Article Category: Sport of Kings

O’LEARY’S LAMENT

February 24, 2022

MICK O’LEARY’S annual rant about the Grand National weights has become a right snore-fest at this stage and exactly what he hopes to... Read more »

ANA O’BRIEN’S BIG SALES DAY

February 10, 2022

WITH BOTH Joseph and Donnacha O’Brien opting to steer their career down the same track as their parents, Aidan and Annemarie O’Brien, it... Read more »

CLIODHNA’S HEAVY GOING

February 10, 2022

IT HAS not been an easy ride so far for IHRB acting CEO Cliodhna Guy, as she comes under pressure from the Public... Read more »

RACHAEL’S CHOICE

February 10, 2022

MANY PUNTERS would have been surprised not to see Rachael Blackmore in the saddle aboard Barry Maloney’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo... Read more »

JIM BALFRY’S COMEBACK

January 27, 2022

THERE WAS an interesting face in the winners’ enclosure at Punchestown last week. Jim Balfry – the former manager of the controversial ownership... Read more »

SUANN DRUGS REPORT

January 27, 2022

THE ANTI-DOPING protocols of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) were given a seal of approval following that comprehensive review undertaken by the... Read more »

HUSBANDS’S DRY JANUARY

January 27, 2022

WITH THE Dublin Racing Festival on the horizon, Leopardstown boss Tim Husbands is dealing with the unusual scenario of more or less a... Read more »

ELLIOTT’S CHRISTMAS BONUS

January 13, 2022

WITH SO much racing on before and during the festive period, a huge gamble landed by Gordon Elliott at Ascot just before Christmas... Read more »

COOLMORE’S HORSEPOWER

January 13, 2022

COOLMORE STUD’S Australian wing, which is run by John Magnier’s eldest son Tom, has come up with a pretty high-end bonus scheme to... Read more »

SARAH LYNAM LETS FLY

January 13, 2022

A NEW year initiative has been introduced by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) that means that a series of races at Dundalk are restricted... Read more »

LESS THAN APPEALING

January 13, 2022

THE IRISH Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) boosted its coffers at the end of 2021 when handing out €6,000 fines to two small-scale trainers,... Read more »

DOUG TAYLOR’S NEW STALLION

December 16, 2021

DOUG TAYLOR has not been afraid to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to horseflesh and the MCR group... Read more »

FROSTY TIMES OFF TRACK

December 16, 2021

THE HIGH-profile Bryony Frost/Robbie Dunne episode has opened a can of worms about a deep-set culture in the sport rather than a personal... Read more »

LONELY FOR HUSBANDS

December 16, 2021

WHEN LEOPARDSTOWN manager Tim Husbands announced he planned to cap the attendance at the four-day Christmas festival to a healthy 10,000 a day,... Read more »

HALF-TERM SCHOOL REPORT

December 16, 2021

WITH THE jumps season well past the halfway point at this stage, the respective tables for leading jockey and trainer prove noteworthy. Rachael... Read more »

ROTHWELL’S REACTION

December 2, 2021

PHILIP ROTHWELL is certainly making an impression with his recent interviews on Racing TV. The Wicklow trainer delivered an emotional performance, after landing... Read more »

MCNALLY DOES IT AGAIN

December 2, 2021

CONTROVERSIAL TRAINER Ronan McNally got one over on the bookies once again when landing a well-executed gamble with All Class at Punchestown. The... Read more »

AFTER THE RAID

December 2, 2021

AS THE dust settles on that raid on a premises near Monasterevin, Co Kildare, the IHRB confirmed that hair and blood tests carried... Read more »

PAPERWORK PREVARICATION

December 2, 2021

IT APPEARS the IHRB has a significant backlog of cases on its books judging by a recent case that came before the referrals... Read more »

HEFFERNAN’S WHIP HAND

November 4, 2021

SEAMIE HEFFERNAN’S problems with the whip don’t show ending any time soon, with the Ballydoyle No 2 finding himself in hot water again... Read more »

MICK’S MUNIFICENCE

November 4, 2021

BOLSHY MONEYBAGS Mick O’Leary showed his apparent softer side when he revealed that he had allowed Gordon Elliott to invest in few young... Read more »

MUSICAL CHAIRS AT DOWN ROYAL

November 4, 2021

DOWN ROYAL’S big jumps meeting heralded the return of some of the sports major national hunt heroes, including this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup... Read more »

SLOW OUT THE GATE

November 4, 2021

WHEN THE government announced a further relaxation of Covid-related restrictions on October 22, it was expected that racecourses and Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)... Read more »

FARRELLY’S LIFETIME BAN

October 21, 2021

DUBLIN NATIVE Johnny Farrelly’s training career in the UK has come to a shuddering halt after the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) served him... Read more »

O’BRIEN’S RATING GAME

October 21, 2021

RACING FANS might imagine that Joseph O’Brien has a few more things to worry about than a 2lb differential in the rating of... Read more »

CALDWELL’S CLARION CALL

October 21, 2021

THE HEAD of the Irish Stable Staff Association, Bernard Caldwell, doesn’t pop his head over the parapet too often, but tends to make... Read more »

DONNACHA’S DIFFICULT SEASON

October 7, 2021

HAVING MADE an explosive start to his training career last year, the pace has slowed somewhat for Donnacha O’Brien this year. Group 1... Read more »

EDDIE SCALLY’S DRAW DEBATE

October 7, 2021

GOWRAN PARK is seen as one of the more progressive and well-run racetracks, with manager Eddie Scally highly regarded. There is, however, some... Read more »