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Donoghue devastated by loss of Sky Tenor

JJ Slevin, Sky Tenor, Danielle Deveney and Alan Donoghue pictured after their success at Clonmel on ThursdayJJ Slevin, Sky Tenor, Danielle Deveney and Alan Donoghue pictured after their success at Clonmel on Thursday
© Photo Healy Racing

Jubilation at Clonmel on Thursday evening, turned to despair for Alan Donoghue the following morning, with Sky Tenor fatally injured.

The six-year-old son of Geordieland came home eleven lengths to the good in the second divide of the Sliabh Na mBan Handicap Hurdle, providing Donoghue with his first track success in the training ranks.

Formerly a jockey and jockey's agent, Donoghue now mainly buys and sells horses with his partner Danielle Deveney from their base at Treehouse Stables in Co Kildare.

Speaking on Friday afternoon, Donoghue said: "I'm devastated. I just left him out in the paddock this morning with another horse and the other horse attacked him and broke his hind leg. He kept at him and I tried to separate them but I couldn't. I never saw anything like it, it was unbelievable and I’m traumatised by it.

"People have been sending messages of congratulations but we hardly even got to enjoy it. I'm devastated for Danielle, she done everything with him.

"Getting up this morning I was thinking what would the handicapper give us and hoping that he would be sound in his box. It's amazing how quickly things change.

"We never gave up on the horse. We always knew he could do what he did on Thursday and he never came off the bridle. He had been running on the wrong ground and would have been better again over fences.

"We will get a few pictures of him and put them up around the house. He was our first winner and we will never forget him anyway.

"We buy and sell horses mainly and have twenty in at the minute with a few for the track. Gaelic Des Chastys ran well at Punchestown and hopefully we will get him out again soon."

About Donal Murphy
Donal graduated from Maynooth University in 2010 with a BBS in Equine Business and since attained a diploma in Sports Journalism from Dublin Business School. He holds a variety of roles in the horse racing industry, reporting for the Press Association and p2p.ie, while also working for SIS and the Tote. From Wexford, he is a keen runner and has completed over 100 parkruns at various locations around the country.