Latest Irish sports news headlines | The Phoenix Magazine

Sport of Kings

SUZANNE SADDLES UP

July 15, 2021

COMPETITORS FOR the well-salaried role of Brian Kavanagh’s replacement as the head honcho at Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) may be surprised to hear... Read more »

RONAN MCNALLY’S ARRANGEMENT

July 15, 2021

TRAINER RONAN McNally, who has hit the headlines on numerous occasions over the past two years, is under investigation by the Irish Horseracing... Read more »

AND THE BANNED PLAYED ON

July 1, 2021

EARLIER THIS year the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) handed out two six-month bans to two high-profile trainers – Charles Byrnes and Gordon... Read more »

COMER’S RARE MARE

July 1, 2021

LUKE COMER seems as enthusiastic as ever about the racing game despite his usual lack of success on the track. The gelding, He... Read more »

MAGNIER’S CONUNDRUM

July 1, 2021

AFTER NEGATIVE press coverage at Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s treatment of his daughter, Sheika Latifa, the headlines were rather more positive following the... Read more »

BACK TO SCHOOL FOR SEAMUS HEFFERNAN

July 1, 2021

THIS TIME last year, the hapless Seamie Heffernan landed one of the longest whip bans received by any jockey. The French stewards banned... Read more »

KAVANAGH SADDLES UP

June 17, 2021

FANS OF Goldhawk will not be surprised by the news that, more than 20 years after first serving a five-year stint as manager... Read more »

STEPHEN MAHON DIGS IN

June 17, 2021

THE CHANCES of a positive outcome from Stephen Mahon’s proposed appeal against the four-year suspension of his training licence would likely attract pretty... Read more »

BRIAN POLLY’S HEAVY GOING

June 17, 2021

THE ASSOCIATION of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO) continues to generate controversy. The latest adventure involved an EGM to allow members to vote on... Read more »

DAVID DUNNE’S GAMBLES

June 17, 2021

THE NUMBER of open investigations on the books of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) continues to grow. Trainer David Dunne now finds... Read more »

HUNTING LOGO HUNTER

June 3, 2021

RACEHORSES CAN make fools of even the top players in the game – think of Willie Mullins selling subsequent Grade 1 winner Skyace... Read more »

KENNY’S KEBAB WOES

June 3, 2021

FORMER SENIOR gambling suit Kenny Alexander has become used to seeing his name in the headlines – linked to his star racing mare... Read more »

BANKING ON THE MORANS

June 3, 2021

GORDON ELLIOTT and his team at Cullentra House will be crossing their fingers that there will be no loss of racing focus by... Read more »

PHILIP ROTHWELL’S BAD DAY

June 3, 2021

WICKLOW TRAINER Philip Rothwell enjoyed his best year for a long time last season, which included training three winners at the Punchestown festival.... Read more »

BEEBY ROLLS THE DICE

May 20, 2021

THE NEWS that Goffs is wheeling out its tried and tested ‘Million’ formula this year came as something of a bolt from the... Read more »

JIM BOLGER’S DAWN RAID

May 20, 2021

JIM BOLGER has pulled off one of his finest coups in his 80th year with the repatriation of the stallion Dawn Approach. A... Read more »

SAM CURLING’S SURPRISE

May 20, 2021

WHEN THE Sam Curling-trained Call Me Freddie appeared in the declarations for a low-grade hurdle at Cork recently, his credentials for a successful... Read more »

COVID CASH BOOST

May 20, 2021

SINCE RACING resumed after the Covid enforced break in June last year, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has been coming down hard... Read more »

BEEBY ROLLS THE DICE

May 20, 2021

THE NEWS that Goffs is wheeling out its tried and tested ‘Million’ formula this year came as something of a bolt from the... Read more »

JIM BOLGER’S DAWN RAID

May 20, 2021

JIM BOLGER has pulled off one of his finest coups in his 80th year with the repatriation of the stallion Dawn Approach. A... Read more »

Ed Dunlop David Dunsdon Sarah Lynam Rebecca May Wayne Hassett Eoin O'Brien Michael Burke Aine O’Connor Ashroe Diamond Thomand O’Mara Peter Keatley Timmy Hyde Coolmore All About Sunday Colin Keane Ronan Whelan JP McManus Jessica Harrington Dundalk Racecourse Paul Hensey Irish National Hunt Horse-racing Doping Paddy Walsh Tom Kelly Suspension

SAM CURLING’S SURPRISE

May 20, 2021

WHEN THE Sam Curling-trained Call Me Freddie appeared in the declarations for a low-grade hurdle at Cork recently, his credentials for a successful... Read more »

COVID CASH BOOST

May 20, 2021

SINCE RACING resumed after the Covid enforced break in June last year, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has been coming down hard... Read more »

ABDULAZIZ’S IRISH FRIENDS

May 6, 2021

THE CONTROVERSIAL Phoenix Thoroughbreds CEO Amer Abdulaziz has quite the neck and the Bahraini came out fighting again after the group saw all... Read more »

MAHON’S HEAVY GOING

May 6, 2021

IT LOOKS like Stephen Mahon’s often turbulent career as a trainer may be coming to the final fence. Now based in Galway, it... Read more »

OWNERS ON THE OUTSIDE

May 6, 2021

WITH THE country gradually opening up, there seems to be only radio silence when it comes to the matter of getting racehorse owners... Read more »

PLACE YOUR BETS

May 6, 2021

WHEN THE pandemic recovery gets going, it is clear that some things may never return to the old ways. The betting landscape has... Read more »

O’LEARY PROVES POINT

April 22, 2021

AS IF Michael and Eddie O’Leary needed another opportunity to annoy the wider racing community, then their recent handling of Tiger Roll served... Read more »

DOUG’S ROLL OF THE DICE

April 22, 2021

A SURPRISE name among the entries for Punchestown this year is the grade 1 winning mare Laurina, who was retired from racing by... Read more »

GAME ON FOR BLACKMORE

April 22, 2021

AS THE jumps season draws to a close, there is one final task to be achieved by wonder jockey Rachael Blackmore – to... Read more »

MICHAEL O’CALLAGHAN FLIES THE FLAG

April 22, 2021

A SIZEABLE cohort of Irish horse traders drew a collective sigh of relief after the first Breeze Up sale of the season took... Read more »

COOLMORE’S JAPANESE BACKER

April 8, 2021

AIDAN O’BRIEN’S team is not normally quick off the blocks at the start of the flat season, with his horses often improving markedly... Read more »

THE FUTURE OF SHADWELL

April 8, 2021

FOLLOWING THE death of Prince Khalid Abdullah a few months ago, racing lost another major benefactor recently when Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum died... Read more »

POINTING THE WAY

April 8, 2021

WHILE RACING overall may have been left relatively unscathed by the pandemic, the point-to-point sector has been left reeling in comparison. The return... Read more »

DAVID DUNNE’S DARK HORSE

April 8, 2021

JOCKEY TURNED Racing TV presenter Fran Berry has made a seamless transition to his current career after being forced to retire from the... Read more »

BACKING DAVID MULLINS

March 25, 2021

DAVID MULLINS, who surprised many in racing by announcing his retirement from the saddle at the tender age of 24, has embarked on... Read more »

MURPHY’S FALSE START

March 25, 2021

AFTER SERVING a three-month ban for testing positive for metabolites of cocaine, champion jockey Oisin Murphy was chomping at the bit to get... Read more »