FRESH from their Cheltenam triumph with City Island, owner Sean Mulryan and trainer Martin Brassil are embarking on an exciting new venture.

Mulryan has bought Clunemore Lodge on the Curragh and is investing a significant sum in the premises before installing Brassil as the licence holder.

Neither the owner or trainer were available to comment but it is understood that it could be a year before the property is ready to open its doors. Known locally as ‘Kinane’s Yard’, Clunemore has its own equine pool and it was previously owned by Pat O’Leary.

Local auctioneer John Conway said: “I can confirm that Conway Auctioneers sold Clunemore Lodge off-market to Sean Mulryan. We wish him every success with it. The sale shows that there is demand for residences and stable yards on the Curragh.”

A very popular and hugely respected trainer, Brassil made headlines when he won the Irish and Aintree Grand Nationals with Numbersixvalverde in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Like many other trainers, he endured some lean years when the financial crisis hit. Mulryan himself was effectively lost to racing for a decade but his fortunes are now on the rise and Brassil is set to benefit.

Mulryan sponsors the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle which was won by City Island, who carried the colours of his wife Bernardine. This week the horse was re-registered in both their names and is expected to run in the Grade 1 novice hurdle over two and a half miles on the Friday of the Punchestown Festival. Ballymore sponsors a valuable handicap hurdle the following day.

Close to Clunemore, a 200-acre site at Newtown Rathbride has been acquired by Joe Foley of Ballyhane Stud. Also undergoing renovation, the property is expected to be used as a private stud facility.

There has been plenty of activity on the Curragh this spring.

The racecourse redevelopment, costing somewhere between €70 million and €90 million, is due to open on the May bank holiday, while four of the gallops have been reconstructed thanks largely to the generosity of Moyglare Stud.