Andrew Nelis racing

Make A Challenge made a swift return to action pay dividends by securing back-to-back Listed wins in the Abergwaun Stakes at Navan. Denis Hogan's charge hit the target at the Curragh last Saturday and reappearing just seven days later, he again took gold under Joe Doyle. Sent off the 4-9 favourite in a contest saved over from Tipperary's cancelled meeting on Thursday, Make A Challenge was not the best away but he travelled smoothly through the five-furlong heat before Doyle let him edge in front of Elzaamone inside the distance....                   Andrew Nelis Racing 

Plans to stage the 2020 BoyleSports Irish Grand National in the autumn have been abandoned. The showpiece event was due to be run at Fairyhouse on April 13, but was called off when racing was put on hold in Ireland on March 24 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Horse Racing Ireland had initially intended to reschedule the race as part of an enhanced National Hunt programme later this year, but a number of factors have combined to mean that will not happen and it is hoped the decision will give trainers "as much certainty as possible in relation to the preparation of their horses"....                     Andrew Nelis Racing 

Racing is set to go ahead as planned at the Curragh on Sunday despite local lockdown measures being imposed in County Kildare. The Group One Keeneland Phoenix Stakes is the highlight of an eight-race card at the venue and Horse Racing Ireland are not anticipating any issues after Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin announced a regional lockdown in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly following a surge in coronavirus cases. The revised measures, which will apply from midnight for two weeks, include restricting movement within the counties, with the exception of work purposes and other essential journeys; closure of restaurants and pubs serving food, apart from takeaway services, deliveries and limited outdoor dining; and the closure of indoor entertainment and sport venues such as cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries and bingo halls. However, HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh reports racing to be unaffected. He said: “We have had confirmation racing can continue behind closed door...

Aloha Star could take on the boys in next month’s Keeneland Phoenix Stakes following her Group Two triumph at the Curragh. Despite having opened her account at the third time of asking at Bellewstown on her previous outing, Fozzy Stack’s filly was a largely unconsidered 33-1 outsider for Sunday’s Airlie Stud Stakes. However, her performance in beating odds-on favourite Frenetic by a head came as no surprise to her trainer. Stack said: “It was great to see her go and do that, because she’s a filly we always thought a lot of. “She was just a bit dizzy and fresh in Naas the first day, and then Chris (Hayes) taught her a lesson in how to settle in Tipperary. “She won well in Bellewstown and stepped up again on Sunday, so it’s great.” Considering future targets, he added: “We’ll think about the Phoenix Stakes — she would have to be supplemented for that. Later on you’ve got the Moyglare, which we can put her in at the second entry stage. “I was thinking about the Lowther at Y...

Following 2mm of rain since the latest update, the ground in Roscommon is Yielding on the Flat track ahead of racing today at 1pm. There is a risk of light showers this morning, possibly turning heavier from this afternoon. There is the possibility of approximately 15-20mm of rain prior to the National Hunt card on Wednesday. The ground is currently Good to Yielding on the National Hunt .course.  

The Curragh have announced new sponsors for two of their biggest summer events with the Irish Oaks set to be sponsored by Juddmonte and Al Wasmiyah Stud announced as the new sponsors of the Pretty Polly. The move sees Kerrygold's backing of the fillies' Classic cease after one season, with a reduced prize fund of €250,000 for 2020, having been worth €400,000 last year. The Irish Oaks, won by the magnificent Enable in 2017, will take place on July 18, and Curragh chief executive Pat Keogh admitted that it was a terrific boost to have Juddmonte come on board as a Classic sponsor during such extraordinary times. Keogh said: "We are very grateful to His Highness Prince Khalid and the team at Juddmonte for their generous support of the Curragh. These are very challenging times for all of us and having a great name like Juddmonte sponsoring the Irish Oaks is a great vote of confidence for Irish racing." Al Wasmiyah Stud, owned by Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiya and his fam...

Any bookmaker opening their doors to the public on Wednesday will be doing so illegally after the Irish government made clear its decision that retail outlets are to remain closed until June 29.  Most shops had reopened on Monday, although some had tested the water from the previous Monday, while others have yet to start trading again. The Irish Bookmakers Association [IBA] had advised its members that they would be permitted to reopen along with other retail outlets and confusion reigned on Tuesday as firms scrambled to establish what was after happening and whether or not they were permitted to trade.

Horse Racing Ireland has confirmed the full National Hunt programme for the months of June and July, as well as those meetings scheduled for the August bank holiday weekend. Irish racing returns behind closed doors on the Flat at Naas on 8 June, with strict new HRI protocols in place. The first National Hunt fixture will take place at Limerick on Monday, 22 June. The programme features jump-only meetings to minimise the number of people working at the racecourse. It features 24 National Hunt meetings at 12 racecourses. Kilbeggan will join the roster for the first time on Friday, 29 June, with Killarney and Downpatrick racing on Tuesday, 7 July and Wednesday, 15 July. Tramore hosts the first of its meetings on Saturday, 18 July. Significant changes have been made to the traditional race programme at the Galway Races, but the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle will be run on the Wednesday and Thursday of the meeting as normal, with a Listed Novice Hurdle and a Gr...

Horse Racing Ireland delighted to get June 8 approval for resumption Fri 15 May 2020 Horse Racing  Ireland  chief executive Brian Kavanagh has expressed the sport’s gratitude after being given permission to restart action behind closed doors on June 8. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said last week that racing, as a spectator-free sport, would fall into the third phase of the Irish Government’s plan to ease lockdown restrictions, meaning a June 29 restart looked likely. However, following consultation between HRI and the Irish Government, it has been agreed racing can resume three weeks’ earlier than initially scheduled, with strict protocols in place. The last meeting to be held in Ireland before the coronavirus shutdown was at Clonmel on March 24. Kavanagh said: “We are grateful to be one of the sectors permitted to go back to work and acknowledge the responsibility on everybody in racing to ensure the events are run in a safe way. “We know...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stated that Irish racing needs to be aligned with its British and French counterparts in his address to the nation on Friday, the same day it was announced that racing's resumption was brought forward from June 29 to June 8. Racing had been scheduled to return in  phase three of the government's roadmap , which outlines the staggered reopening of businesses and social activities, but Horse Racing Ireland was successful in its proposal to bring it back a stage. HRI has been refining its submissions throughout the past couple of weeks and Varadkar labelled the industry as a "big economic" sector in giving his speech. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left): "It's a big economic sector with a lot of jobs and income" Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos) He said: "Horseracing was never specifically mentioned in the plan we agreed back in April but now it is. Horseracing, behind closed doors, will be allowed to cont...

Horse Racing Ireland has broken its silence on a possible date for the resumption of racing in Ireland with chief executive Brian Kavanagh insisting "constructive engagement" had taken place with government in the past week. Kavanagh has been unavailable for comment since Taoiseach Leo Varadkar addressed the nation last Friday evening. However, in a statement issued late on Thursday evening, the HRI boss provided cautious optimism that racing may resume earlier than June 29, which has previously been outlined for behind-closed-doors sporting events in the roadmap for reopening society and business. Richard Forristal: information vacuum from HRI is simply not good enough when leadership is needed There has been continuous dialogue between HRI and the government since last week's announcement. Earlier on Thursday, Varadkar stated in the Dail that the government would examine proposals from sectors of the economy wishing to have restrictions lifted earlier than ...