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BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Byrnes' final-hurdle unseat to be reviewed by IHRB
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board will review jockey Philip Byrnes' final-hurdle unseat at Wexford on was leading the Wexford Claiming Hurdle on Redwood Queen, who is trained by his father Charles, heading into the final Byrnes was unseated after appearing to become unstable as Redwood Queen jumped the last, which allowed 1-3 favourite Beacon Edge to win by a comfortable raceday stewards at Wexford felt no further action was required, but the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) will now review the incident.A IHRB spokesperson said on Thursday: "We note the position of the raceday stewards following their review of the incident. I can confirm the matter is down for review by an IHRB senior racing official."The review will take into consideration the incident on the racecourse and other factors, such as betting patterns of the Queen had drifted from 7-2 to 13-2 in the betting odds, and was running at 1/7 in-play at the time of the fall.
The Sun
7 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Investigation launched into jockey's fall off leading horse as statement issued following controversial Wexford finish
AN investigation has been launched into a jockey's fall off a leading horse - as footage of the controversial Wexford finish spread like wildfire online. Philip Byrnes was described on Racing TV as having a 'soft' unseat from Redwood Queen in the 2m1f hurdle race at the Irish track. 4 4 4 The horse, who is trained by Charles Byrnes and owned by his son Cathal, opened at 7-2 but drifted to 7-1 before being sent off 13-2. Gordon Elliott's Beacon Edge was 1-3 favourite but looked beaten as Byrnes - Charles' other son - cruised to the last two lengths clear on Redwood Queen. Punters thought victory was in the bag as the eight-year-old mare hit 1.14 on the Betfair Exchange. And she looked to take off straight and true at the last - only for Byrnes to exit the side door just before she landed safely on the other side. That left Elliott's charge with an uncontested lead as he sauntered home by 22 lengths to scoop the £5,000 first-place prize. There was disbelief among punters as the raceday stewards initially deemed the incident did not warrant any further action. But an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesperson confirmed on Thursday morning: "We note the position of the raceday stewards following their review of the incident. "We can now confirm the matter is down for review by an IHRB senior racing official." The stewards' report issued after the race read: "The raceday stewards reviewed the unseating of Philip Byrnes, rider of Redwood Queen, at the last hurdle when leading. "Having viewed the recording of the race and considered the matter, the raceday stewards took no further action." More to follow. . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who:
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Field Of Gold gets Classic redemption in Irish 2,000 Guineas as Antino confirms star status
It was another big day in the saddle for Irish jockey Colin Keane. Photo: Kenneth Chan Field Of Gold secured Classic redemption for John and Thady Gosden in a Group One Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) rout at the Curragh on Saturday. After suffering an agonising defeat in the Group One Betfred 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at Newmarket three weeks earlier, the Gosdens were vindicated by their decision to remove Kieran Shoemark from the saddle in favour of Colin Keane, who steered the Kingman galloper to an impressive success. Held up in midfield, Keane kept things simple, making his move down the outer and the pair quickened up smartly to beat ownermate Cosmic Year by just under four lengths. This was IMPRESSIVE 🤩 Field Of Gold dominated the @Tattersalls_ie Irish 2000 Guineas field, emulating his sire Kingman 🏆@curraghrace — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 24, 2025 In doing so, Field of Gold emulated his sire Kingman in winning the first Irish Classic of the season. There was also redemption for Aidan O'Brien's Lake Victoria, who left behind a poor performance in the Group One Betfred 1,000 Guineas (1,600m) to run away with the Group One Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas (1,600m). Locked away in the box seat under Ryan Moore, the pair were screaming for room at the 600m pole. Moore didn't panic, however, and extricated Lake Victoria out at the 400m pole before running down long-time leader California Dreamer in the final furlong and sauntering away. LAKE VICTORIA wins the Irish 1000 Guineas! 