National Hunt racing

A new series of races designed to spread investment in Irish National Hunt racing was announced by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Thursday. Beginning on January 1, 2025, HRI will schedule 60 races throughout the calendar year which will be restricted to trainers who have trained less than 50 Irish National Hunt winners in either of the last two full Irish National Hunt seasons. Races in this series will include bumpers, maiden hurdles, beginners steeplechases and handicap hurdles. Jonathan Mullin, HRI's director of racing, said, "This series of 60 races...

The growing supremacy of the Willie Mullins stable in National Hunt racing begs the question: is it damaging anybody or anything? Dominance is the raison d'etre of elite sport. When Rafa Nadal was winning 14 French Open tennis titles it never entered his head that what he was doing might be harmful to the game. Manchester City won't be thinking that five Premier League title wins in six seasons is quite enough, thank you very much, and that to make it six in seven would be detrimental. If you're preaching...

National Hunt racing is to return to Windsor, the venue's owner Arena Racing Company announced on Monday. The track staged jump racing until 1998 but also stepped in to host a number of fixtures when Ascot was being redeveloped in 2005 and 2006. It is hoped the first meetings will take place during the 2024-25 season with December 15, 2024 earmarked for the first action. "We have long held a desire to bring jump racing back to Royal Windsor racecourse, and we are really pleased to confirm this plan well ahead...

Happy Blue Monday, if that's not a contradiction in terms. Some of us may feel that the whole of January is utterly foul, but someone, somewhere, once decided that the third Monday of this month was the most depressing day of the year, so here we are. Fear not, however, because if you need a little pick-me-up on this dark day then you could do worse than follow the Twitter account of trainer Fergal O'Brien (@OBMRacing), head of the most upwardly mobile National Hunt stable in Britain, which is guaranteed...

Lot 179, a gelded 3-year-old son of Affinisea (Ire) topped the Tattersalls Ireland May Store Sale at €50,000. The Knockalane House offering went to Ballyboy Stables. Right behind him was a gelding by Workforce (GB) (lot 103) from Rathywork Stud, agent to Milestone Bloodstock. The son of Blazing Dawn (Ire) (Presenting {GB}) was knocked down for €48,000. His second dam is listed hurdle winner Blazing Sky (Ire) (Beneficial {GB}). Third on the buyers' sheets was lot 68, J'Suis Kashe Bam's (Fr) (Buck's Boum {Fr}), a member of Liss House's draft....

The 2021/22 UK Jumps Champions were crowned during the bet365 Jump Finale at Sandown Park on Saturday. Brian Hughes, who became only the fourth NH jockey to ride a double century of winners in a season, was named the UK Champion Jumps Jockey for a second time. His win total sits at 204, 99 ahead of Sam Twiston-Davies in second. Hughes, who won the title in 2019/20 said, "It is something at the start of the season I set out to try and do and it is great that it...

The challenges and opportunities facing the Irish breeding and racing sector took centre stage at the ITBA National Hunt Seminar on Apr. 4. Insights and a balanced debate on the current state of the sector were held between panelists Frank Motherway, Jane Mangan, Kevin Blake, Richard Pugh, Ruby Walsh and MC David Jennings. Other key talking points included breeders premiums/incentives, preparing our stock younger, French-breds and the current race programme. To view the seminar, please click here.

Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in U.S. steeplechase racing. He's been leading steeplechase trainer 25 times, has trained 15 champions and has won every major steeplechase race run in the U.S.-many of them numerous times. But the native of Ashwell, Hertfordshire, England who came to America in 1961 has never won a race in Europe. In the months ahead, he hopes to change that. With the U.S. steeplechase season having ended Nov. 15 and because only a limited number of races were...

Following Wednesday's announcement by Horse Racing Ireland that the Irish National Hunt season has been ended prematurely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has now announced that jump racing in Britain will break until July 1. The move has been instigated following a proposal put forward by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) in order to provide clarity to trainers and owners in the jumping sector. The 2019/20 National Hunt season would normally have ended at Sandown on April 25, but that meeting has been lost during the...

The Board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has agreed to conclude the 2019/2020 National Hunt season, effective immediately, with the spring festivals at Fairyhouse and Punchestown not to be rescheduled as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. "We have stressed throughout that Government and HSE guidelines around fighting Covid-19 must come first and racing will only be able to resume when the Government guidelines permit and when there is adequate medical cover in place to ensure that race meetings can be staged safely," said Nicky Hartery, Chairman of Horse Racing...

The ITBA Next Generation 10-to-Follow Competition, sponsored by Racing Post Bloodstock, was announced by ITBA Next Generation on Wednesday. To enter, contestants pick their top five Flat and top five National Hunt horses to follow in 2020, with prizes on tap including 1 year free Ultimate Membership to the Racing Post (£349). The competition starts on Feb. 14, but entries cam be made after the beginning of the competition through the month of February. Only one entry is allowed per person, with free entry for ITBA Next Generation members. Results...

Southwell will host an all-female card on International Women's Day, Mar. 8. The eight races, held in conjunction with the sport's Diversity in Racing Steering Group, the British Horseracing Authority, Women in Racing and Great British Racing, will be split evenly between Flat and National Hunt racing. "It's great that Southwell are celebrating International Women's Day with an all-female racecard," said Southwell native and jockey Hayley Turner, who became the second female jockey to ride a Royal Ascot winner last year. We ride against and at the same level as...