Latest news with #Durkan
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Galopin Des Champs trying to secure valuable ‘away' win in Punchestown Gold Cup
All four runners in Wednesday's Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup are course winners, and yet despite that, for Galopin Des Champs it might feel like an 'away game'. For the last two years Galopin has pitched up for the €300,000 feature as reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup champion and twice has had to settle for the runner-up spot to Fastorslow. That rival is absent this time, and the horse described by Ruby Walsh as the best Irish steeplechaser since Arkle lost his Blue Riband title more than six weeks ago. What remains the case is general agreement that Punchestown isn't really his bag. It's some claim for a former Durkan winner, but just two victories in six starts here is a stat that supporters of Spillane's Tower, Banbridge and Monty's Star will be all over come 5.30pm. READ MORE So too will the ground element. On a soft surface there have been times during Galopin Des Champs's career when he's seemed all but unbeatable. His superb pair of Grade One successes at Leopardstown earlier this season underlined the point. Well able to operate on quicker ground, he nevertheless doesn't look quite as formidable on it, and he never looked happy in last month's Gold Cup. He plugged on gamely for second behind Inothewayurthinkin but the historic hat-trick only briefly looked on the cards. 'Obviously, he's trying to break his Punchestown Gold Cup hoodoo but there's not Fastorslow there this year, so hopefully he can finish out his season in style,' said Patrick Mullins. It means the horses-for-courses theory will be a recurring theme ahead of the day two festival feature. Willie Mullins is usually a subscriber to that, and to the premise that it's incumbent on connections to run their best horses in the most valuable races. Considering France's Gold Cup, the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, takes place at Auteuil in just over a fortnight, and is always run on soft ground, Galopin lining up here is not without significance. In contrast, this is very much Spillane Tower's prime Gold Cup target of a largely frustrating season. A place ahead of Galopin Des Champs in last November's Durkan, he was well behind Banbridge in the King George and hasn't been seen since. Derek O'Connor on Colcannon. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Banbridge failed to fire at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup and is once again on a retrieval mission here. Last season he flopped in the Ryanair before dropping back in trip to land the two-mile Grade One. In terms of ground, trip and track, these look to be his ideal conditions. Monty's Star ran an honourable fourth in the Gold Cup but is lowest rated of the quartet, over a stone behind Galopin Des Champs. A heady 175 mark underlines his fundamental quality, and that class can win out despite circumstances. A pair of Willie Mullins's Grade One Cheltenham winners aim to secure the festival double on Wednesday. Bambino Fever will try to become the sixth horse to complete the Cheltenham-Punchestown Champion Bumper double when lining up under Jody Townend. The mare Fayonagh in 2017 is one of the elite handful to manage the feat. Colreevy in 2019 was the last mare to win. Mullins also saddles Copacabana, while Kalypso'chance is another that lined up at Cheltenham. One horse that didn't is Colcannon, who had run too many times in bumpers to qualify. Instead, Noel Meade has waited for this since Derek O'Connor's mount beat Sortudo at the Dublin Racing Festival. That should leave Colcannon fresher than most, which by the end of the season is always a plus. Wednesday's opening Grade One, the Channor Novice Hurdle, will see Jasmin De Vaux try to emulate The Nice Guy in 2022 by adding this to Cheltenham's Albert Bartlett. And in the process he'll have to persuade his trainer that he can jump properly. Even after winning at Cheltenham, Willie Mullins labelled Jasmin De Vaux as 'probably one of the worst jumpers in racing'. To underline the point, he also threw in 'so unnatural' into the mix. It didn't stop the 2023 Champion Bumper winner winning the Albert Bartlett, but Punchestown's tighter track is a different sort of test that's likely to put more pressure on his suspect technique. Honesty Policy is a Grade One winner from Aintree, although a value alternative to both could prove to be Fleur In The Park who shapes as likely to benefit from stepping up in trip to this three-mile test. Seo Linn overcame her free-running tendencies to win at Aintree. If she races kindly, the concluding Mares' Bumper looks a fine opportunity for Paddy Twomey's runner.