🏆 What a day for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore! @curraghrace @Tattersalls_ie | @coolmorestud — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 25, 2025 It formed part of a four-timer for Moore on Sunday, with the global superstar securing the other top-level race on the card, the Group One Tattersalls Gold Cup (2,000m), on Los Angeles. In Australia, Antino was a dominant winner of the Group One Doomben Cup (2,000m) in a race where Pride Of Jenni bitterly disappointed. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. Ciaron Maher's mare went off at a quick pace – as is her want – but came back to the field coming off the turn, with Antino scorching round the outside and quickening away from the field in a matter of strides. Antino is an absolute star! The Queenslander dominates the Doomben Cup for @tonygollan 🏆 @blake_shinn — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025 It was a second Group One for the Redwood galloper, while Matthew Poon Ming-fai did Hong Kong proud by finishing sixth on roughie Klondike after a ground-saving trip. 'Really happy how he ran. He tried hard and ran well. Next start a bit further, he'll run much better,' said Poon.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Generating warmth for unloved Curragh may prove hardest part of racecourse revamp
It is 25 years since the late Aga Khan told an audience he was tired of parking his keister in unsatisfactory surroundings at the Curragh racecourse. He put it rather more eloquently than that, declaring himself 'an articulate sufferer at racecourses that do not meet acceptable standards of efficiency, convenience, practicality and comfort'. Instead of just moaning, he did something about it. It can be argued that a vastly wealthy royal could afford to put his money where his mouth was. But even so, ponying up a reported €15 million to buy the hotel at the back of the old Curragh stands so it could be knocked down, therefore freeing up space for redevelopment, spoke of a man tired of roughing it. It is 10 years since plans for the revamped Curragh that we know today were first revealed. Simon Coveney , who was Minister for Agriculture at the time, called it 'one of the most significant investments that Irish sport will have seen in many years'. The then-chairman of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), Joe Keeling, described it as the 'most important venture in the modern history of Irish racing'. READ MORE The original budget was for €65 million and it was to be finished by 2018. By the end of the tender process, it was €72.3 million. Unforeseen delays – or cock-ups – included having to redo the parade ring for an extra €500,000. So, in 2019, the revamped Curragh was officially opened, a year late. The final cost was €81.5 million, €36.5 million of which was public money through HRI. The impressive new stand was named, appropriately, after the Aga Khan. There were teething problems, such as the embarrassing whistling sound the new stand roof made when the wind blew in a certain direction. There was also the departure of Curragh chief executive Derek McGrath over lack of unity, as he saw it, on a shared vision for the racecourse. The biggest challenge of all was the Covid pandemic. The push for redevelopment was driven by an elitist vibe A lot of water and money has been passed since the Aga Khan decided to set the ball rolling. Ultimately, however, the aim of delivering a flagship, luxury facility for racing's great and good has been achieved. It is a modern facility, which, by most measures, is lovely to look at. It is also, by most measures, predominantly unloved. Pinning emotions to locations is an illogical exercise, but that doesn't prevent lots of people from doing so anyway. There are those in south Dublin who don't know the back end of a horse from the front end of a BMW 7 Series, but whose annual Christmas pilgrimage to Leopardstown is as important a festive ritual as fighting with the in-laws. A crowd of over 42,000 attended the Punchestown Festival's Friday card recently. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times. Just a few weeks ago, a record attendance of 42,138 crammed into the Punchestown Festival's Friday card. It was frantic, raucous and felt like much of Kildare was on the razz on their own doorstep. Different racecourses have their own identity. Galway is as much part of the Irish summer as rain. Smaller tracks like Ballinrobe and Kilbeggan exert a local pull that puts higher-profile courses to shame. Laytown has sand. Gowran has mud. But to too many people, the Curragh suggests exclusivity. That's partly to do with the nature of the racing and having all the classics, as well as most of Ireland's group one races. But it's not just that. [ Rachael Blackmore cracked glass ceiling but presuming it's in smithereens for female jockeys is complacent Opens in new window ] [ Soccer Euro 2028 