RETIRING from a successful soccer career, ex-Ireland international star Kevin Doyle has been keeping himself busy developing the family’s Slaney River Stud... Read more »

NOEL MEADE’S NEW TEAM

November 28, 2019

TED WALSH Jnr has experienced a varied career over the past decade, ranging from stints with the Irish Field and the Racing Post... Read more »

IT’S A LONG TIME TO TIPPERARY

November 28, 2019

IRELAND’S ongoing wait for a second all-weather track isn’t coming to an end anytime soon if the chatter from Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)... Read more »

JOHN CLARKE’S CONSULTING

November 28, 2019

HAVING SOLD his former Newmarket-based Plantation Stud to Mick O’Leary a few years ago, it looks like Dermot O’Rourke is consolidating his bloodstock... Read more »

AIDAN O’BRIEN’S FIREPOWER

October 31, 2019

THIS YEAR Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s Godolphin has been enjoying a significant resurgence. And alongside this operation are all the huge British-based racing... Read more »

THE QUEUE FOR DUNDALK

October 31, 2019

HAVING TAKEN remedial steps to improve the racing surface ahead of the winter season, Dundalk Racecourse again finds itself in the crosshairs, albeit... Read more »