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Back in mid-2024 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) announced a series of National Hunt races aimed at addressing the imbalance on the jumping side of the sport where the top four trainers had been dominating to the detriment of the rest for several years.
The proposed series of 60 races never actually happened. There was the threat of legal challenges to the format which precluded the top four trainers from entering their horses in these races and the plan was shelved, with HRI's Programmes Committee left with egg on their face.
My Racing StorySponsored By Tote
I'm a Downpatrick man born and bred and have lived here all my life. My first encounter with horses was through my late father Willie Polly taking me out to my uncle Frank Fitzsimon's stableyard in Vianstown which was actually in the middle of Downpatrick Racecourse. That was the place where my mother was born and reared. Frank, who was a brother of my mother, trained horses out there and we used to go out on a Sunday morning to see the horses and would have gone into what was called the home house for tea. My father bought a horse in the late 70s called Mountain Gale who Frank pre-trained and then sent him on to Noel Meade. He had a few wins, but I remember he wasn't a particularly good jumper! That's where my father first encountered Noel Meade. My dad also had a few point-to-pointers of no real note, and he had a horse with Jeremy Maxwell in his time and with Bunny Cox and with John Oxx to name but a few.
By Stuart Howden - Joseph O'Brien trained last year's winner and a bold bid is expected from his filly YOUSAYNOTHINGATALL. She appeared to run out of steam in the closing stages when finishing a close third over 1m4f here last time, so this drop back in distance looks the logical move. Fourth at Dundalk on debut, Contrite will have benefitted for that experience, while Dreamkeeper is another likely improver.