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Sport of Kings

O’LEARY’S ANIMAL WELFARE FANS

April 18, 2019

MICHAEL O’LEARY’S surprising idea of offering Don Poli and Outlander for sale two days before the Aintree Grand National certainly bore fruit. The... Read more »

DECLAN MCDONOGH’S DEMOTION

April 18, 2019

THIS TIME of year, as the flat season gets into full swing, a few jockeys sometimes get promoted – or vice versa –... Read more »

BOLGER’S BLAST OFF

April 4, 2019

NAAS RACECOURSE welcomed the Irish flat season back recently and while there was the usual domination by the ‘establishment’, there were also examples... Read more »

HEAVY GOING AT AIRO AGM

April 4, 2019

THE ASSOCIATION of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO) held their AGM last week, and the going was far from good. There could be changes... Read more »

RICH RICCI’S PR COUP

April 4, 2019

RICH RICCI has pulled off something of a PR coup after personally teaming up with BetVictor to honour antepost bets that had been... Read more »

MICK O’LEARY’S CAST OFFS

April 4, 2019
MICK O’LEARY has never been one to miss a marketing opportunity in his professional life and it looks like his racing arm will exploit... Read more »

DECLAN LAVERY’S SURPRISE BAN

March 21, 2019

A GROUP of Irish amateur jockeys felt the full force of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) at Cheltenham when the trio of Declan... Read more »

RICCI FEELS THE HEAT

March 21, 2019
CHELTENHAM provided liberal helpings of thrills. There was also karma of sorts at play when the Rich Ricci-owned Benie Des Dieux, considered by many... Read more »

BOOM GETTING BOOMIER

March 21, 2019

FANS OF Goldhawk may not have been too surprised to see Sean Mulryan in the winners’ enclosure at Cheltenham last week (see The... Read more »

BLACKMORE’S BRACE

March 21, 2019

DESPITE HER ascension into the top tier of jump jockeys, Rachael Blackmore still had a point to prove as, before the Cheltenham festival,... Read more »

BLACKMORE’S CHELTENHAM CHALLENGE

March 7, 2019

OVER THE past couple of national hunt seasons, the big sporting story has been provided by the rivalry between Willie Mullins and Gordon... Read more »

JESSICA HARRINGTON’S FIRST CHOICE

March 7, 2019

AFTER SUCH a successful beginning to their association, it was a surprise when Jessica Harrington announced recently that she had appointed Shane Foley... Read more »

HUMBLE PIE FOR HAYES

March 7, 2019

FORMER BETTING industry executive Noel Hayes had to endure an awkward moment recently when offering his punditry insight as a guest in the... Read more »

TOM TAAFFE’S TRIBULATIONS

March 7, 2019

TOM TAAFFE’S form-filling skills – or lack thereof – have been put under the spotlight recently. The trainer brought one of his horses,... Read more »

COOPER CUT LOOSE

February 21, 2019

BRYAN COOPER’S stint as first jockey to Chris Jones was certainly short-lived, with the association coming to an end just before the Dublin... Read more »

MULRYAN TARGETS BALLYMORE

February 21, 2019

COMEBACK KID Sean Mulryan – once again a major player in the national hunt owners’ league – took another step forward recently when... Read more »

JIM BOLGER’S TWO YEAR OLDS

February 21, 2019
SOME EYEBROWS were raised a few years ago when Jim Bolger sent around 20 of his mares to be covered by little-known stallion Fracas,... Read more »

ANDREW HUGHES’S HICCUP

February 21, 2019

THE BRITISH Horseracing Authority (BHA) offered little room for manoeuvre to a nonplussed Andrew Hughes when he made the trip to Scotland recently.... Read more »

AUBREY McMAHON’S APPEALING BEHAVIOUR

February 7, 2019

AMATEUR JOCKEY Aubrey McMahon obviously felt aggrieved over a five-day ban handed down by the race-day stewards at Tramore following his ride aboard... Read more »

SHEIKH MOHAMMED’S WEIGHT WATCHERS

February 7, 2019

GOLDOLPHIN, the racing entity of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, has had a change of heart over its heavy-handed approach to work riders. Early... Read more »

TROUBLE AT THE TOTE

February 7, 2019

HORSE RACING Ireland (HRI) recently announced the industry statistics for 2018 and, as expected, the figures pertaining to the betting sector made for... Read more »

NICK RUST’S ROUGH RIDE

February 7, 2019

IS THE British Horseracing Authority (BHA) – where Nick Rust cracks the whip – actually managing to bring the sport it is charged... Read more »

RICHARD FITZGERALD’S PRIORITIES

January 24, 2019

THE SWITCH of live Irish racing from At The Races (ATR) to Racing TV has generated plenty of negative commentary since the beginning... Read more »

McNAMARA DROPS THE BALL

January 24, 2019

FORMER JOCKEY Andrew McNamara, who combines training with his role on the RTÉ racing team, was recently a guest on Off The Ball’s... Read more »

UPS AND DOWNS FOR COMER

January 24, 2019

IT’S BEEN a mixed start to the year for Luke Comer. The trainer enjoyed an early New Year winner when Mystique Heights won... Read more »

SOFTLY DOES IT AT LEOPARDSTOWN

January 24, 2019

WITH LITTLE rain forecast for February’s Dublin Racing Festival and with almost unprecedented firm ground conditions for jumps horses at this time of... Read more »

PHILIP FENTON’S RETURN

January 10, 2019

NEW YEAR’S Day at Tramore was a significant occasion for trainer Philip Fenton. It saw him register his first success since resuming his... Read more »

TED TALKS AT TRAMORE

January 10, 2019

TED WALSH had to be at his diplomatic best recently when he was interviewed by the race-day stewards at Tramore over the running... Read more »

ACCIDENTAL BY NAME…

January 10, 2019

THERE WAS no fairytale ending to the amusing story of Accidental, the Patrick Mullins-owned gelding that made his racecourse debut at Limerick over... Read more »

LEOPARDSTOWN’S TOUGH GOING

January 10, 2019

LEOPARDSTOWN’S Christmas Festival was by and large a very successful four days with unseasonally kind weather helping to draw good crowds to witness... Read more »

MARK WALSH’S MISTAKE

December 13, 2018

MARK WALSH, the expected heir to the throne as number one jockey to JP McManus, was not the darling of punters recently after... Read more »

MICK O’LEARY’S CLEAN SWEEP

December 13, 2018

GIGGINSTOWN HOUSE Stud has taken more steps towards total domination of the jumps game in recent weeks. This was particularly evident when Michael... Read more »

BARRY CONNELL’S BAD LUCK

December 13, 2018
BARRY CONNELL and his trainer, Alan Fleming, are finding winners scarce these days and it was presumably frustrating to be stripped of one they... Read more »

JOHN BUTLER’S BANJAXED HORSE

December 13, 2018

NEWMARKET-BASED Irish trainer John Butler has found himself in hot water with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which has suspended his trainer’s licence... Read more »

John Magnier has been thrust into the spotlight thanks to a legal dispute over the 750-acre Barne Estate in Tipperary, while Moya Doherty had a problem with her neighbour.

GOING GETS TOUGH AT GOFFS

November 29, 2018

THESE ARE testing times for a lot of people in the bloodstock industry and breeders were recently reminded that there is no demand... Read more »

HENRY BEEBY’S HEADACHE

November 29, 2018

IT IS not only breeders who took a hiding at the sales as the reduction in demand clearly hit the auction houses. Turnover... Read more »