Harness racing submissions

THE public has until Thursday, November 3rd to make submissions to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the Irish harness racing sector.

This follows the announcement by the Minister Michael Creed TD of his intention to commission consultants to carry out an independent economic review of the sport.

Submissions made to IRHAreview@agriculture.gov.ie or by post to Clare Gormley, State Bodies Section, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Government Buildings, Farnham Street, Cavan will be provided, without comment, to the successful tenderer. Further information is available at www.agriculture.gov.ie/customerservice/publinconsultations.

Martaline fee

announced

LEADING French NH sire Martaline sees his fee for 2017 rise from €10,000 to €15,000, but will be limited to 120 mares.

Standing at Haras de Montaigu, he will be 18 next year and early booking is advised. The stud is also home to Group 1 winner Prince Gibraltar who will stand for €4,500 in his second season and covered 77 mares this year.

No Risk At All, a brother to champion Nickname, is already sire of winners with his first crop running this year and he will stand for €3,500 in 2017. New stallion Night Wish, a son of Sholokov, and the proven sire Literato will both command fees of €3,000.

Goffs AGM

NICK Nugent, Pat Downes and Harry Beeby were all re-elected at the recent Annual General Meeting of Robert J Goff & Co plc. Also on the agenda was the confirmation of Brian Kearney as a director. He had been appointed in January of this year.

Among the highlights in the annual report cited by chairman Eimear Mulhern were a rise of 2.3% in the ring turnover to €159 million, a growth of 15% in profit on ordinary activity, while the group’s cash and bank balances have increased by 38% to €7.6 million.

Cheveley Park’s Twilight Son

DUAL Group 1 winning sprinter Twilight Son will take up stallion duties at Cheveley Park Stud in 2017, where he will stand alongside his sire Kyllachy.

Trained by Henry Candy, Twilight Son was unbeaten in his first five starts which culminated in an impressive victory in the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock, beating four Group 1 winners. Finishing second to Muhaarar in the Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes was followed by a battling victory in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he got the better of Group 1 winners The Tin Man, Signs Of Blessing and Undrafted in a driving finish.

Melbourne Cup on your mobile

TWITTER has partnered with the Victoria Racing Club to live stream the Melbourne Cup globally, making it the first time the race will be streamed for free around the world. The stream will be available directly on your mobile, desktop or tablet, and you don’t need to log in or have a Twitter account.

The broadcast will run for one hour, including pre-race build-up, followed by post-race commentary and analysis. Everyone will be able to stream the #MelbourneCup on November 1st by heading to melbournecup.twitter.com or through Twitter Moments (the lightning bolt on the Twitter app), whether you’re logged into Twitter or not.

Galileo son Mizzou for The Old Road

MIZZOU, runner-up to Order Of St George in the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup this year and twice winner of the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes will stand next year at James Hannon’s The Old Road Stud in Tallow, Co Waterford. Only once out of the money in 10 starts, he won five times and earned £217,208. Costing 275,000gns as a yearling, he was trained by Luca Cumani who this week said: “A grand looking horse with a great pedigree. Mizzou has been a model of consistency throughout his career. Blessed with staying power, he also always displayed great acceleration at the end of his races. As genuine and willing as any horse I have ever trained.”

The deal was brokered by Barry Lynch of Lillingston Bloodstock and a stud fee will be announced later. Lecture reminder

The second in the ITBA Autumn/Winter Veterinary Lecture Series takes place on Tuesday, November 1st at the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Internationally renowned Professor Timothy Greet of Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket will provide practical advice to breeders, owners and veterinary surgeons. The Veterinary Council of Ireland has awarded 2 CVE credits to this lecture which commences at 7.30pm. Contact the ITBA on 045 877543 to register. ITBA members are free, while there is a charge of €10 for non-members