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Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Wexford jockey Seán Flanagan back from Oz for home wins
Double success just three days after finishing fourth in Australian Grand National Hurdle Altimara and Donagh O'Connor win for Ross O'Sullivan at Leopardstown on Thursday. Photo: Patrick McCann/Racing Post The Jordan Gainford-ridden Laurie Blue won the opening division of the two-mile maiden hurdle at Roscommon on Tuesday. Owned by Diane Flanagan and trained by Eamonn Delany, the 4/1 chance made much of the running and although headed approaching the final hurdle, the seven-year-old battled back to beat John Nallen's 5/4 favourite Firebrand by two lengths. Seán Flanagan finished fourth in the Australian Grand National Hurdle three days earlier and he arrived back home in time to ride two winners at Wexford on Wednesday. The six-year-old Ashdale Flyer gave the local jockey his first success of the afternoon when winning the two-mile three-furlong beginners' chase. The Diarmuid Hogan-owned 33/1 chance, trained by Jessica Harrington, wore down Ian Donoghue's front-running 6/1 shot West Away close to the finish to score by a length. Flanagan doubled up on the Martin Hassett-trained seven-year-old Bynx in the two-mile handicap chase. The BTF Racing Club-owned 7/2 chance led four fences out and was clear before the last to win by an easy seven lengths from Henry de Bromhead's 4/1 shot Itwasfate. Eoin Staples continues to make a name for himself and he was on the mark again when partnering the Donncha Duggan-trained six-year-old Ballykinlar to take the two and a quarter-mile rated novice hurdle at Sligo on Thursday. The 7/2 chance, in his trainer's own colours, led after the second-last hurdle and went clear to win by five lengths from Gordon Elliott's 15/2 shot Chortal. Donagh O'Connor gave trainer Ross O'Sullivan his second winner of the week as the Yvonne Lavin-owned Altimara took the seven-furlong handicap at odds of 13/2 co-favourite at Leopardstown on Thursday. The four-year-old led inside the final furlong to beat John McConnell's 7/1 shot Shelbourne Flyer by a length. Conor Stone-Walsh was among the winners at Wexford on Friday evening where he partnered the Ian Donoghue-trained five-year-old Small Town Hero to take the second division of the three-mile handicap hurdle. Owned by the Kilkenny Racing Syndicate, the 9/4 favourite made all the running and went clear form the second-last hurdle to win by an easy nine lengths from Tim Doyle's 16/1 shot No Fussing. J.J. Slevin landed a Sunday winner in the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede colours as the 6/1 chance Dramatic License landed the two and three-quarter-mile maiden hurdle at Downpatrick. The five-year-old left it late but got up in the final strides to beat Edward and Partick Harty's 11/4 chance Cut The Rope by a neck. The previous week's Galway Festival saw Seán O'Keeffe get off the mark and give Willie Mullins his third winner when leading home a 1-2 for the stable on Gold Dancer in the Grade 3 Guinness Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase on the Thursday. Owned by Gigginstown House Stud, the 7/1 chance came with a late challenge and headed the Paul Townend-ridden front-running 85/40 favourite Westport Cove close to the finish to score by two and a half lengths. Conditional jockey Eoin Staples landed his first Galway Festival success when partnering the Gavin Cromwell-trained Come On The Lads to take the two-mile one-furlong handicap hurdle on the Saturday. The 22/1 joint-outsider of the 15-runner field came from off the pace and despite not getting the clearest of runs in the straight, he got up on the line to beat Emmet Mullins' 7/2 favourite Toll Stone by a head. Fixtures: Gowran Park – Wednesday, August 13 (first race 5.05 p.m.); Cork – Thursday, August 14 (first race 5.22 p.m.); Tramore – Thursday, August 14 (first race 5.05 p.m.); Tramore – Friday, August 15 (first race 5 p.m.); Dundalk – Friday, August 15 (first race 1.45 p.m.); Curragh – Saturday, August 16 (first race 1.42 p.m.); Tramore – Saturday, August 16 (first race 5 p.m.); Tramore – Sunday, August 17 (first race 2.30 p.m.).
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
De Bromhead hails retiring Minella Indo as an 'absolute legend'
Minella Indo has been retired from racing at the age of 12 with trainer Henry de Bromhead hailing the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero as an 'absolute legend'. A 50-1 winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at the 2019 Festival, Minella Indo went on to finish second to the fast-finishing Champ in the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase in 2020. However, he enjoyed his finest hour at the Cotswolds a year later, thwarting stablemate A Plus Tard to win the Gold Cup before the pair traded places in the blue riband in 2022. Paying tribute to Minella Indo, De Bromhead said: "He was such a savage horse, an absolute legend who was owned by wonderful people. The Moloneys are such terrific supporters of ours and the sport in general so it was amazing for them to have Indo. He was a special horse and we had some of the most wonderful days together. "The Gold Cup stands out but the day he won the Albert Bartlett was very special too. Rachael (Blackmore) had never won a Grade One before and he was 50-1. He had never won a bumper or a hurdle race so for him to win a race like that as a maiden was magic." Reflecting on Minella Indo's finest hour, De Bromhead told the Racing Post: "I'll never forget the year he won the Gold Cup — it was the covid year — and there was a television in the Irish yard over there opposite his box. On the Friday morning the television was showing replays from the day before and he started kicking his box as he was watching them. It was the most amazing thing because he was the quietest, laziest and most placid horse you could ever find. I knew he was up for it that day and he sure as hell was."