Irish Times
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Fact To File takes on Marine Nationale in intriguing Punchestown festival feature
The Punchestown Festival provides Ireland's National Hunt season with a major final act, and will also supply valuable insight into the campaign to come when it starts on Tuesday. The cream of Irish jumping talent, particularly that of the all-conquering Willie Mullins team, will be on view in 40 races over five days that are worth €3.5 million in prize money. They include stellar names such as Galopin Des Champs and the two-mile title holder Marine Nationale, who goes in the day one festival feature, the €300,000 William Hill Champion Chase. It's no stretch, however, to argue that the festival's most intriguing racing element will be imported. The enigma that Constitution Hill has become means that British racing's most mercurial talent will be centre stage in Friday's Boodles Champion Hurdle. Unbeaten in 10 starts prior to Cheltenham, his Champion Hurdle fall kicked off a scarcely credible chain of events, ultimately leading to his unheralded compatriot Golden Ace lifting hurdling's championship. READ MORE That Constitution Hill fell again at Aintree stretched credulity even more and leaves the horse once acclaimed as an all time great with a major task in restoring his credibility ahead of next season. Up against him will be Golden Ace and State Man, who ultimately threw away the Champion Hurdle with his own spectacular final flight spill. He's chasing a hat-trick of wins in a mouthwatering contest that may provide an invaluable gauge of the division's pecking order. Mind you before that Kopek Des Bordes could upset the hierarchy completely if he's spectacular in Tuesday's opening Grade One. On the same card the much-heralded Ballyburn is on a retrieval mission of his own in the Dooley Champion Novice Chase. Tuesday's feature also promises to be hugely informative when it comes to establishing ranking for next year's Champion Chase. Marine Nationale lines up as a hugely impressive 18-length winner of Cheltenham's two-mile crown and yet could find himself up against an odds-on favourite who's never even run over the trip. Paul Townend riding Kopek Des Bordes celebrates winning the Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 11th, 2025. Photograph:It is five months since Fact To File left Punchestown as the Gold Cup favourite following a Durkan success. A pair of chastening defeats by Galopin Des Champs at three miles put paid to that. Instead he dropped to the intermediate Ryanair test at Cheltenham, won superbly, and now tests the water to see if speed rather than stamina will be his game next season. With the weather gods playing ball, and watering expected to begin sooner rather than later, Fact To File is likely to benefit from lining up on the opening day. It is Spillane's Tower that will carry JP McManus's colours against Galopin Des Champs 24 hours later in the Punchestown Gold Cup, while Inothewayurthinkin, conqueror of Galopin at Cheltenham, is already enjoying his summer holidays. Should Fact To File prove quick enough to take down the reigning two-mile champion it will leave him to fill in the Champion Chase slot in the champion owner's enviable top-flight list of chasers for 2025-26. That's going to be no easy task. The tragedy of Michael O'Sullivan's death inevitably dominated the aftermath of Marine Nationale's hugely emotional victory at Cheltenham. From a form point of view Jonbon's jarring error in the race left an unsatisfying element. But nothing can take away from how Barry Connell's star travelled effortlessly to championship glory. Seán Flanagan enjoyed an armchair spin on the horse that famously carried O'Sullivan to festival glory in 2023. He ultimately won with total authority and Connell believes Marine Nationale to have progressed again from that. His attitude to Fact To File is straightforwardly 'bring it on' and such confidence is infectious. There doesn't appear to be a cap on the potential in Kopek Des Bordes and the unbeaten novice dominates the KPMG Hurdle. Three of his five opponents are stable companions and the best of them, Salvator Mundi, was well behind him in Cheltenham's Supreme. Paul Townend had no decision on what to ride in that race but his call to stick with Ballyburn in the Dooley Group Novice Chase is significant. Ballyburn's Cheltenham performance was close to abject as he trailed his stable companion Lecky Watson. Seán O'Keeffe is on board him again but on his first try at three miles; Imparie Et Passe could prove a reliable alternative. Don't Rightly Know is an outsider for the big novice heat but is one of 15 cross-channel trained horses lining up on day one. Punchestown officials are predicting the most numerically strong British festival challenge in almost two decades. Harry Derham has a pair of runners in the two-mile handicap, although the 2024 Cheltenham Festival winner Lark In The Mornin could prove tough to beat if bouncing back from a poor effort in last month's County Hurdle. The all-conquering Mullins is odds-on to land all three Grade One prizes up for grabs and will be fancied to perhaps exceed his 19-winner tally at the 2021 festival. He introduces Leader Des Bordes, a half-brother to no less than Kopek Des Bordes, in the valuable Goffs Defender Bumper. Patrick Mullins has opted to ride Michael O'Leary's newcomer for whom the Ryanair boss paid €210,000.
