Martin Ferris set to return from injury
JUMP jockey Martin Ferris will return to action at Listowel on Monday following an 11-month absence.
Ferris sustained a complicated wrist fracture in a fall at Tramore last October and required several operations. He was finally passed fit to race-ride this week by Dr Adrian McGoldrick.
Ferris said: “I have been riding out for the past month and I am confident that I am ready to go back racing. My agent is Ken Whelan and I hope to pick up a few mounts at Listowel.”
There were several casualties at Kilbeggan last Friday week. David Splaine broke his right leg and is facing four months out. Splaine has twice broken his left leg before. Jack Kennedy had surgery on a broken toe last Saturday and will be out for three weeks. Ricky Doyle lost one tooth and chipped several others in his Kilbeggan spill.
Apprentice jockey Karen Kenny must wait another month before being cleared to race-ride. The Kerry woman suffered head injuries in a Tramore fall over a year ago.
Reports that retired jockey Davy Condon has been cleared to ride out are premature. Condon is expected to make a full recovery from serious neck injuries which forced his retirement but he requires further clearance from Turf Club specialists before he can climb back on a horse.
Green Desert dies
Green Desert has been put down at Sheikh Hamdan’s Nunnery Stud in England. The 32-year-old retired stallion had been in deteriorating health. Winner of the July Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup in 1986 for trainer Michael Stoute, Green Desert is the sire of Oasis Dream, Invincible Spirit and Cape Cross, himself the sire of Sea The Stars.
Harness racing
The Irish Harness Racing Association will stage 10 trotting and pacing races at Dundalk Stadium on Sunday, September 27th, following government backing and the support of Horse Racing Ireland and Dundalk Stadium. Jim Martin of Dundalk said: “We have always shown our desire to host harness racing at Dundalk and we welcome the return of harness racing to our venue alongside horse and dog racing.”
Tryster target
The Group 3 Diamond Stakes at Dundalk on Friday, October 2nd is the target for Tryster, who sidestepped a clash with Jack Hobbs at Kempton last Saturday. Trained for Godolphin by Charlie Appleby, Tryster burst onto the scene with a series of impressive all-weather wins last winter, culminating with a victory in the Easter Classic at Lingfield in April. The son of Shamardal has not been seen since finishing last in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May. Appleby won the Dundalk race with Cat O’Mountain last year.
Staying races
The British Horseracing Authority has announced a new initiative to promote stout breeding by introducing 10 new maiden races next season that will be restricted to juveniles whose sires won over 10 furlongs or more. Director of international racing and racing development Ruth Quinn said: “The races illustrate the BHA’s desire to take further steps to ensure that staying races and horses do continue to thrive, and it also reflects the commitment made in January by the European Pattern Committee to review the European staying programme over the next few years.”
Cheltenham change
Ante-post betting on next year’s Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 novice events will be even trappier next year as they will feature a late supplementary stage for the first time. Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse said: “We want to ensure that any horses who only show their potential after the entries close in January are able to run.”
Listowel preview
Each day’s racing at Listowel from Monday to Friday will be previewed by Brendán Ó Ruairc at 12.10pm on Radio na Gaeltachta.
Swan tax bill
Former jockey and trainer Charlie Swan has been forced to hand over almost €123,000 as part of an investigation into tax defaulters. Revenue officials said Swan was investigated as part of an “offshore assets” inquiry.
Merger approval
Betfair and Paddy Power have moved a step closer to concluding their merger which will create a multi-billion euro gambling giant which will be among the top 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Both Paddy Power and Betfair will continue to be run as separate brands in the UK, Ireland and Italy, although the headquarters of Paddy Power Betfair will be in Dublin rather than London. The newly merged company will have 7,000 employees.
Arc entry in sale
The dual Group 1 winner Prince Gibraltar, winner of the Grosser Preis von Baden on his latest start, looks set to be one of the highlights of the 2015 Arqana Arc Sale on October 3rd. The colt holds an entry in the following day’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
He is one of a number of group winners catalogued and they include the Group 2 Prix Hocquart winner Free Port Lux and the Group 1-placed Canndal and Wake Forest.
The fillies include the lightly-raced Little Nightingale who won the Prix Cleopatre and finished third in the classic Prix de Diane, and she is joined by the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary runner-up Wekeela. There are also at least five stakes winning two-year-olds and among them is Sir Mark Prescott’s Time Warp who recently clocked up foru consecutive victories.
The sales company has eight wild card entries available.
RaceBets licence
RaceBets has been granted a full Irish remote bookmaker’s licence, by the Irish regulatory body. Remote operators that want to offer markets to Irish customers, such as RaceBets, are required to obtain this licence regardless of where they are based. The granting of the Irish licence follows the recent announcement by RaceBets that they also received a UK gambling licence.