Latest Irish sports news headlines | The Phoenix Magazine

Sport of Kings

EMMETT MULLINS’S ID ISSUE

August 13, 2020

EMMETT MULLINS will be glad to see the back of this summer. The talented young trainer recently found himself in the headmaster’s office... Read more »

SHARK PICKS UP THE SCENT

July 30, 2020

CARLOW TRAINER John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has enjoyed some great days with the likes of Luska Lad and Hidden Cyclone but, like many of... Read more »

BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR ABDULAZIZ

July 30, 2020

MANY MIGHT have assumed that, six months after being accused in court of stealing $400m via an international Ponzi scheme with Russian links,... Read more »

HEFFO’S ZEROES

July 16, 2020

WITH HOTSHOT Ryan Moore confined to British barracks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ballydoyle stalwart Seamie Heffernan was being talked of as a... Read more »

FINE TIME AT THE IHRB

July 16, 2020

DENIS HOGAN’S appeal of a €3,000 fine incurred at the Curragh a few weeks ago over the running and riding of 50/1 shot... Read more »

LUKE COMER’S FORM BOOK

July 2, 2020

LUKE COMER doesn’t appeal as a candidate for champion trainer this season if the exploits of his early season runners are anything to... Read more »

FAMILIAR SOUNDTRACK AT THE CURRAGH

July 2, 2020

THE IRISH Derby weekend at the Curragh took place alongside a now familiar soundtrack, akin to Heuston Station, as the wind whistled through... Read more »

COOLMORE’S US SETBACKS

March 26, 2020

WHILE 2020 is still in its infancy, American racing has been rocked by another scandal after a two-year long FBI investigation. This revealed... Read more »

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 »

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 »

CROSSED WIRES FOR DENIS HOGAN

March 12, 2020

THE ACTIONS of senior management at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) – where chief executive Denis Egan calls the shots – are... 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 »

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 »

LUKE MCMAHON’S PUNT

February 27, 2020

PROFESSIONAL PUNTER and lucky owner Luke McMahon is readying himself for a major gamble at Cheltenham next month, without actually betting on a... 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

MICK O’LEARY’S RATING PROBLEM

January 30, 2020

WITH THE Cheltenham Festival looming, the thorny issue of Irish-trained horses being allotted higher handicap marks in Britain compared to Ireland has again... 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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »