The odds are probably in favour of a trainer who fondly goes by the name of ‘Shark’ having plenty of yarns to tell, and John Hanlon certainly doesn’t disappoint as he attempts to pull off more audacious feats over the coming months.
Sa Fureur provided Davy Russell with his first winner since returning from a short-lived retirement to deputise for the injured Jack Kennedy.
There was no chance for a farewell tour when Davy Russell immediately called time on his glittering career at Thurles before Christmas, but punters will now get a chance to give him a proper send-off.
While most trainers will obviously target Cheltenham if they have a horse with talent, at times I feel some of the bigger races before March are not given the respect they deserve, with so much focus on the Festival.
Davy Russell has the opportunity to find closure after coming out of retirement that lasted barely a month.
Conflated is likely to head straight to the Cheltenham Gold Cup where he will be given the chance to become Gigginstown House Stud's third winner of the blue riband.
It may look like Emmet Mullins is taking racing by storm after landing the Randox Aintree Grand National last year with Noble Yeats, as well as a host of other high-profile winners, but he has no hesitation in saying that “there’s no money in training horses”.
Words like shrewd, economical and smart are thrown out as characteristics of Cheltenham Gold Cup contender Noble Yeats, but Emmet Mullins could just as easily be describing his own attributes.
DAVY RUSSELL will make a sensational return to the saddle with immediate effect, less than a month since calling time on his glittering racing career.
Emmet Mullins has already taken the training world by storm and the Carlow trainer is now eyeing a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Noble Yeats a genuine contender for the showpiece event at the Cotswolds.
Finale Juvenile Hurdle hero Comfort Zone will have one more run before a possible tilt at the Triumph Hurdle, trainer Joseph O'Brien has revealed.
It’s almost like things were going too well for Jack Kennedy. He was enjoying a clean bill of health, making up for lost time as he excelled in the saddle with a 36th Grade One success over Christmas and then – bang.
Jack Kennedy looks set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines following confirmation he suffered a fractured leg in a fall at Naas on Sunday.
Gordon Elliott fears stable jockey Jack Kennedy will be out of action for the “foreseeable future”, putting a major question mark over his availability for March’s Cheltenham Festival, after suffering a serious-looking leg injury in a fall at Naas.
What a race the Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle has been over the years and we have a mouth-watering renewal again this afternoon.
Though he has ridden Queen Mother Champion Chase and Champion Hurdle winners in a stellar career, Noel Fehily has seldom had too many better moments than he had at Sandown yesterday.
As this is my first column of 2023, let me wish all readers a happy and prosperous new year.
The opening Grade One of the Irish racing calendar is always a fascinating affair with plenty of clues for the spring festivals up for grabs and tomorrow’s Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle (2.20) is no different.
Ryan Moore has welcomed the British Horseracing Authority's decision to allow jockeys to continue using the whip in the forehand position under new riding rules.
Ted Walsh believes Any Second Now will need plenty of luck to go one better than last year and win the Grand National.