Latest Irish sports news headlines | The Phoenix Magazine

Sport of Kings

BRITS POUT

March 11, 2021

The furore surrounding the Gordon Elliott controversy shone a light on the lack of faith the British Horse Racing Authority (BHA) has in... Read more »

CHARLES BYRNES’S NEIGHBOUR

March 11, 2021

RECENTLY BANNED trainer Charles Byrnes has teamed up with a neighbour of his to enable him to run some horses. Byrnes signed off... Read more »

RUSSELL’S REVENGE

February 25, 2021

DAVY RUSSELL’S opinions tend towards the forthright but, nevertheless, he caught unsuspecting viewers by surprise live on Racing TV recently. The jockey was... Read more »

KIDNAP CONUNDRUM

February 25, 2021

BBC’S LATEST Panorama investigation into the current wellbeing and whereabouts of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s daughter, Sheikha Latifa, made for uncomfortable viewing, and... Read more »

POINT-LESS

February 25, 2021

RECENTLY, Horse Racing Ireland came under fire over the lack of opportunities for lower grade flat horses at Dundalk and the backlog of... Read more »

AMERICAN SIGH

February 25, 2021

THE EXPERIMENT of American trainer Keri Brion in basing a handful of horses in Ireland this year, while the US jumps season continues... Read more »

DENIS EGAN’S HEADACHE

February 11, 2021

THERE HAS been a full agenda for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) in recent times. In addition to dealing with a high-profile... Read more »

ABDULAZIZ UNSADDLED IN DUBAI

February 11, 2021

THE BELEAGUERED Phoenix Thoroughbreds were dealt another blow recently when the racing authorities in Dubai began refusing entries for Phoenix-owned horses. This effectively... Read more »

HANDICAPPING PATRICK MULLINS

February 11, 2021

IRELAND’S TOP amateur jockeys face an anxious time as they await to hear if a ban on amateurs riding in England will be... Read more »

CLAIM GAME

February 11, 2021

THE ANTIQUATED nature of the system put in place by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) for owners and trainers to lodge claims when seeking... Read more »

COOLMORE’S GERMAN PAL

January 28, 2021

THE COOLMORE gang seems to have cemented a strong relationship with a German billionaire named Georg von Opel. This looks to have resulted... Read more »

JOSEPH O’BRIEN’S JUMPING

January 28, 2021

JOSEPH O’BRIEN must be looking forward to the resumption of flat racing this spring after enduring a challenging time with his jumps string... Read more »

MULLINS BOWS OUT

January 28, 2021

IT IS very rare when a 24-year-old multiple Grade 1 and Grand National-winning jockey decides to hang up his boots without the excuse... Read more »

DRONE MOAN

January 28, 2021

THE LENGTHS some dodgy overseas punters will go to in order to get an edge in their betting has been highlighted by the... Read more »

NOT GOING THE DISTANCE

January 14, 2021

THE RETURN of dual Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo in the Savills Chase at Tramore on New Year’s Day was supposed to... Read more »

HOLDEN ON TO THE PRIZE

January 14, 2021

KILKENNY MAN Paul Holden and his trainer daughter, Ellmarie, have pumped a lot of money into racing in the past few years, both... Read more »

MOANING MULLINS

January 14, 2021

ANY DREAMS that 2020 might finally be the year for Gordon Elliott were dashed after Willie Mullins mopped up the majority of prize... Read more »

MICK O’LEARY CASHES IN

December 16, 2020

MICK O’LEARY may not be happy with the number of passengers flying with Ryanair this year, but he should still be able to... Read more »

PUNCHESTOWN BLUES

December 16, 2020

THICK FOG put Punchestown’s recent big meeting in jeopardy but the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s clerk of the course and Punchestown chief executive... Read more »

SARAH LYNAM’S FRUSTRATION

December 16, 2020

ALTHOUGH THEY represent one of the largest category of racehorse in training, it seems low grade sprint handicappers are getting a raw deal.... Read more »

PAUL BYRNE’S BIG PLANS

December 3, 2020

IN JULY, when The Shunter made his debut for trainer Emmet Mullins at Tipperary after an unproductive spell for his previous trainer, it... Read more »

RACECOURSE BLUES

December 3, 2020

THE NEWS that British racecourses can welcome back not just owners but also limited crowds with immediate effect is in stark contrast to... Read more »

MULLINS PREPARES FOR BATTLE

December 3, 2020

WILLIE MULLINS has finally taken the wraps off his army of national hunt stars after resisting running them until well into November. His... Read more »

KEANE’S AMERICAN DREAM

November 19, 2020

THIS YEAR’S Breeders’ Cup, held at Keeneland racetrack in Kentucky, was a mighty success for Irish trainers and jockeys, none more so than... Read more »

BOYLESPORTS UNSADDLED

November 19, 2020

BOYLESPORTS HAS received a sharp rap on the knuckles from the Gambling Commission in the shape of a £2.8m fine after a series... Read more »

GORDON ELLIOT’S CROCODILE

November 19, 2020

GORDON ELLIOTT has teamed up with Eddie O’Leary to very lucrative effect this year with a couple of young point-to-point horses. Elliott has... Read more »

STICKING IT AT DUNDALK

November 19, 2020

FLAT STAYERS aren’t particularly well catered for at Dundalk and, after some lobbying from Michael Grassick’s Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association, Horse Racing Ireland... Read more »

JOHNNY MURTAGH’S SECOND CHANCE

November 5, 2020

ON THE back of his best ever year as a trainer, Johnny Murtagh received another major boost with the news that he is... Read more »

NO MERCY FROM IHRB

November 5, 2020

DENIS EGAN’S Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) wielded its axe in no uncertain terms recently when disciplining little-known trainer Alan Wells. The handler,... Read more »

AIDAN O’BRIEN’S MIX UP

October 22, 2020

THERE WERE red faces in the Ballydoyle camp after it emerged that Aidan O’Brien’s two runners in the prestigious Group 1 Fillies Mile... Read more »

COLIN KEANE’S NEXT RIDE?

October 22, 2020

FORMER CHAMPION jockey Colin Keane’s bid to regain his title this year is providing an exciting narrative to this flat season, as he... Read more »

SHARK ATTACKS JOCKEY

October 22, 2020

JOHN HANLON’S good season hit a hurdle last month at Listowel when one of his horses, Comporta, was deemed by the race day... Read more »

CHAMPERS ALL ROUND

October 8, 2020

LUCK PLAYS a big part in the success or otherwise of horse racing, but one group of owners who must be pinching themselves... Read more »

TOUGH GOING AT GOFFS

October 8, 2020

FEARS THAT the value of bloodstock would plunge due to the effects of Covid-19 (see The Phoenix 25/9/20) were justified when Goffs staged... Read more »

OISIN MURPHY’S DRUG WAR

October 8, 2020

THE NEWS that racing’s latest poster boy, Oisin Murphy, tested positive for metabolites of cocaine at Chantilly in July could prove a major... Read more »

NO GAIN FOR AIDAN O’BRIEN

October 8, 2020

WITH HEAVY rain in Paris scuppering the participation of Aidan O’Brien’s main challenger, Love, in the Arc de Triomphe, a last minute scare... Read more »