Trainer Ronan McNally has been banned for 12 years and ordered to pay costs of €50,000 following an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board investigation and hearing. The IHRB’s referrals committee ruled McNally breached a number of rules, including one charge of running and training his horses in a manner “prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and […]
Galopin Des Champs is the star attraction among the seven confirmations for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown on Saturday. The three-mile contest is the feature on day one of the Dublin Racing Festival and Willie Mullins’ seven-year-old will look to cement his place at the top of the ante-post lists for the […]
Paul Nicholls is increasingly bullish about the chances of Bravemansgame in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Owned by John Dance and Bryan Drew, the eight-year-old took the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day with a degree of ease, beating Royale Pagaille by 14 lengths. It was his second success of the season, […]
Exciting unbeaten hurdler Il Est Francais will officially switch trainers in the next two weeks and be aimed at the French Champion Hurdle. Running under Tom George’s name, the Richard Kelvin-Hughes and Haras De Saint-Voir co-owned five-year-old is unbeaten in four starts over hurdles in France and is one of the most promising horses seen […]
Lorna Fowler’s Colonel Mustard is in line for a switch back to smaller obstacles as Newbury’s Betfair Hurdle beckons. The chestnut was a high-quality novice hurdler who was placed in a string of classy contests – including finishing second to Jonbon at Ascot and third to State Man in the County Hurdle in March – […]
Gary Moore believes Editeur Du Gite has earned his place in the Queen Mother Champion Chase line-up – although he does not think it will be easy for him to repeat his Clarence House heroics at the Cheltenham Festival. The nine-year-old was a shock winner of the Desert Orchid at Kempton over the Christmas period, […]
Paul Nicholls wondered if Half Dozen had a problem after Harry Cobden’s mount was a market drifter ahead of the Black Mountain Botanicals Novices’ Handicap Hurdle at Hereford. Yet the strapping six-year-old made light work of his nine rivals in the two-mile heat, scoring by a length and a half at odds of 8-1. The […]
Diverge gave High Definition’s form a major boost ahead of this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival with a wide-margin victory in the opening race at Punchestown on Monday. One-time Derby favourite High Definition made a smart start to his hurdling career at Leopardstown over the Christmas period and is set for an intriguing clash with Facile […]
Jamie Snowden has plenty of positives to take from Ga Law’s Sky Bet Chase run after a late fall denied him success at Doncaster on Saturday. The seven-year-old went into the race as the 3-1 joint-favourite, a status owed in no small part to his victory in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in […]
Royale Pagaille is back in work and will head straight to the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup after recovering from injury, trainer Venetia Williams has confirmed. The Rich Ricci-owned nine-year-old was runner-up to Bravemansgame in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, staying on nicely under Tom Scudamore in the three-mile Grade One […]