Fox News
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Boston councilwoman backs off after ridiculing Tom Homan's employment history in fiery post: 'I understand'
The Boston City Council member who recently mocked Border Czar Tom Homan's employment history walked back her comments in a follow-up post about the Trump administration official. Councilwoman Sharon Durkan, who accused Homan of spending his career "policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd," posted a clarification shortly after a Fox News Digital request for comment on Sunday evening. "Yes, I understand that Tom Homan spent his career as a federal agent within Border Patrol & ICE, but that's a world away from the realities of policing a major city," Durkan explained. "His background is in immigration enforcement, not community policing – where trust and accountability are key." The Smith College graduate raised eyebrows after mocking Homan's brief stint as a police officer in West Carthage, New York, implying that he was unqualified to enforce President Donald Trump's border policy in Boston because of that experience. But Homan's time in the small-town department only lasted from 1983 to 1984, before he became a Border Patrol agent and eventually worked his way through the ranks of the Obama and Trump administrations. "Laughable that someone who spent their career policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd thinks they can lecture Boston on public safety," the councilwoman's original Feb. 23 post read. "Commissioner Michael Cox serves with distinction and earns trust with integrity." "Tom Homan should know, we don't scare easy," Durkan added. Durkan's remarks came after Homan called out Beantown during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, specifically calling out Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox for enforcing the city's sanctuary policies. "I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan said during his speech. "I looked at the numbers this morning... I stopped counting at nine. Nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, you released them back into the street." "You're not a police commissioner," the Trump administration official added. "Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it's like to be a cop." Massachusetts and the greater Boston area have seen several arrests of criminal migrants in recent weeks, including an illegal immigrant connected to a violent Brazilian gang who was recently arrested in Bellingham. Cox has previously said that his department "doesn't enforce detainers" that are filed by ICE, and that Boston cops "abide by Boston law and Massachusetts law." "The Boston Police Department has pretty defined rules and we abide by the law here in the state," the police chief said on a segment of WCVB's "On the Record" show. "We don't enforce civil detainers regarding federal immigration law. It's defined here in the state, and that's just how it works." Fox News Digital reached out to Durkan for additional comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Boston councilwoman sounds off after Tom Homan's CPAC promise to 'bring hell': 'We don't scare easy'
A member of the Boston City Council called out Border Czar Tom Homan in a post on social media, calling his promises to enforce President Donald Trump's border policy "laughable." Councilwoman Sharon Durkan posted her response on X after Homan said he would "bring hell" to Beantown after Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox recently doubled down on the city's sanctuary policies. "You said you doubled down on not helping the law enforcement officers of ICE. I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. "I looked at the numbers this morning... I stopped counting at nine. Nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, you released them back into the street." "You're not a police commissioner," Homan continued. "Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it's like to be a cop." Durkan responded by mocking Homan for briefly serving as a police officer in the village of West Carthage, New York, in the 1980s. He became a Border Patrol agent soon after, and has since worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Obama administration, as well as the first Trump administration. "Laughable that someone who spent their career policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd thinks they can lecture Boston on public safety," Durkan's post read. "Commissioner Michael Cox serves with distinction and earns trust with integrity," the city official continued. "Tom Homan should know, we don't scare easy." In a recent interview, Cox said that Boston "doesn't enforce detainers" that are filed by ICE, per Massachusetts law. "We just don't do that," Cox said on a segment of WCVB's "On the Record" show. "We don't enforce civil detainers regarding federal immigration law. It's defined here in the state, and that's just how it works." The Boston office of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) has overseen the arrest of several criminal migrants in recent weeks, including MS-13 gang members. Earlier this month, ERO Boston officers apprehended an illegal alien from Guatemala who was charged with multiple counts of child rape. Fox News Digital reached out to Durkan for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
BBC News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Cressida Cowell hoping to get kids reading at Lincoln festival
Some of the country's most successful children's authors are appearing at a book festival this weekend hoping to inspire young event, which is taking place in Lincoln until Sunday, features award-winning writers Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Cressida from Welton St Mary's CE Primary Academy are among those attending and assistant head teacher James Durkan said it was important to promote reading at an early age."When children are tired after school it is quick and easy to pick up the iPad or the PlayStation controller, but it is really important that they do reading at home," he added. Mr Durkan's pupils were split on whether they loved reading or technology 10, said: "I prefer gaming, personally. But the bad thing about it is it can get addictive. I need to start reading more. It does calm me down."Oscar, 10, added: "I prefer books because it is calm and better then technology."Eliza, 9, said it was difficult to choose her favourite, adding: "I like to read and play on technology." "Every night, I read for an hour or half an hour. I like books and technology the same amount."Cottrell-Boyce, the children's laureate, has previously said that while children in the UK may fare well in reading league tables, reading for pleasure was in famed for her multimillion-selling series How to Train Your Dragon, said authors were competing with screen time for children's said: "Research shows that kids who see an author event are more likely to read for pleasure. That's why it's important."Children are watching screens earlier and earlier. We authors need to be doing as much as we possibly can to get kids reading."My message to parents would be to try and read to your child. Even if it's 10 minutes a day, it makes such a difference." Research by the National Literacy Trust found two in three children and young people do not enjoy reading. The 2024 report recorded the worst levels in almost 20 to a recent Ofcom report, more than a quarter of three-and four-year-olds own their own smartphone and half of children under 13 are on social Durkan said teachers had seen a difference in the development of children who read at added: "We do find that the increase in the use of technology is a challenge for children."That immediate pleasure is there, whereas with reading it does require more discipline, more patience and you do have to invest that time in it."One thing parents could do is talk to children about books. That can be really inspiring when a parent sits down and reads with their child. It's so powerful."The festival, which is run by Waterstones, features events at the High Street store, The Engine Shed, Southside and Lincoln Central Library. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