Daily Mirror
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Luther's controversial win at Saratoga which stunned trainer Charlie Fellowes explained
The official stewards' decision said the winner Zulu Kingdom shifted left and did not leave enough room, which led to Tiz Dashing being taken back and into Luther's path Trainer Charlie Fellowes was left stunned by a controversial decision to promote his horse Luther to first in a graded race at Saratoga. The Frankel colt had crossed the line a length-and-a-half behind Zulu Kingdom in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes on Friday night. However rider Joel Rosario objected to the result as Luther had been badly hampered at the first bend, an incident the stewards felt was caused by the original winner. After deliberations, Zulu Kingdom was demoted to fourth as the British runner banked £176,000 for connections on his second start in the US. Fellowes said he watched the race at home in the UK and was surprised as Luther inherited victory in the mile contest on firm ground. "I don't know what just happened, but I'm shocked," he said. "I could see that it was a really messy race and my fella got carved up a little early on, then rushed up into position. "He really ran an unbelievable race to finish second, considering all of that." Speaking to the Racing Post, Fellowes, who lost the French 1,000 Guineas in the stewards room earlier in the season, sympathised with connections of Zulu Kingdom. On that occasion his horse She's Perfect was deemed to have interfered with Zarigana and he added: "I lost the biggest race of my career so I know first-hand it's not the way you want to win." Michael Dubb, one of the owners of Zulu Kingdom, said they would not appeal the findings. The official stewards' decision read: "In the seventh race at Saratoga there was a jockeys objection involving the #7 Zulu Kingdom, placed first, ridden by Flavien Prat, the #2 Luther, placed second, ridden by Joel Rosario and #3 Tiz Dashing, placed fourth, ridden by Javier Castellano. "The incident occurred approaching the first bend. After viewing replays of the incident and questioning riders involved, the stewards were of the view that Zulu Kingdom shifted left leaving insufficient room on its inside, resulting in Tiz Dashing having to take back for a number of strides and carried left into the path of Luther, who made contact with the running rail for numerous strides and caused the rider to check sharply, losing significant momentum and resulted in Luther losing its racing position into the first turn. "The stewards are satisfied that the incident cost #2 Luther and #3 Tiz Dashing the opportunity at a better placing and as a result #7 Zulu Kingdom was disqualified from 1st and placed 4th. The revised order of finish is 2-5-3-7."
Irish Times
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Racing's failure to amend gambling Bill indicates sport is reaping betting industry's reputational whirlwind
Back in the day, the late politician, writer, chef and dog-food salesman Clement Freud would go to Ballybrit to write about the Galway races. He once stood incredulously behind then taoiseach Albert Reynolds in a queue to bet with the Tote. He tried, and failed, to imagine then British PM John Major doing the same. Sigmund's grandson felt the Irish approach to gambling was much healthier. That was when politicians of all kinds wanted to be seen at the Galway Races. It smacked of an elbow-to-elbow egalitarianism that played well publicly. But there was more to it than that. Reynolds genuinely liked his racing and having a bet. Other political heavyweights across the spectrum were the same and having various ears in Government that spoke racing's vernacular was valuable to the sport. But that was then and now is different. It will be a rare politico that shows up at Ballybrit next week. Even if they're interested in the gee-gees, and it seems many aren't these days, the legacy of the 2008 economic crash, particularly the infamous Fianna Fáil tent, makes Galway 'off brand' for much of the political brass. There's also the reality that queuing to have a bet is a Freudian slip that mightn't play nearly as well as it used to. For that, racing can blame gambling corporations that spent years exploiting the unpoliced badlands of digital betting for enormous profit. Ruthlessly pushing algorithms that restrict those rare creatures able to make betting pay while preying on compulsives who can't, these conglomerates sowed the wind that's reaping a reputational whirlwind. An activity once viewed as attractively louche has an increasingly tacky vibe. READ MORE The consequence of that was stamped all over how racing went to war with the Government over its new gambling legislation and lost. Dire warnings were given about the impact of a ban on gambling advertising on day-to-day coverage of the sport here. In a sector where unanimity on anything is rare, this was a rallying call, but one comprehensively rejected by Fianna Fáil Minister James Browne who pushed through the long-awaited and needed Bill. Time was when an exemption for something all of racing felt so strongly about would have been regarded as just a phone call away. One of the game's heavy hitters would take care of it. Maybe such calls to the Government were made, but they didn't work. Browne was backed to the hilt. Politics takes its cues from public opinion, and years of unrestricted opportunism by gambling firms have had their impact. Just how uncertain a future racing faces on the back of a wild west gambling industry, finally getting legislatively roped, was underlined recently when the Racing Post interviewed new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland chief executive Anne Marie Caulfield. The former principal officer of the Department of Public Expenditure was sure-footed until she rejected claims about an intrinsic link between racing and betting and any impact on advertising. 