Latest Irish sports news headlines | The Phoenix Magazine

Sport of Kings

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

IT’S A LONG TIME TO TIPPERARY

November 28, 2019

IRELAND’S ongoing wait for a second all-weather track isn’t coming to an end anytime soon if the chatter from Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)... 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 »

SUPREME SHAMBLES

November 14, 2019

THE SUPREME Horse Racing Club debacle still shows no sign of being sorted out and more fuel was added to the fire with... Read more »

LUKE COMER LOADS UP

November 14, 2019

NEXT YEAR could be a fruitful one on the track for Luke Comer if a shopping spree at Tattersalls is anything to go... Read more »

BANAHAN’S EVENTFUL EVENING

November 14, 2019

JOE BANAHAN, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) starter, had an evening to forget at Dundalk recently after a few issues with the starting... Read more »

DAVY RUSSELL GIGGINSTOWN BLUES

November 14, 2019

There appears to have been a juggling of the ranks by the Gigginstown team of Mick and Eddie O’Leary, with Davy Russell losing... Read more »

THE QUEUE FOR DUNDALK

October 31, 2019

HAVING TAKEN remedial steps to improve the racing surface ahead of the winter season, Dundalk Racecourse again finds itself in the crosshairs, albeit... 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.

COOLMORE’S CONTRASTING FORTUNES

October 31, 2019

AIDAN O’BRIEN’S quest to win Australia’s richest race will have to wait another year after his crack sprinter, Ten Sovereigns, trailed in last... Read more »

AIDAN O’BRIEN’S FIREPOWER

October 31, 2019

THIS YEAR Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s Godolphin has been enjoying a significant resurgence. And alongside this operation are all the huge British-based racing... Read more »

COSTLY ‘COSTLY DIAMOND’

October 31, 2019

TRAINER Pat Kelly’s record in taking on the stewards took a dent when his appeal over a running and riding incident didn’t go... Read more »

BYRNES BASHES THE BOOKIES

October 16, 2019

THE BOOKIES at Roscommon were caught on the hop recently by Charles Byrnes as the fearless punter carried off another successful coup via... Read more »

KEANE VS O’BRIEN

October 16, 2019

UNLIKE THE flat trainers’ championship, which has been won more or less every year this century by Aidan O’Brien, the flat jockeys’ championship... Read more »

ROBBIE COLGAN’S REPRIMAND

October 16, 2019

ROBBIE COLGAN obviously felt hard done by over a five-day ban handed to him at Listowel last month. This followed his second-place finish... Read more »

DAVID DUNNE’S ANXIOUS WAIT

October 16, 2019

NORTH COUNTY Dublin trainer David Dunne could be facing a hefty fine and or a ban if the findings of an ongoing investigation... Read more »

BLACKMORE’S BIG APPLE EXPERIENCE

October 3, 2019

It’s not unusual for some of the world’s top flat jockeys, like Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori, to be riding in different parts... Read more »

CONDON APPEAL FAILS

October 3, 2019

Curragh trainer Ken Condon has experienced the dizzying highs of racing with his stable star, Romanised, and the Classic-winning colt has certainly delivered... Read more »

SUPREME OR NOT SUPREME

October 3, 2019

The highly successful syndicate racing club Supreme Racing has been the victim of a vengeful doppelganger, who has set up an imitation Twitter... Read more »

GOUGH’S QUEST CONTINUES

October 3, 2019

The ongoing saga involving Jimmy Gough and the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO) is the gift that keeps on giving and it seems... Read more »

PRESENTING PAT KELLY

September 19, 2019

THE ENIGMATIC Pat Kelly – best known as the trainer of the Philip Reynolds-owned dual Cheltenham Festival winner Presenting Percy – fell foul... Read more »

BHA BLOOD WORK

September 19, 2019

THE BRITISH Horseracing Authority (BHA) has clearly stepped up its campaign to antagonise Irish trainers. Following several pre-race grillings of Charles Byrnes and... Read more »

FRANK FAHY FALTERS

September 19, 2019

MEDIA-SHY builder and property developer Frank Fahy hasn’t been spoilt with immediate success after taking the decision to get involved in a serious... Read more »

SETBACK FOR UNCLE SAM

September 19, 2019

COOLMORE STUD’S latest poster-boy stallion, Justify, has found himself at the centre of an American doping scandal after it was reported in the... Read more »

JP’S POOR PUNT

September 5, 2019

WHEN COOLMORE wonder sire Galileo began his 2014 covering season, his list of mares would have resembled a who’s who of the racing... Read more »

DENIS HOGAN’S TOUGH BREAK

September 5, 2019

THE UPWARDLY mobile Tipperary trainer Denis Hogan has become the first trainer for many years to have a horse disqualified due to anabolic... Read more »