Latest Irish sports news headlines | The Phoenix Magazine

Sport of Kings

MICKO’S CLEAR-OUT CONTINUES

September 23, 2021
MICK O’LEARY’S annual clearance sale at Goffs UK in Doncaster takes on more significance nowadays, given that he is not restocking his squad with... Read more »

KEEPING UP WITH CHRIS TIMMONS

September 23, 2021
THE PRACTICE of dual licences, whereby a jockey can also hold a trainer’s permit, is not uncommon. Denis Hogan has been successfully riding his... Read more »

GORDON ELLIOT’S RETURN

September 9, 2021
THE NAME of Gordon Elliott will make a return to race cards this week after a six-month absence. While the Irish racing community tends... Read more »

GRASSICK’S TIMING ISSUE

September 9, 2021
IT WILL be interesting to see what stance Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) takes after the underwhelming lobbying efforts of the Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association... Read more »

ZEROING IN ON CATHAL BYRNES

September 9, 2021
RACECOURSE STEWARDS appear to be paying particular attention to horses trained by the Byrnes boys these days. Certainly, there was a fuss made recently... Read more »

WEIGHTY ISSUES

September 9, 2021
FLAT RACING is often decided by fine margins including the weight carried, with a couple of pounds differential often the difference between winning and... Read more »

ROTHWELL’S HARD GOING

August 26, 2021
TRAINER PHILIP Rothwell has been on something of a crusade all summer to find the perfect ground conditions for his horses — but he... Read more »

ABDULAZIZ AT EASE

August 26, 2021
THE ON-GOING involvement in Irish racing of alleged money launderer, Amer Abdulaziz of Phoenix Thoroughreds, came into focus again recently, due to the fact... Read more »

O’CALLAGHAN’S RISKY PUNT

August 26, 2021
MANY TRAINERS (Jim Bolger is a notable exception) operate on a business model based on investment into horses in training from third parties delivering... Read more »

PAUL MURTAGH’S LAW

August 26, 2021
THE IRISH Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) introduced new starting procedures in July, following a meeting between the Irish Jockeys Association, the IHRB starters and... Read more »

REAL MADRID’S BIG SPENDER

August 12, 2021
WHEN SWISS billionaire Georg Von Opel emerged from relative obscurity at Goffs two years ago and splashed a few million on some yearlings in... Read more »

AFTER DENIS EGAN?

August 12, 2021
HAVING BEEN compared in recent oireachtas hearings to an old boys’ club, and coming under fire over transparency and corporate governance issues, it is... Read more »

NEW RUNNER ENTERS THE FIELD

August 12, 2021
A NEW entry in the online auction business looks set to shake up the old guard of Tattersalls and Goffs. The British outfit Thoroughbid... Read more »

ST LAWRENCE’S LAW

August 12, 2021
THE BUSINESS of bloodstock agents involves the pounding of the sales grounds hoping to earn an honest or, now and again, a dishonest wage.... Read more »

ROTHWELL’S RANT

July 29, 2021
THE TRAINER Philip Rothwell has been moaning about ground conditions at some Irish tracks and it climaxed for him at Kilbeggan recently when he... Read more »

PISS-TAKE

July 29, 2021
THE CONTROVERSIAL Stephen Mahon continues to attract the wrong kind of attention, while he awaits the outcocme of his appeal for a four-year training... Read more »

MOLONEY’S CROWD CONTROL

July 29, 2021
WHILE IT is round two of an essentially spectator-free Galway Festival this week, at least the 2021 event won’t be quite as soulless as... Read more »

JOHN OSBORNE’S HEADACHE

July 29, 2021
WITH HORSERACING keen to keep its nose clean after the PR mauling casued by the Gordon Elliott affair, there was some serious head shaking... Read more »

DENIS EGAN’S HEADACHES

July 15, 2021
FOLLOWING THE announcement by Denis Egan that he is taking early retirement from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) in September, it is valid... Read more »

BEEBY’S UNCERTAIN RIDE

July 15, 2021
THE TEAM at Goffs is certainly confusing people with their ‘will they or won’t they’ approach to its premier yearling sale, the Orby Sale,... Read more »

SUZANNE SADDLES UP

July 15, 2021
COMPETITORS FOR the well-salaried role of Brian Kavanagh’s replacement as the head honcho at Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) may be surprised to hear that... Read more »

RONAN MCNALLY’S ARRANGEMENT

July 15, 2021
TRAINER RONAN McNally, who has hit the headlines on numerous occasions over the past two years, is under investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory... Read more »

AND THE BANNED PLAYED ON

July 1, 2021
EARLIER THIS year the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) handed out two six-month bans to two high-profile trainers – Charles Byrnes and Gordon Elliott.... Read more »

COMER’S RARE MARE

July 1, 2021
LUKE COMER seems as enthusiastic as ever about the racing game despite his usual lack of success on the track. The gelding, He Knows... Read more »

MAGNIER’S CONUNDRUM

July 1, 2021
AFTER NEGATIVE press coverage at Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s treatment of his daughter, Sheika Latifa, the headlines were rather more positive following the Irish... Read more »

BACK TO SCHOOL FOR SEAMUS HEFFERNAN

July 1, 2021
THIS TIME last year, the hapless Seamie Heffernan landed one of the longest whip bans received by any jockey. The French stewards banned him... Read more »

KAVANAGH SADDLES UP

June 17, 2021
FANS OF Goldhawk will not be surprised by the news that, more than 20 years after first serving a five-year stint as manager of... Read more »

STEPHEN MAHON DIGS IN

June 17, 2021
THE CHANCES of a positive outcome from Stephen Mahon’s proposed appeal against the four-year suspension of his training licence would likely attract pretty long... Read more »

BRIAN POLLY’S HEAVY GOING

June 17, 2021
THE ASSOCIATION of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO) continues to generate controversy. The latest adventure involved an EGM to allow members to vote on a... Read more »

DAVID DUNNE’S GAMBLES

June 17, 2021
THE NUMBER of open investigations on the books of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) continues to grow. Trainer David Dunne now finds his... Read more »

HUNTING LOGO HUNTER

June 3, 2021
RACEHORSES CAN make fools of even the top players in the game – think of Willie Mullins selling subsequent Grade 1 winner Skyace for... Read more »

KENNY’S KEBAB WOES

June 3, 2021
FORMER SENIOR gambling suit Kenny Alexander has become used to seeing his name in the headlines – linked to his star racing mare Honeysuckle... Read more »

BANKING ON THE MORANS

June 3, 2021
GORDON ELLIOTT and his team at Cullentra House will be crossing their fingers that there will be no loss of racing focus by the... Read more »

PHILIP ROTHWELL’S BAD DAY

June 3, 2021
WICKLOW TRAINER Philip Rothwell enjoyed his best year for a long time last season, which included training three winners at the Punchestown festival. But,... Read more »

BEEBY ROLLS THE DICE

May 20, 2021
THE NEWS that Goffs is wheeling out its tried and tested ‘Million’ formula this year came as something of a bolt from the blue... Read more »

JIM BOLGER’S DAWN RAID

May 20, 2021
JIM BOLGER has pulled off one of his finest coups in his 80th year with the repatriation of the stallion Dawn Approach. A former... Read more »