'I remember Alex Higgins walking around the snooker table with a well-known tobacco branding in the background and they, as a sport, found another way forward,' she said. 'I do think there are other opportunities there and a way forward if they're explored.' Something inside a lot of racing people fell on its side reading that. A comparison between betting and smoking isn't comparing like with like on any number of levels. That the person in charge of policing the gambling sector doesn't seem to appreciate that is a worrying sign of shifting official sands. Because the reality is that, however much one mightn't like it, racing as we know it is intrinsically linked to betting. Caulfield's comments recalled the 1989 movie Let It Ride, where Richard Dreyfuss is on a roll at the track until his angry wife turns up, asking: 'I mean, really, I don't see why you people can't just watch the horses run around the track and not bet on them.' Cue widespread merriment and Dreyfuss's wonderfully pompous response: 'Because there is no racing without betting.' The days of putting officialdom right on such a point with a quick phone call appear to be in the past. Broad political commitment to the Horse & Greyhound Fund remains intact. But popular momentum towards the gambling industry is only going one way and it means any special consideration for the sport inextricably caught in its wake risks sliding too. Such comments by the gambling regulator only reinforce that worry. The Ballybrit betting ring will generate an average of more than €1m per day during next week's action. Photograph: Inpho Much of the Galway festival's appeal has always revolved around betting. It still does to an extent. The Ballybrit betting ring mightn't bankroll the sport any more, but it will still generate an average of more than €1 million per day during next week's action. Galway also still attracts almost 10 per cent of Irish racing's annual attendance figures. Last year's official tally of 116,374 was down on 2023 but still reflects hefty public interest in a cherished annual summer ritual. Some of what will go on next week still won't be particularly healthy or logical. And little of it will impinge on most people's enjoyment, whoever they are. Something for the Weekend All five starters for tomorrow's King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes are Group One winners, even Continuous, the pacemaker for Jan Bruegel. It makes for a tactical puzzle and one where jockey Mickael Barzalona has to compete with a one-dimensional run style for his mount Calandagan (4.10pm). But if it comes down to a finishing burst, the French star still looks the one. Emit (2.50pm) was hung out wide in Royal Ascot's Hampton Court on his last start and is upped in trip for tomorrow's Marble City Stakes at Gowran. He's top rated and the apparent Joseph O'Brien number one.
Scottish Sun
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Grand National legend and ‘amazing woman' whose fairytale horse won a BBC SPOTY award dies at home aged 92
She leaves an untouchable legacy in the sport REST IN PEACE Grand National legend and 'amazing woman' whose fairytale horse won a BBC SPOTY award dies at home aged 92 A GRAND NATIONAL legend and 'amazing woman' whose fairytale horse won a BBC SPOTY award has died at her home aged 92. Tributes have poured in for Valda Embiricos, who co-owned 1981 Aintree hero Aldaniti with her late husband Nick. 2 Valda Embiricos, right, died at home aged 92 after a remarkable life in racing which included winning the world's most famous race 2 Aldaniti and Bob Champion's 1981 Grand National victory was one of the best sporting stories of the century Credit: PA:Press Association Aldaniti and jockey Bob Champion completed 'one of the greatest sporting stories' ever 44 years ago when they won the world's most famous race. Champion had beaten cancer and Aldaniti had miraculously recovered from a leg injury so severe vets thought he would never run again. Their unforgettable win at odds of 10-1 was turned into a film starring John Hurt. And Champion and Aldaniti even won the BBC Team of the Year award at the 1981 SPOTY bash. Nick died in 2018 aged 81 and Champion remembered them both as 'just the most lovely owners who were a lot of fun too'. The Racing Post reported Valda's passing, which came at her home Barkfold Manor Stud in West Sussex last Wednesday. Her daughter Alex, a former trainer and jockey, told the Post: "Mum was invincible, strong, fearsome, kind, patient, fair, stubborn, a fighter. "Her will to live and to give was relentless to the very end. "If mum was an elephant she would be the matriarch of all matriarchs. "She had a long, incredible and amazing life. "I beg that I can try to fill those bottomless boots but I fear an espadrille is all I will manage." Valda maintained a love of racing throughout her life and still had runners this year. The Good Doctor, running under The Aldaniti Partnership banner, is trained by Ben Pauling and they had a win together at Fontwell as recently as 18 months ago. The Cheltenham Festival-winning handler said: "Valda has been an incredibly special person to myself and my wife Sophie. "She lived a wonderful life and was an incredibly courageous lady." While a message from the racecourse posted on Facebook read: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Valda Embiricos at the age of 92. "A remarkable woman whose support and passion for jump racing left an enduring legacy at Fontwell Park and beyond." Punters were quick to pay tribute as well. One wrote on X: "Very sad… but what a life!" While another commented: "Very sad news." Valda leaves daughter Alex, sons Alastair and Euan, stepson Nick and four grandchildren.