qualification explained: The five ways Ireland can qualify, including automatically Opens in new window ] The push for redevelopment was driven by an elitist vibe. Rather than failure to pinpoint any shared vision, the concept was essentially to put the best side out and impress international neighbours by transforming a down-at-heel venue into a place the rich are happy to play in. In that sense it has succeeded. But it patently lacks a sense of popular engagement. The three-day Guineas festival begins there on Friday. The first classics of 2025 will be run over the weekend. So will the Tattersalls Gold Cup. It is flat racing at its finest. Last year, there was an official attendance of just over 14,000 over the three days. Only 5,000 showed up for the 1,000 Guineas. The Curragh's biggest day is the Derby, which last year drew an attendance of 11,418. The other big date, its leg of the Champions Festival, saw 8,645 pass through the turnstiles. The grandstand's capacity alone is 13,000. Such figures illustrate that the overriding response to the Curragh's revamp has been indifference. The argument can be made in racing terms that exclusivity is what the Curragh is supposed to be about. The private money behind the redevelopment can certainly afford not to worry about empty seats. But since almost half the cost has been picked up by the taxpayer, such a position smacks of complacency. And, rightly or wrongly, an unfortunate 'them and us' attitude has arisen that will be hard to shift. Maybe in time, indifference will turn to enthusiasm. Back in the day, even the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, a modern architectural masterpiece, got flak for being a colossal waste of public money. The secret to being liked is often to just hang around long enough. Generating warmth for the Curragh, however, might turn out to be the final and most difficult part of its revamp. Something for the Weekend The bulk of Derby trials are run but OPPORTUNITY (2.05) could still put himself into the Epsom picture with a good performance in Saturday's Listed contest at Goodwood. Significant progress from his Haydock maiden win can be expected. JARRAAF (6.50) was progressive last year and should step up again this season, starting on his reappearance at Salisbury on Saturday.
The Journal
05-05-2025
- The Journal
Girl (13) who died following crash at motor racing event in Cork named locally
LAST UPDATE | 53 mins ago A 13-YEAR-OLD girl who died in a crash at a racing competition in Co Cork yesterday has been named locally as Lauren O'Brien. The event, which was organised by Autograss Racing Club in Cork, was taking place at Castletown Kennigh track in Enniskean. Lauren, from Knockane, Terelton, attended secondary school in Macroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene yesterday afternoon. A garda investigation was launched after the crash, which took place around 3.30pm yesterday afternoon. Lauren's car went out of control and crashed into a barrier at the track. Gardaí and paramedics quickly arrived at the scene yesterday. A postmortem examination will take place at Cork University Hospital. Other young people who were taking part in the heat in which Lauren died were deeply upset by what had occurred. Large numbers of spectators also witnessed the accident. Gardaí have started taking statements from people who saw the accident unfold. Advertisement The scene was preserved for a technical examination. The Coroner was notified of the death and a family liaison office will also be appointed to assist the family. Racing got underway at 11am yesterday morning and was immediately suspended when the accident happened. It was to involve male, female and junior events. Irish Racing driver Hanna Celsie posted on social media that she was saddened to hear of the death of the teenager: 'My heart goes out to the family and friends of this young talented girl who sadly past away yesterday after an accident, racing at an event put on by Cork Autograss Racing Club. RIP.' Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the incident and have asked for any camera footage to be sent to investigators in Bandon. Anyone who may have camera footage is asked not to distribute or post it to social media. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bandon Garda Station on (023) 8852200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. The death is being treated as a tragic accident. Cork Autograss was formed in 1998 from the West Cork Hotrod club. The club races from Castletown Kennnigh Track. Autograss Racing is motor racing on loose surface track with anything from near road spec 1000cc hatchbacks to full space framed saloons with engines varying from large v8's to twin bike powered and even the odd turbo diesel. The sport caters for competitors from the age of twelve upwards.
