Article Category: Sport of Kings

stud farm blues

December 14, 2016
THE YEOMANSTOWN Stud family team of Gay, Annette and their son, David O’Callaghan, have each pleaded guilty to possessing unauthorised animal remedies at their... Read more »

JOHN MCSTAY’S STUD FEES

December 14, 2016
THERE IS an interesting figure buried in the 2015 accounts that have just been filed by the Irish National Stud (INS). In a note,... Read more »

TOM TAAFFE’S COMEBACK

December 14, 2016
FORTUNES RISE and fall all the time and despite all the despondency coming from trainers’ camps these days, they can be a pretty resilient... Read more »

WILDENSTEIN SAVES THE DAY

December 1, 2016
A LOT of Irish breeders are taking a bit of a hammering at the moment. This was evident at Goffs foal and breeding stock... Read more »

BOLGER’S STRANGE STRATEGY

December 1, 2016
JIM BOLGER has generally tended to put his money where his mouth is. His early belief and investment in the stallion prowess of Galileo... Read more »

NO BRAINER FOR DESMOND

December 1, 2016
DERMOT DESMOND has never been a prolific owner of racehorses despite his staggering wealth but he seems to be dipping his toe in slightly... Read more »

TURF CLUB TASK FORCE DISBANDED

December 1, 2016
THE TURF Club’s anti-doping task force is no more, having been disbanded following the latest meeting of its 16-strong squad. The task force was... Read more »

CALLING ALL OWNERS

November 3, 2016
IT’S GOOD to see Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has wasted little time in allocating some of its generous budget for 2017 with the announcement... Read more »

O’LEARY GETting SOFT?

November 3, 2016
MICHAEL O’LEARY has found himself a new trainer and could there possibly be a hint of sentiment attached to his decision to send 15... Read more »

Mick O’Leary’s penny-pinching

November 3, 2016
GIGGINSTOWN House Stud seems well on its way to treating its riders in the way Ryanair treats its pilots. Boss of both operations Michael... Read more »

SLAP ON THE WRIST FOR DORAN

November 3, 2016
AS GOLDHAWK revealed (see The Phoenix 26/8/16), owner Tom Doran was rather aggrieved with the Turf Club over a case at the Galway Festival,... Read more »

40 SHADES OF GREEN

October 20, 2016
THE IRISH were doing plenty of business with each other in Newmarket this month as Tattersalls held its annual bonanza – Book 1 of... Read more »

THE CARTYS CASH IN

October 20, 2016
WHILE THERE is no escaping the fact that the top echelons of the sport of thoroughbred horse breeding are dominated by the oil rich... Read more »

John Ferguson’s cheque book

October 20, 2016
THE COOLMORE clan weren’t the only ones flashing the cash at Newmarket. John Ferguson was spending money at a hectic pace and finished the... Read more »

Kevin Sexton’s problem

October 20, 2016
Following the recent news that Danny Grant is facing time out over a failed drugs test, another jockey, Kevin Sexton, will also be facing... Read more »

A MIXED WEEK FOR BRIAN KAVANAGH

October 20, 2016
BRIAN KAVANAGH probably didn’t know whether to laugh or cry during Budget week. On one hand, he saw the Government dishing out almost €64m... Read more »

COLM MURPHY’S EXIT

October 5, 2016
THE IRISH jumps scene will be missing some familiar faces this season. Not only will jockeys Adrian Heskin, Davy Russell and Jonathan Moore be... Read more »

COBALT MILKSHAKES?

October 5, 2016
THE TURF CLUB has come under fire recently over its perceived inefficiency in implementing a new drug testing procedure for horses, particularly for elevated... Read more »

Davy Russell’s moment of madness

October 5, 2016
DAVY RUSSELL seemed to lose the plot at Clonmel last week riding Little Folke to a narrow victory for Henry De Bromhead. Russell was... Read more »

WILIE MULLINS’S ROUGH RIDE

October 5, 2016
MICK O’LEARY has managed to get into a stand-off with someone as stubborn as himself. Despite being faced with the prospect of losing 60... Read more »

GOFFS CHAMPIONS DAMP SQUIB

September 21, 2016
MUCH HAS been written about the success of Irish Champions Weekend and how the main race – the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes – can... Read more »

Ruby Jockying for Position

September 21, 2016
WITH Sir Anthony McCoy not in the running for a position in the ITV racing team (or else not interested in a position) it... Read more »

DANNY GRANT UNSADDLED YET AGAIN

September 21, 2016
JOCKEY Danny Grant is in hot water again over his troublesome eczema. Grant was removed from his intended mounts at Navan and Dundalk recently... Read more »

JOSEPH O’BRIEN V COOLMORE

September 21, 2016
JOSEPH O’BRIEN cut a slightly fuller figure recently when he made a brief return to race riding at Doncaster. On the training front, he... Read more »

CULLOTY AND RUSSELL RIDE AGAIN

September 7, 2016
AT LAST, jockey Davy Russell and trainer Jim Culloty have sorted out their differences. The pair famously teamed up to land the Cheltenham Gold... Read more »

GRASSICK GETS THE NOD

September 7, 2016
CONGRATULATIONS are due to Sally-Ann Grassick who has been selected to join the ITV racing team which takes over the terrestrial coverage of British... Read more »

POT LUCK for Henry De BROMHEAD

September 7, 2016
IT WILL be recalled (see The Phoenix 3/6/16) that Alan and Ann Potts have severed ties with their original trainer, Henry De Bromhead. The... Read more »

DAVID WACHMAN’S RETIREMENT

September 7, 2016
SO, WHAT next for David Wachman? After 20 years as a trainer, the 45-year-old has obviously decided there is more to life and plans... Read more »

LAVERY’S CLOSE CALL

August 24, 2016
SUMMERHILL, County Meath trainer Sheila Lavery had a close call recently when she almost fell victim to a scam. Lavery was contacted by some... Read more »

MORE MONEY FOR POWERS

August 24, 2016
THE EUROPEAN yearling sales season kicked off in glamorous Deauville at Arqana in France earlier this month and Irish eyes were certainly smiling, based... Read more »

WAGS’ MELBOURNE DREAM

August 24, 2016
THE SUCCESS of the Ruby Walsh-ridden Clondaw Warrior in the E300,000 Galway Hurdle last month sparked some joyous scenes. This was not surprising given... Read more »

ME TARAZANI, YOU EXPLAIN

August 24, 2016
DERMOT WELD usually ends the Galway festival week of racing as the top trainer, but the honour this year was claimed by Willie Mullins,... Read more »