Page 44 - Patrick Mccann News Today

UPDATED 2:36PM, APR 25 2021 Irish champion jockey Paul Townend will make a timely return to the saddle on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival after being booked to ride in each of Tuesdays three Grade 1s, providing a huge boost for the Willie Mullins team ahead of the biggest week in Irish jump racing. Townend has been sidelined since injuring his foot after falling from Egality Mans at Fairyhouse earlier in the month, an injury which forced him to miss the Grand National meeti...

5:15PM, APR 25 2021 Keeper Of Time, the filly who stole owner John Nolan’s heart when he bought her for just €3,000 and went on to win this months 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown at odds of 80-1, has run her last race in Ireland with a deal agreed to sell her on to the United States.  The Group 3 victory was particularly sweet for 62-year-old Nolan, who breaks in horses for the race sponsors Ballylinch Stud, does some pre-training and still rides out at the Curragh, and he has...

UPDATED 3:59PM, APR 13 2021 This article is from our new weekly digital newsletter Asia Bloodstock News, published on Wednesday mornings (Asian time). Sign up for a free subscription here. Neil Callan’s suspension saga took a twist on Monday when the rider lodged notice of an appeal against the severity of punishment handed down at last Wednesday’s show cause hearing, which was called after a lively stewards’ inquiry into careless riding at Happy Valley on February 3. The Irish jo...

UPDATED 9:06PM, APR 9 2021 Randox Grand National Handicap Chase (Grade 3) | 4m2½f | 7yo+ | ITV/RTV Cloth Cap is a stone well in and his master trainer thinks he will win – whats not to like about the Grand National favourite? Putting aside his short odds – he might go off a skinnier price than Tiger Roll (4-1) two years ago and could even eclipse Poethlyn (11-4) as the Nationals shortest-priced winner – Cloth Cap appears to have all the credentials for the race. Jonjo ONeill e...

UPDATED 9:46PM, APR 7 2021 Betway Aintree Hurdle (Grade 1) | 2m4f | 4yo+ | ITV/RTV The winners of all seven Grade 1 hurdles at last month’s Cheltenham Festival were trained in Ireland and it is therefore no surprise that two of the top three in this market are based in the Emerald Isle. Abacadabras could not hold a candle to Honeysuckle when second in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in February but it has since turned out that there are not many who can after the mare proved ...

UPDATED 7:26PM, APR 5 2021 Irelands champion trainer Willie Mullins will give Paul Townend every possible chance to prove his fitness in time for this weekend’s Grand National meeting at Aintree after the champion jockey injured his right foot in a fall at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Townend was forced to sit out Monday’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National – won by 150-1 shot Freewheelin Dylan – having suffered a heavy fall from Egality Mans, and was replaced on Agusta Gold by Danny M...

UPDATED 10:05AM, APR 10 2021 There will be a Tiger Roll-shaped hole in Saturdays Randox Grand National, but the worlds greatest steeplechase is shaping up to be as competitive as ever, with the likes of Ladbrokes Trophy hero and clear ante-post favourite Cloth Cap, Welsh National winner Secret Reprieve, Burrows Saint and Kimberlite Candy among the 68 possibles remaining for the race. Will one of those horses etch their name into the history books? Or could this be the year of another sho...

UPDATED 8:21PM, APR 4 2021 A few years have passed since Jody McGarvey was enjoying the ride of his life on a certain headbanger by the name of Great Field.  They teamed up to win five races together, including a Grade 1 at the 2017 Punchestown festival, and nothing was ever boring when they rolled into town. The excitement of being associated with that headline horse died down a long time ago but, in his own words, McGarvey’s fallow period “makes you appreciate the good times that ...

Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final (Grade 1) | 2m4f | 4yo+ | RTV It is fair to say there is no standout here. Atlantic Fairy is the obvious place to start given connections opted to sidestep Cheltenham in a bid to bring a fresher mare to Fairyhouse. However, all of her best form is on heavy going, and given she is by Jeremy, does she want spring ground? Possibly not. Henry de Bromhead won the last running of this with a certain Honeysuckle and, along with Atlantic ...

Spina bifida sufferer told to pay £6,700 to get special loo after anti-social behaviour forced him from social home Now it has emerged that the loo he wasn’t allowed to take has been removed for the new tenant Patrick says "it’s like they have taken away my dignity" (Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live) Never miss a thing from Belfast and beyond - sign up for FREE newsletter direct to your inboxInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe When you subscribe...